31 year old bike, 21 year old kid

Not quite "mirror" finish, but not too bad for a couple hours. I forgot to take close up before pics, but if you can see in the previous pictures, the covers where pretty tarnished, though they had obviously been polished before. I used mothers aluminum polish and their mini powerball, it didn't quite shine it up like I thought it would... What do you guys think? What if anything would work better?

Also, what is the best way to restore the black painted areas? High temp paint then sand the aluminum back down? Is there any type of brush on high temp paint? What have you guys done before?

Good news! My tires were mounted yesterday, so I can pick them up tomorrow morning and slap them back under the bike! I hope I can get it going good, as I'm not going to see the bike for 2 weeks. Hopefully I can get a tag for it in that time, then I'm moving to school. We'll see what the weekend brings, there always seems to be some kind of change in plans, but this gets me really excited to hurry back to Topeka after work!

You are not alone. I still get excited when the parts come in and I have been buying parts for decades. Funny how some things never change.

Do you plan on riding the bike when you go to school?

looks like your doing a great job. I'm just a few years older than you, but i think you have made more progress than me on your bike. Mine still doesnt run quite right

You want shiney aluminum? Try these:

hawg-wash.com/p2mulfinres.html]S100

xtreem

Surf the internet to find the best price if your local dealer doesn't carry them.

Do you plan on riding the bike when you go to school?

Definitely! I plan on riding this bike to class everyday that the weather is nice, and probably some that it isn't, but I have my 70 for those days lol! I only buy a motorcycle parking permit because they are half the price as a car permit and unlike the car lots, there are always motorcycle spaces available... right close to the buildings too!!!

Thanks a lot guys, I have another question though. I drained the oil from my forks. Now I'm ready to put fresh in, but I cannot get the top cap on the right fork to budge. I don't have air shocks, there is just a 1/2" square for a ratchet. I got the left side to break loose with a little effort, but on the right side I can't seem to bust it loose and I almost tipped the bike over pulling on the ratchet handle and pushing on the backbone of the frame... Any tricks, or just "torque multiplication"?

It seems like those fork caps are always kind of seized in the upper legs. What ususally works for me is to heat the fork tube a little with a propane torch or a heat gun. Just be careful that you don't cause any collateral damage. Heat a little, try to unscrew, heat more, try again, and repeat. Also, a little impact helps to loosen stuck fasteners. I'm not suggesting that you use an impact gun. Just put your 1/2" socket wrench or breaker bar (better) in there and give it a couple of whacks with a deadblow or soft mallet. You want to hit it in the same direction that you would turn the wrench to unscrew the cap. Also, I have found that with seized fasteners, that it can help to actually tighten it a hair, and then try to unscrew. It can break the corrosion's hold on the threads. Good luck.

Make sure that the upper clamps around each fork tube are loose first.

Nice bike btw.

I tried to loosen the top clamp, but that allowed the fork to spin... I'll get it, I just didn't know if there were any super secret methods for these specific bolts.

Thanks a lot guys!

I'll post up pictures as soon as I have it all back together, I'm off to get my tires now.

justinz830 wrote:

I tried to loosen the top clamp, but that allowed the fork to spin... I'll get it, I just didn't know if there were any super secret methods for these specific bolts.

Make sure that the bottom clamp is tight, that should keep the fork from spinning.

I forgot to mention this in my last post, but it's nice to see more young guys on here. It seems like most of our peers just want to play video games; they have no idea how much fun working on motorcycles can be!

justinz830 wrote:

Does anyone have an idea of what this pipe could be?

Looks like a Kerker but I am not sure because there are some copcat pipes that look just like a Kerker.

Is there a name stamped in the megaphone mounting tab?