Hey guys just thought id give you an update on the project since I haven't really been posting that much recently. Once again its at a bit of a standstill with only minor events happening. The most notable of which is that the tank has been stripped and prepped (i will probably have a separate post for this later). Also another magazine has arrived which will eventually be scanned.
When their is more news ill keep you updated but i expect progress to be slow for a little while longer.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Magazine Article: Motorcycle Weekly, May 1983
Thats right I've found another one. You know the drill by know, click on the link which will take you to the high resolution scans.
That would be this link here!
Monday, May 23, 2011
VT250F "Silver" part 16: panels are now painted
Ok so last time we saw the panels they had ben given a coat of primer and a hit of spray putty to get rid of any scratches and dents.
Most of the panels didn't need much work, just a light sand to get rid of any rough over spray. The side covers and rear fairing however did need a lot of work to get them nice and smooth. Using 800 and 600 grit sand paper I basically just concentrated on the areas that needed smoothing over until I could run my finger over and not feel the scratch. This took about 2 hours to get all the panels done, but it was well worth it.
After the panels were sanded they were hit with another coat of primer and then lightly sanded again. This was done to try and get as good a finish as possible.
Once the panels where wiped clean the painting begun. Since I did all the prep work it was Dad who ended up spraying the panels (which is fine by me since he as a lot of experience doing this). Two coats of black where applied and then two coats of clear on top of that. The clear coat was a bit strange in that we didn't thin it out as well as we should have first pass and ended up getting a spiderweb effect. But thinning it out further eliminated this.... to be honest it was kinda cool.
But anyway thats all their is to it, the panels are now painted. All thats left is to strip the tank and then prep and paint it... oh yeah and the mudguard, also need to paint the mudguard.
Until next time.
Most of the panels didn't need much work, just a light sand to get rid of any rough over spray. The side covers and rear fairing however did need a lot of work to get them nice and smooth. Using 800 and 600 grit sand paper I basically just concentrated on the areas that needed smoothing over until I could run my finger over and not feel the scratch. This took about 2 hours to get all the panels done, but it was well worth it.
After the panels were sanded they were hit with another coat of primer and then lightly sanded again. This was done to try and get as good a finish as possible.
Once the panels where wiped clean the painting begun. Since I did all the prep work it was Dad who ended up spraying the panels (which is fine by me since he as a lot of experience doing this). Two coats of black where applied and then two coats of clear on top of that. The clear coat was a bit strange in that we didn't thin it out as well as we should have first pass and ended up getting a spiderweb effect. But thinning it out further eliminated this.... to be honest it was kinda cool.
But anyway thats all their is to it, the panels are now painted. All thats left is to strip the tank and then prep and paint it... oh yeah and the mudguard, also need to paint the mudguard.
Until next time.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
VT250F "Silver" part 15: repairing the gauge housing
When the bike was pulled down we noticed an unfortunately large crack on the back of the gauge housing. Luckily you can pick up a fiberglass kit from most hardware stores so thats what we decided to do.
The first kit we got had a slight problem... in that it was completely useless, the resin had turned bad somehow. But fortunately the replacement can was all well and good.
"yeah its not supposed to look like that"
Now fiberglass repair seems to be a straight foreword process. But I was a little skeptical that the crack could be fixed. That being said the result was better then i thought possible. I would strongly recommend you follow the instructions on whichever kit you purchased and trust it to work. They seem to know what they're talking about.
"the excess was trimmed and made to look neat with a razor blade"
After the repair had finished setting the freshly painted cover was reattached and bingo. Gauge housing finished.
The first kit we got had a slight problem... in that it was completely useless, the resin had turned bad somehow. But fortunately the replacement can was all well and good.
"yeah its not supposed to look like that"
Now fiberglass repair seems to be a straight foreword process. But I was a little skeptical that the crack could be fixed. That being said the result was better then i thought possible. I would strongly recommend you follow the instructions on whichever kit you purchased and trust it to work. They seem to know what they're talking about.
"the excess was trimmed and made to look neat with a razor blade"
After the repair had finished setting the freshly painted cover was reattached and bingo. Gauge housing finished.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
An interesting use of contact paper
Anyone remember contact paper? you could get it in a bunch of colours or clear and use it on your school books so you didn't have the plain colours everyone else had...
Well anyway turns out the previous owner of the rear seat cowl liked the brand paradise but didn't have any of their stickers. So what did they do, cut out an ad from the paper and use contact paper to stick it down of course.
"they went to the trouble of cutting the paper around the letters edge... I thought this was a real sticker"
"I keep thinking of passiona when i see yellow letters :s"
I love finding out things like this, same with the AGIP stickers on "red" its just cool to find out little marks left by others on something I now own. Oh yeah if you know what "paradise" is based of the pictures seen above let me know. Better yet let me know or if if I find out ill let everyone know.
sounds good.
Well anyway turns out the previous owner of the rear seat cowl liked the brand paradise but didn't have any of their stickers. So what did they do, cut out an ad from the paper and use contact paper to stick it down of course.
"they went to the trouble of cutting the paper around the letters edge... I thought this was a real sticker"
"I keep thinking of passiona when i see yellow letters :s"
I love finding out things like this, same with the AGIP stickers on "red" its just cool to find out little marks left by others on something I now own. Oh yeah if you know what "paradise" is based of the pictures seen above let me know. Better yet let me know or if if I find out ill let everyone know.
sounds good.
VT250F "Silver" part 14: prepping panels for paint
Greetings all, been a while I know but the project had to be put on the back burner for a bit. Anyway this post I'm basically going to show the first stage of how the panels were prepped for painting.
The first stage was pretty simple, the panels had any stickers removed, then where wiped down with some paint thinner to get rid of the sticky residue. They where then sanded down to give the etch primer a better surface to adhere too. After sanding another wipe down with paint thinners to remove dust and then they where given a light coating of primer.
Since pictures speak louder then words here they are, before and after style!
Primer revealed a couple of things that need to be fixed mainly a scratch on one side cover and a crack on the radiator cover mounting hole, both of which can be easily fixed.
"the scratch"
"the crack"
Next step will basically be the spray putty, paint and clear coat stage. Later.
"all ready to be painted the darkness that is black... was thinking about camouflage for a bit though"
The first stage was pretty simple, the panels had any stickers removed, then where wiped down with some paint thinner to get rid of the sticky residue. They where then sanded down to give the etch primer a better surface to adhere too. After sanding another wipe down with paint thinners to remove dust and then they where given a light coating of primer.
Since pictures speak louder then words here they are, before and after style!
Primer revealed a couple of things that need to be fixed mainly a scratch on one side cover and a crack on the radiator cover mounting hole, both of which can be easily fixed.
"the scratch"
"the crack"
Next step will basically be the spray putty, paint and clear coat stage. Later.
"all ready to be painted the darkness that is black... was thinking about camouflage for a bit though"
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Optional Radiator Fairings
Bit of a find the other day! I was at the wreckers trying to track down a replacment throttle tube (they didnt have one) disappointed I thought "alright lets see how lucky I am today" and asked if they had the optional radiator fairings. The gentleman behind the counter looked at me and said "what do they look like?" to which I replied "Ummm"... After 10 minutes of searching goolge on my phone I managed to find a pic and then he managed to go out back and find the fairings.
"the reference picture"
Unfortunantly they arent in great shape, one of them is missing a piece on the lower corner and both of them have a bit of light damage where they bolt onto the frame. Luckily the light damage should be fixable, the missing piece however may require some creative thinking... which I havent done yet but I have a bit of time on my hands to work out a solution.
"the result, you can see the missing chunk of the fairing to the right of the picture"
Once again the guys at Two Wheel Wreckers in Osbourne Park, WA came through, If you need some parts and your in the Perth area I cannot recommend these guys highly enough. Go to the links page If you want to check out there website or grab there contact details.
"the reference picture"
Unfortunantly they arent in great shape, one of them is missing a piece on the lower corner and both of them have a bit of light damage where they bolt onto the frame. Luckily the light damage should be fixable, the missing piece however may require some creative thinking... which I havent done yet but I have a bit of time on my hands to work out a solution.
"the result, you can see the missing chunk of the fairing to the right of the picture"
Once again the guys at Two Wheel Wreckers in Osbourne Park, WA came through, If you need some parts and your in the Perth area I cannot recommend these guys highly enough. Go to the links page If you want to check out there website or grab there contact details.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
VT250F "Silver" part 13: putting the engine back where it belongs...
With the engine nice and presentable it was time to slide it back into the frame. This is a fairly straight forward process which is made a little awkward by the weight of the engine and the tight space within the frame.
The engine bolts to the frame with two long bolts positioned at the front and bottom rear and one short bolt located up the top towrdas the back. The frame also has a removable piece to make installing the engine an easier process.
Essentially what we did (this is a two man job) was position the engine and then guide both long bolts through the frame and engine. With one half of the frame now supporting the weight of the engine the removable piece of frame was lined up and then re attached. The third short bolt was then inserted. After which everything was tightened up.
"one of the long bolts"
"the short bolt, with the spacer can be a little tricky"
"the second long bolt is just under the brake pedal"
It took just under an hour to get everything ready and put the engine in, which isnt that bad. We also had a car jack under the engine just to help support the weight. Its a shame I was unable to make a video episode about this part, hopefully you get the idea of how it went in.
"one major hurdle down"
Next up! The carburettors!
The engine bolts to the frame with two long bolts positioned at the front and bottom rear and one short bolt located up the top towrdas the back. The frame also has a removable piece to make installing the engine an easier process.
Essentially what we did (this is a two man job) was position the engine and then guide both long bolts through the frame and engine. With one half of the frame now supporting the weight of the engine the removable piece of frame was lined up and then re attached. The third short bolt was then inserted. After which everything was tightened up.
"one of the long bolts"
"the short bolt, with the spacer can be a little tricky"
"the second long bolt is just under the brake pedal"
It took just under an hour to get everything ready and put the engine in, which isnt that bad. We also had a car jack under the engine just to help support the weight. Its a shame I was unable to make a video episode about this part, hopefully you get the idea of how it went in.
"one major hurdle down"
Next up! The carburettors!
VT250F "Silver" part 12: cleaning the engine
Before the engine went back in the frame it would be crazy to not give it a bit of a tidy up, the process was fairly simple but the results look fantastic. Before the cleaning took place though any holes where covered or stuffed with rags to prevent internal damage... I would strongly recommend you do the same thing.
First off the engine was sprayed with degresser and an old brush was used to loosen the dirt, pretty much the same thing that was done to the frame. For some areas where there was a lot of grime and dirt a screw driver was used to poke and loosen as much as possible. Once the degresser had dried off a little, a high pressure hose was then used to blast of all the crap that had caked on over the years. The engine was then left to dry out for an hour or so before coating the whole thing with som WD-40, this restored some of the colour back to the engine as well as gave it a bit of protection.
I have decided not to paint the engine as it cleaned up better then I thought it would. I have also decided not to polish any parts either, since the they have character with the small amounts of corrosion present... on top of that they will mostly be covered anyway.
Next bit putting it back into the frame.
First off the engine was sprayed with degresser and an old brush was used to loosen the dirt, pretty much the same thing that was done to the frame. For some areas where there was a lot of grime and dirt a screw driver was used to poke and loosen as much as possible. Once the degresser had dried off a little, a high pressure hose was then used to blast of all the crap that had caked on over the years. The engine was then left to dry out for an hour or so before coating the whole thing with som WD-40, this restored some of the colour back to the engine as well as gave it a bit of protection.
I have decided not to paint the engine as it cleaned up better then I thought it would. I have also decided not to polish any parts either, since the they have character with the small amounts of corrosion present... on top of that they will mostly be covered anyway.
Next bit putting it back into the frame.
VT250F "Silver" part 11: mudguard, rearsets and fixing a crack!
Ok so for the next couple of posts their is no video. This is due to a couple of reasons, but the main one is the heat! in WA it is hot! The heat in the shed in WA is hotter and actually makes it difficult for the camera to function. So I apologise for this but luckily I took plenty of photo's! NOW ONTO THE POST!
Fighting boredom is relativly easy when you have an unfinished project sitting in a shed. So The day started cleaning and attaching some small pices back to the frame, making sure whatever was put on didnt interfere with the eventual re instilation of the engine.
First to go back on where the rearsets which also double as a mounting point for the mufflers. They were given a quick clean first using the hot water and detergant technique, made to look somewhat respectable and then using two hex screws apiece reattached.
"gives you an idea of how dirty these parts can get after years of road use"
"back where it belongs"
Next the mudguard... well the part of it I like anyway. This attaches to the frame using four bolts and a clip system. The tricky part was lining up the holes for the bolts, while balancing the piece on the tyre. But once you have things lined up and the first bolt in its a piece of cake.
A crack was noticed while attaching the mudguard to the frame though. It just so happenes Dad knows the perfect solution to fixing a crack in plastic, especially if it doesnt have to look pretty. Firstly clean the area using metho or paint thinners. Secondly line the two sides of the crack together so they are even. Then finally use use some silastic (we used Form-A-Gasket) and spread it over the side of the crack that will not be visible. Let it dry and then TA DA. The crack problem is solved.
"after the area has been wiped down"
"applying the silastic"
"problem solved"
While I was working on the frame, the seat clips where also reattched, and so to were the handle bars with the brake and clutch master cylinders.
Until next time!
Fighting boredom is relativly easy when you have an unfinished project sitting in a shed. So The day started cleaning and attaching some small pices back to the frame, making sure whatever was put on didnt interfere with the eventual re instilation of the engine.
First to go back on where the rearsets which also double as a mounting point for the mufflers. They were given a quick clean first using the hot water and detergant technique, made to look somewhat respectable and then using two hex screws apiece reattached.
"gives you an idea of how dirty these parts can get after years of road use"
"back where it belongs"
Next the mudguard... well the part of it I like anyway. This attaches to the frame using four bolts and a clip system. The tricky part was lining up the holes for the bolts, while balancing the piece on the tyre. But once you have things lined up and the first bolt in its a piece of cake.
A crack was noticed while attaching the mudguard to the frame though. It just so happenes Dad knows the perfect solution to fixing a crack in plastic, especially if it doesnt have to look pretty. Firstly clean the area using metho or paint thinners. Secondly line the two sides of the crack together so they are even. Then finally use use some silastic (we used Form-A-Gasket) and spread it over the side of the crack that will not be visible. Let it dry and then TA DA. The crack problem is solved.
"after the area has been wiped down"
"applying the silastic"
"problem solved"
While I was working on the frame, the seat clips where also reattched, and so to were the handle bars with the brake and clutch master cylinders.
Until next time!
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