bandit upgrade

[JRK5892]

figured it was time to start a build thread as i will be making some real progress on here now
this bike is not built to LOOK cool, it is built to function, it is road every day rain or shine 80 miles total... it is a work horse

when i got her she was pretty much stock... so i added to that ended up with this... extended shield, heated grips, blacked out mirrors, airbox cover,a dn frame rail, added bags, HID headlight, 14T front sprocket, lower wing guards, and 3rd brake light
looked like this

then i got the itch... tore off the controls and coated them, re cut the seat and re wrapped it, and added custom chrome heated grips for adjustable temp

then the screw up came.... added decals

also added some fogs for better vision at night

 

[JRK5892]

then the evolution kept going

added amber LEDs to be seen better at night

then raised the back end to quicken steering

now i wanted some mroe sound out of the bike

addedl LED turn sig

 

[JRK5892]

then all hell broke lose this weekend... tore down for paint and powder, GSXR rear suspension, progressive front
started with a tail chop

then i had to make a floating rear fender to keep crap off me in the rain

some time on the belt sander later... we are golden

bent and welded up some round bar to use as a support (doing a larger rear tire so i could not finish mounting it)

pulled the 10000000 bolts from the valve cover to set the valves and coat the cover

and how she sits now

now i have to decide if i want to suck it up and pay the 68 bucks for bearings for the swing arm and coat the swing arm to match the frame... paint work starts tonight... i have to keep the full fairing (for now) cause i will be riding all winter.. come spring i can pull it for a fighter set up

 

[JRK5892]

spent a good amount of time last night cleaning my airbrushes... sad, never let friends borrow stuff if they are not going to bring them back in better condition than they borrowed them! After i was completed with that i set out to start to prep...
all the plastics and the tank are now blocked out and ready for primer! TONIGHT!

front fairing

Rear fairing

cut thought the clear with block sanding to remove the suzuki decals... then blocked that out so it is smooth

also cleaned up the GSXR rear shock... and got the resivor shot

 

[moon303]

bike is looking good chief.

 

[JRK5892]

thanks bud... pulling the swing arm off tonight... my bro is coming by to give me hand... i jacked up my back last week so i need a bit of help, hahaha

 

[JRK5892]

well made some great progress! ya buddy!!!! everythign but the tank is in base coat... was able to get it all primered and blocked out last night and then the base coat of semi gloss black down... will do some red air brush work with silver highlights, then flat clear the whole thing... also... got the swing arm pulled and bearings out... now the ? is...... what color do i do the arm... should i coat it flat black to match the lowers and engine cases... or do it red to match the frame?

primer

and base coat (sorry so hazy snapped with a cell in the booth)

and i still have to paint this stuff... i am going to lightly blast it in the cabinet to get it smooth and get out the texture that these parts have... ill do that while prepping up the swing arm

 

[JustinLonghorn]

I say go flat black with the swinger, sir.

 

[JRK5892]

you think flat black? man i am getting 50/50 i was leaning towards going red, but alot of my buddies are saying black... may have to let the wife call this one... she has a good eye of things... i am trying to picture the wheels done to play it out in my head... what if i did the swing arm in red and the rear caps, adjusters, and lower brake arm in flat black? think that would be a level blend?

 

[t71ford]

Geez! This project slipped out and grew up on me. When you bought this "commuter" I said to myself, "Self, Joe is not going to keep this as just a commuter". This will end up a full fledged mod bike like everything else he has...the stock functionality will just overpower him. And it happened!

Really digging what you are doing to this thing man! I have been thinking about black for Kool-Aid as well. I throw in with the others on the black swinger too. It would tie in really well with the engine and cases.

Keep it up! No that I found it, I will be following along!

 

[joeybaggadonuts]

comin along good! id have to say black swingarm. but im sure either would look good

 

[JRK5892]

Well, got alot done... worked on some airbrush work yesterday when i woke up. Came out great. Used opaque red as the main color and then a tranlucent pearl silver to accent it all... just need to lay the clear... back and forth on matt or satin clear... but i have time to decide that

then focus turned to the powder work... we where able to get almost everything coated yesterday... the wheels turned out sick

I also got my new tires in... so i slapped those on the wheels... used dyna beads to balance her out so that no wheel weights would ugly up the rims

and prepped and blasted the swing arm... ill get that coated in black some time today

Just have the 2 front rotors, swing arm, engine cases, and 2 levers to coat

 

[JustinLonghorn]

Making quick work of it man. Looking good.

 

[JRK5892]

how about an update from the weekend.... got the swing arm done and all the engine cases... re assembly starts tonight!

sorry the pics suck! was 3am and using me cell in my living room hahaha

also drilled out a few of the holes inthe sprocket cover before i blasted to coat it... came out nice

 

[adriannarnold]

Not my favorite style, but I am always a fan of quality craftsmanship. Excellent job so far. Really like the flat black and the airbrushing work. Thats topnotch! Can't wait to see this sucker assembled. Keep up the good work.

 

[JRK5892]

now i need to figuer what i am going to do with the shields... i think i may paint the lower shield to match the fairings... the leave the top one clear... or leave them both clear

 

[Swapmeet Louie]

Looking good joe!

 

[JRK5892]

got the tank blocked out and base coat is on... put on the sprocket cover... LOVE THE LOOK of the flat black cases! LOVE IT!!!! between coats i was also able to get the valves set... but i do have 1 question... I did not have the valve tool, but was able to hold the adjuster with a needle nose plier and lock them in... when i broke the jam nut lose on these suckers they where TIGHT, not just the valve setting but also the jam nuts... i mean TIGHT... i snugged them up pretty good but did not go nuts... i do not see any specific tq setting for it of course, but was wondering from anyone that has done the valves on this bike, how tight do i have to get these jam nuts?

*also promise to get a real camera out there with me some time soon

 

[JRK5892]

Well made out a check list i can follow so i can try and get this sucker on the road again this weekend...
yesterday got the engine cases back on... fork lowers assembled (have not added fluids yet i am still back and forth on if i want to run 20w or 15w... so i think i may run a 50/50 blend in the forks.

Well paint is now 75% done... god i cannot believe how much paint work is going into this bike! Granted i am painting EVERYTHING, even the frame plugs, but man... well last night i got everything i am shooting at least in primer... got a base coat on the 2 last pieces that i have to do air brush work on... hit the shield so i can airbrush that and the rear fairing cover... so all i have to airbrush is the tank indents, the shield, back cap on tail piece, side covers, and 2 frame caps.... from there just clear it all... the rest of the plastics you see in white primer will get a base coat of satin black, 2 coats of reflective clear, and 2 coats of satin clear... i do not want to run reflectors on the build at all but still i ride it daily and need to be seen, don’t want to vanish on a black bike, this is a cool little trick that will vanish in the day and bling at night...

Here are some pics... yes still with the crap cell hahaha

Between coats i got the cases on (still need to put on the valve cover)

Fork lowers assembled

All the plastic random stuff in primer and hanging waiting on base and top coat

Shield and tab in the booth

 

[JRK5892]

did not get many pics from last night but got all the randon plastics hit in the base coat, reflective clear, and satin clear, wheel bearings in, fork oil {blend 15w(75%) and 20w (25%)} we will see how that runs... got the guages assembled and all soldered in again.

also my bro and i buttoned up his little house hopper we tossed together these past few months