Not only my first etc etc! - Exhaust Fabrication Done! Pics!

Re: Not only my first project bike, but my first bike period!

at school til 11.. If Im not completely beat tonight, then Ill probably work on the seat tonight and post pics. My plan is to get a basic shape, then find a taillight that I feel matches, then modify the shape so that Ill have a recessed section in the glass so I can french the light in.

I have a question about lights though: Would it be possible to use a (relatively) modern sport bike tail/signals? Like if they are made to run off a diff volt, can I put some sort of converter in line to accomodate the different voltage requirements? So to simplify, can I use whatever light I want with pretty basic modifications?
 
Re: Not only my first project bike, but my first bike period!

ya man that would work fine, but try to find something like the R6 that have LED tial lights so they use less power the CB350 charging system blows!
 
Re: Not only my first project bike, but my first bike period!

ya, the plan was to either get a stock unit out of a junkyard that is LED or get a low profile aftermarket LED setup. Theres this really kick ass italian one that I saw, but the site is a bit confusing since its poorly translated into english. Also it costs like 130$ or something crazy like that.

edit: I checked out the r6 tail, and its ok but I really wanted an integrated tail/blinker assembly so I can achieve a cleaner look.
 
Re: Not only my first project bike, but my first bike period!

Here is a little bit of the progress on the seat. I am going to extend the foam all the way to the tank of course. As you can see, Im going for a bit more modern cowl as opposed to the standard cafe hump. It is still a work in progress, and Im not exactly sure how I will proceed from here.

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p.s. for anyone who is going to use this florist foam stuff to form your seat-- WEAR A MASK AND GOGGLES! The little shavings are kinda sharp, and I can only imagine the crap they would do to your lungs and eyes.
 
Re: Not only my first project bike, but my first bike period!

It looks like a quarter pipe haha! Are you going to round the edges off?
 
Re: Not only my first project bike, but my first bike period!

ha... Im not completely sure what you mean by "round the edges off" but it might help to know that Ive only worked the foam in one dimension so far... if that makes sense to you. You can see the template in the first pic, and its for the profile view. I also need to cut the other two dimensions, being straight on and birds eye. The basic idea is that the straight on view will have the cowl with a bit of an arc so that its not just flat, and the birds eye view will have the seat tappered in towards the tank and also at the tail.
 
Re: Not only my first project bike, but my first bike period!

Leave the edges sharp! That shape looks badass!
 
Re: Not only my first project bike, but my first bike period!

Im in contant amazment the amount of first time builders that have great abilty and motivation to get the job done!! great work..
 
Re: Not only my first project bike, but my first bike period!

yea! got my top end and case covers back from the machine shop finally.. It looks like they did good work, but Im not sure Ill give them my business again... it took over a month to blast and hot tank some parts and bore out the jugs.. every week they said "Ill have it done first thing next week!" But whatever, I have it back now, so Im happy.


quick little mock up :)
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and look what came in the mail 8)

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edit:by the way, I asked the machinist if he thought I needed to paint the aluminum and he said I could but its not neccessary. Something about them having a final wash or something. He just said to keep them clean and they will be fine. Does this sound right? I honestly dont want clear them cuz I like the look of them now and Id rather not risk laying down some rattle can clear that will yellow or crack.
 
Re: Not only my first project bike, but my first bike period!

hey guys.. just wanted to check in and let everyone know this project is not dead!

Im currently in thailand. Ive been here for about 10 days and am here for another 5. Sadly my camera broke a few days ago but it is amazing here and I plan to make a post in the lounge with the pics I do have of some of hte bikes Ive seen over here.

Anyways, its awesome here but I cant wait to get back and finish the project.. hopefully within a month I can post an "after" shot of the 350.

but until I get back, cheers to you all.
 
Re: Not only my first project bike, but my first bike period!

note to self: wear long sleeves and pants when using aircraft stripper and have a source of running water very close by. This shit is like napalm!

Making some decent progress on the bike. Yesterday I prepped and painted the rest of the pieces for the engine that are to be painted. So I should be able to fire the engine within a week (ya right.. no way Ill figure out the wiring that fast!) Im currently stripping the tank and sadly there is a decent amount of bondo and the tank has been painted a few times so I had to do a second application of aircraft stripper just now, it looks like this one will get most everything off and the rest I can wire wheel.


Im getting closer, knocking out some bigger projects.. but then I realize I have so many things to do still. Wheels, tires, chain, suspension (front and rear) head light, finish the tail, figure out how to mount a battery, wiring, fab up rear break linkage, ect ect..
 
Re: Not only my first project bike, but my first bike period!

dude you can lay a satin clear or gloss clear on there... we have a powder that looks identical to that... it is called blasted alum... looks like this
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Re: Not only my first project bike, but my first bike period!

ooh, that powder is nice. As for painting the aluminum, idk, I dont trust my skills with a rattle can enough and even if I lay it nice theres a chance it will yellow and even if it doesnt do that it wont be all that durable. As long as I keep the blasted aluminum clean it hsould do fine. I would get it powdered clear, but I dont have that sorta money. Hell, Im still trying to figure out if I can afford to powder the frame. Being on perma-vacation is awesome, but the lack of money flow can be a bit tough :)
 
Re: Not only my first project bike, but my first bike period!

blasted alum will not be fine man, it will oxidize and grab and hold any grit and grime it can... i would sugest shooting the motor with a 1200* heat paint if anything... do not leave it bare
 
Re: Not only my first project bike, but my first bike period!

maybe the guy didnt know what he was talking about? THe aluminum is not just bare blasted metal, it was then hot tanked. And when I asked him if its necessary to paint it he said something about it having a final wash, or something like that that was part of the hot tanking process. He said that some guys paint the aluminum after, but that plenty of the motors he builds are simply blasted and hot tanked and have no problem.
 
Re: Not only my first project bike, but my first bike period!

huh... never heard of hot tanking it... who did you have do your motor? what did it run you? i am thinking of pulling my 350 motor out and just havin it done, so when i finally get around to it, it is ready to go
 
Re: Not only my first project bike, but my first bike period!

its a place on cicero right off diversy called integrity automotive (or might be integrity machine shop or something like that.) It was a bit pricey (for a broke college student) but Im pretty happy with the way it came out. I think the total was like $325 and that was for the whole top end + case covers being blasted and hot tanked, disassembling and checking tolerances on the head, and bore and honing the cylinders. My only real complaint was that they took forever, and not only that but they kept promising "next week." If they had just told me it would take them 5 weeks to get to it in the first place I would have been ok with it, but the way they handled it seemed a bit unprofessional.

So, that being said Ill probably check out another shop next time, any good machine shop should have a hot tank.
 
Re: Not only my first project bike, but my first bike period!

so my camera broke while I was in thailand, but my friend gave me his old palm which takes decent pics for a phone. So heres some stuff Ive been working on:

stripped the tank, had to apply the aircraft stripper like 6 times. The underbelly still has a good amount of paint but I dont want to mess with that stripper anymore, I got a small chemical burn on my leg.. that stuffs nasty. I figure that no one will ever see the underside, and the paint should stick fine. It does have a few pretty big dents so I bought myself some bondo which should be lots of fun :)

edit: oh and I forgot about the 3 or 4 pinholes that can kinda be made out in the second pic in the top. Luckily my friend has a small licoln mig that he'll let me use. My plan is to do the first two steps of the por-15 liner process, using duct tape to plug the pinholes. Then when the rust is washed away Ill weld them up, grind it down, then do the final step of lining the tank.

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a few pics of some of the various parts that I painted, then wetsanded and earlier today I laid a final coat. The first time they had pretty bad orange peal effect. This time I did much better prep by wet sanding, using my heat gun to warm up the parts(careful with this, they dont need to be hot, just warm. Remember heat guns are used to strip paint, so be esp careful if you already have some layers of paint on the piece), and soaking the can in hot (hot from the tap, not boiling) water for about 30 minutes and then again between coats. Ill try and borrow someones camera to get good pics of the final product when its done curing.

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Here are my 4 rims, 3 of which are visibly damaged. The front disc seems to be ok, and hopefully one of the rears is useable. I may end up swapping one of the front drums into the front disc cuz Id prefer dual drums, but that may be a winter project.

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Re: Not only my first project bike, but my first bike period!

nice man! what kind of damage those wheels have? maybe i can help you to fix them... hit me with a PM i am sure we can work out something
 
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