So I bought the most ridiculous motorcycle today

[road_thing]

I bought the biggest lift that HF sells about 5 years ago. Best $300 ever!

rt

[Ayers Garage]

I should have seen it coming I guess. You guys all did.

I got the bike and fussed with it to get it all running and riding then put it on the lift for a little bit of loving. Hmmm....The steering head bearings feel notchy. The wheel bearings feel gritty too. Better check the brakes while I'm at it. Next thing you know I'm figuring out how to suspend the frame in the oven for powdercoat.

I'm kind of at a waiting point right now. The tires and tubes are coming from Dennis Kirk. LED light bulbs from Superbriteleds.com, Every new seal and rubber bit for the entire bike from Powersports Plus. New body parts from Powersports Plus too. Jimbo shield arrived yesterday. Still need to order the seat, tank, and handlbars and hand guards, and skid plate. That's gonna be a few weeks for the money tree to sprout some more fruit.

[road_thing]

No point in changing out tires/tubes until the wheels are coated. And before you coat the wheels, you'll probably want to take them down for stainless spokes and new bearings...

It's a slippery slope!

rt

[Ayers Garage]

Tires are already removed from the wheels and disposed of. No way I'm gonna travel on 20 year old tires. I actually did the wheels pretty cheesy. They were fairly rusty and the spokes and rims were pretty beat. So, I sandblasted them very thoroughly and used filler powder to repair the pitting then coated the entire wheel all assembled. It's not really the right way to do the job since any future spoke work will require removing the powder. But, I can do that if I ever have to. Yamaha is slow to ship spoke sets (been there before on my last bike) and the budget really couldn't tolerate a phone call to Buchannan's for new stainless spokes.

[road_thing]

Yeah, Buchanan's is really proud of their stuff, but there's no denying the quality. I've got their spokes and rims on my XR600-- probably worth more than the rest of the bike!

rt

[swoody126]

here i sit

waiting for the next chapter WITH PICTURES

i love those little machines!!!

had 2, already, & thinking seriously about a 3rd

they are the PERFECT BEACH BIKE!!!

your work is beautiful

till it's finished

keep it up

sw

[webnel]

T

[Ayers Garage]

I'm a little light with pictures today but progress is happening muy pronto. I'll try to get some glamour shots tomorrow. Mainly it's a waiting game for all my parts to arrive.

I got a real expensive box from SuperBriteLEDs today. A lot of bucks for some little bling. All new LEDs throughout including this trick little taillight bulb. It shines red straight on but white around the sides for the license plate illumination.



Also a new AllBalls tapered roller bearing kit for the triple trees. This does away with the old rusty little individual balls that were in it.



It was a super easy install with my beloved BelRay waterproof grease and a little effort.

Oh yea, had to love on the triple trees first.





Tomorrow I'm supposed to receive a large order from Dennis Kirk with new tires, tubes, and rim strips and an order from PowersportsPlus with a new phenolic swingarm bushing since I broke one when pressing it back in place after the coating. Also on order is a ton of gaskets and seals for the engine, a new white fender and white side covers. After that I will have all brand new shiny white OEM plastic to replace the old dingy stuff.

[Ayers Garage]

Dennis Kirk delivers. Well, actually, UPS delivers, but Dennis Kirk was the supplier.

Tires, tubes, rim strips and a pair of grips.



I ordered my handlebars today. They're coming from a place called Indy Superbikes. I've never ordered from them before but the net offers glowing reviews of their service and their price was about 15 dollars under everyone else delivered.

I got a ton of reassembly done today. Engine is in, wiring all ran, triple trees in place, exhaust in place, etc...

Sneak peek !



And in other news, my buddy the painter, who is the Ayatolah of Urethane, is picking up the tank for my other Yamaha restoration. The bike is 100 percent finished other than the tank. When I get it back from him, I'll have a professional photographer do a shoot of it. It's head and shoulders above the best bike I've ever restored.

[Mudclod]

That's a work of art restoration! Can't wait to see the pro pic's!

[Ayers Garage]

I've been making huge progress on the Tee Dub restoration. No decent pictures though, since the bike is up on the lift table inside the "clean room" in the shop, and those pictures never turn out very well.

I did finally decide what to do with the wheels though. The hubs are powdercoated the red with clear. The spokes are polished and cleared, and the rims are flat black.



New tire and tube installed. Scratch free !

[shipman]

Looks nice! So I guess you ended up stripping and disassembling the wheels after all?

[Ayers Garage]

Yep. Took the wheels apart and stripped everything. Coated the hubs red, the rims black, and polished the spokes and nipples and clear powdercoated them. Then I found some youtubage on truing wheels and bang, Bob's your Uncle.

[Mad Mac]

I'm exhausted just reading this.

[Ayers Garage]

Originally Posted by Mad Mac

I'm exhausted just reading this.

It's a staggering amount of work. I have 8 hours in that wheel and tire from start to finish. At shop rate, you can understand why I'm hesitant to take on restoration work for money and just stick to powdercoating.

[Ayers Garage]

Plugged away at it today. I'm going to try and put in about 30 hours on it this weekend and get it to full roller status so I can get it outside for update pictures.

[EnduroRdr]

Man this is starting to shape up nicely! Keep those pic coming -

[bluedogok]

Originally Posted by Ayers Garage

I recognize that old Oklahoma inspection sticker.

Great work, I wish I had something for you to do.

[Irishcoffee]

And I am trying to resist having something for him to do!

[Ayers Garage]

Forks all reassembled except for adding oil. I had some Daystar black fork boots under the workbench that fit well and go rid of the blue-ness. New fork seals of course.



Tomorrow's project is to turn this junk into something meaningful.