Testarossa's 78 KZ1000 Fighter Build

Looking at the risers it appears that the bolts that hold them to the triple tree are a bit small (like 6mm?) I'd be a little concerned about hitting a pothole and finding myself holding handlebars that were no longer attached to the bike (yikes!). Is it possible to beef up those bolts a bit? Ed

531blackbanshee wrote:

or perhaps,

leon

Now this bike has a KILLER paint job! I don't have the skills as a painter to pull that off yet.

650ed, they are 8mm bolts, and yes I could drill and tap for bigger bolts easily. The funny thing is that they are dirtbike risers.

i have that orange 1 on my desk top. that is my fav bike.:woohoo:
Excuse me while i go do something dirty.:blush:

testarossa wrote:

531blackbanshee wrote:

or perhaps,

leon

Now this bike has a KILLER paint job! I don't have the skills as a painter to pull that off yet.

650ed, they are 8mm bolts, and yes I could drill and tap for bigger bolts easily. The funny thing is that they are dirtbike risers.

this bike is PERFECT!!!!

Hell yeah that bike is perfect! They won't even let the kickstand touch the ground.

Sorry that I have no progress tonight. I spent all afternoon cleaning my horrid garage. I was afraid that the "Horders" film crew would show up at my house.

I think that I need to actually put on my new sprockets and chain on to make sure that I got the offset right. I would hate to find out that I need to clearance the frame after I paint it.

I can't believe you're almost done! I'll be you have your engine back together and in the bike before I get my triple tree and wheel :laugh: If you have any questions when you go to start working on the body and paint, don't ask anyone for help. Just read the damn directions for the material! :laugh: Seriously, I can help you out a bit if you need some guidence. You helped me with my lathe work- I owe you some professional advice

Adam, you paint for a living? I'm sure that I will have some questions. Before I dismantle it, I may try out a couple of my paint ideas in rattle can form to get an idea of what she will look like. My skull with lazer eyes is just about done. It doesn't feel like I'm almost done. I have soo much stuff that needs to be refinished. Everything is scratched, dented or rusty in some form.

I used to. It was my first job out out of h.s., working in the local Ford dealerships body shop. Spent a couple years there and learned how to fix dents and paint cars. I'm not an expert, but I can help you through it. Just try not to get too frustrated with yourself when you make mistakes. You're gonna make some, and you'll probably have to do a few pieces over If you're looking for perfection. But that's the fun of learning, right?

Ok Adam, here goes my first question. If you were doing a paintjob like this:









Would you paint the white first, and then mask off what would be the stripes. Then paint the blue, or lay down the blue first.

As you can see, I tried out my first rattle can test paint job. I think this has potential. Even SWMBO said she likes it. I would like the blue to be a shade or two darker. I would love to see this done bc/cc with a nice shine.

BTW, once you get past the new paint, you will notice that I installed the new chain and sprockets. Also painted the center section of the rear wheel. Pleased to say that I got the right offset on that front sprocket. Everything looks straight.

Not positive, but when I was reading about painting I think I remember them saying to paint the lighter color first, then mask and paint the darker. But I'd love to hear someone else chime in...

You are correct in that the white gets laid down first, but its because you paint your accent or stripe color first. Mask off your striping pattern, then lay down the main color. I know of guys that have been really anal about the "ridge" that will be left on the base coat. They would mask the stripes off on the primer, paint the main color, then mask the main color and paint the stripe. That butts the paint together so there is no ridge, but it takes some careful masking to accomplish. The easiest way is to paint it like normal, then put down 4-5 good coats of clear. Before you do any spraying on something you want to keep, mix a samll amount of material up and spray a test panel to get a feel for the material and getting your gun set up. That way you can get a ball park trigger setting and see how fast to move the gun. When you are closer to actually spraying we'll get into more detail.

Thanks again Adam. This isn't the first time that I have ever painted. It will be the first time using my own equipment, and the first time that I have done a multi-color job. I've been helping my father in law with his 66 Mustang periodically. He likes me to paint for him, so he can blame the faults on me.:laugh: It will be the first time that I have ever painted anything as complicated as a frame. Got any ideas for a rotisserie for the frame so that I can hit all the angles.