1966 Kawasaki A1 Samurai restoration project

Here's an ok pic of the top clamp now. It looks a lot better, but it's got the uneven swirls to the shine. Any suggestions on evening it out will be appreciated.





And here's another pic of the frame. I've cleared the bottom and it's drying. I will be putting the stands back on it either tomorrow or Thursday. Note: The reddish colors in the frame are reflections...not rust.





So it seems that I am making better time than I thought I would on this project. I figured it would take me well over a year to complete. At this point I am hoping to be done and riding by the spring or summer!

531blackbanshee wrote: use a magnet to check that lower.
kinda looks like steel to me, :whistle: .

sooooooo,




i vote paint the lower black and polish the upper :evil:


leon

Good thought! Rust is the enemy!

clutch wrote: At this point I am hoping to be done and riding by the spring or summer!

I guess I should start thinking about insurance and tags for this bike then!!!! :huh:

i am curious if soda blasting would smooth out the swirls and brighten it up,hmm.

leon

Soda isn't as harsh as say glassbead. It basically just cleans stains. Just try different combinations of abrasives. For one of my restorations, on bare/cast aluminum I found that degreasing, then soda blasting, then lightly polishing with a fine stainless steel "tooth brush" gave the best results. Try different graqdes of steel wool too. No polish unless you want it to look polished.

You can send your cables to Motion Pro and have new ones made. They will just have a plain black sheath though. They might even be able to "rebuild" your (what looks like) original cables if you want to go 100% original.

You should be able to match up a rear sprocket from JT Sprockets by size or another model that uses the same sprocket.

Kidkawie wrote: Soda isn't as harsh as say glassbead. It basically just cleans stains. Just try different combinations of abrasives. For one of my restorations, on bare/cast aluminum I found that degreasing, then soda blasting, then lightly polishing with a fine stainless steel "tooth brush" gave the best results. Try different graqdes of steel wool too. No polish unless you want it to look polished.

You can send your cables to Motion Pro and have new ones made. They will just have a plain black sheath though. They might even be able to "rebuild" your (what looks like) original cables if you want to go 100% original.

You should be able to match up a rear sprocket from JT Sprockets by size or another model that uses the same sprocket.

I may try the steel wool thing. I've seen a lot of people suggest that here. As for the cables...do you have any thought as to how much that might cost? Will they give me an estimate without having to send the cables?

clutch wrote:

531blackbanshee wrote: use a magnet to check that lower.
kinda looks like steel to me, :whistle: .

sooooooo,




i vote paint the lower black and polish the upper :evil:


leon

Good thought! Rust is the enemy!

Definitely steel! Thanks!

I put the side and center stands back on the frame today, and moved that out of the way (pics later...camera and crapberry were both inside). I started stripping the swingarm, but I'm at a stopping point...trying to figure out how to get the pivot sleeves out of there without using vise grip pliers...

I cleaned up the lower clamp a little, and put that in queue to be stripped and painted. I also took a look at my front and rear hubs (wheels). At first, I thought there were no bearings in them, but I was surprised to find that they have sealed bearings (maybe replaced at one point). They seem to be ok, with no side-to-side play in them, so I may leave those for now. The nice thing is that I noticed some part numbers on them, after wiping them down a little. Those will come in handy since I can't find them listed on any of the parts fiche's online.

I think I may end up getting the front end done before messing with the swingarm. I'm surprised to see that the manual shows the pivot sleeves in the "blow up", but doesn't explain how to remove them. Maybe they are pressed in, and I will have to just tape them up as best I can?

Also...found another ball bearing on the floor. It looks like ordering some new ones (already on their way) will probably end up being the smart move for that part...

I remembered my camera today, and snapped a quick pic of the frame sitting off to the side out of the way.





I picked up a little of the finest grade steel wool and had a go at the top clamp. It looks better, with a much more even finish to it, but I will probably go at it a little more with the wool to get it to shine a bit more.





I also finished stripping the battery box, swingarm, and lower clamp. I started the painting process with a little primer.





I went through the manual and found all the measurement specs for various parts. The fork springs, front brake shoes, and both brake drums are well within spec (to the point of being almost new). The rear brake shoes are well out of spec and need replacing. I'm thinking one of the previous owners didn't understand the concept of front brakes working better. I also sanded down the shock sleeves to have them ready to go once the frame parts are dry and out of the way. I picked up some Rustoleum Cobalt Blue metallic (one can) to test that out to see how I like it for the body parts.

WOOHOO!!! I just found a complete gasket set for my bike on eBay, for about $20 cheaper than I would have expected! I jumped on it! :woohoo:

clutch wrote:

Kidkawie wrote: Soda isn't as harsh as say glassbead. It basically just cleans stains. Just try different combinations of abrasives. For one of my restorations, on bare/cast aluminum I found that degreasing, then soda blasting, then lightly polishing with a fine stainless steel "tooth brush" gave the best results. Try different graqdes of steel wool too. No polish unless you want it to look polished.

You can send your cables to Motion Pro and have new ones made. They will just have a plain black sheath though. They might even be able to "rebuild" your (what looks like) original cables if you want to go 100% original.

You should be able to match up a rear sprocket from JT Sprockets by size or another model that uses the same sprocket.

I may try the steel wool thing. I've seen a lot of people suggest that here. As for the cables...do you have any thought as to how much that might cost? Will they give me an estimate without having to send the cables?

I just looked at Motion Pro's website and used there price guide to estimate cost of new custom replacement cables. It looks like it would cost (roughly) $300 for all cables (throttle, clutch, choke, front and rear brake). Mainly because several of the cables are multiple ones. My mom was asking me recently what I want for Christmas this year...might see if she'll go for that! LOL!

EDIT: speedo and tach cables too...forgot about those

Just a quick update. The swinger, battery box, and lower clamp are painted, and ready for clear. I should be reinstalling those in the next few days. Also, I got my rim protecters (but not my tire irons yet), and my rear brake shoes, so the wheels will be getting some attention shortly as well.