restore question

I was looking for a couple of opinions on my LTD 900. currently I have it apart to clean and was planing on replacing the wheel bearings, swingarm bushings, chain/sprockets, etc. Plus I have a couple of small mechanical things I need to take care of. I want to keep it original and not "restored" but how far can you go?

Post edited by: limitfish, at: 2007/11/28 23:12

Just remember it's only origanal once. But there are certain things that you have to replace to keep it safe. If you want to keep it origanal get NOS parts, there more expensive but they will be what the bike had new.

have the frame blasted and painted with an etching primer and a good singlestage black, then you have a nice platform to build off of.

I see nothing wrong with up dating things to new and better products, there has been a lot of advances in bearings bushings etc since the bikes were built and most of the time it makes the bike safer to ride and some custom looking parts work too, after all its your bike

I wanted mine to be as close to original as possible, but I wouldn't be concerned with replaced or upgraded parts. But if the original parts are serviceable (or repairable), I'd keep them on the bike.
I installed Dyna coils and ignition, and it's a worthwhile improvement.
It's not 1976 anymore (as much as I wish it was).

my opinion has always been if it visually looks different it is "custom" if it looks as it did new it is restored or original. however when someone says "all original" thats what i expect, ie. loose ball neck bearings, points if it had them, ribbed front tire, STOCK EXHAUST!!! and seat. we all see the ones on ebay "restore original" Kerker, King Queen seat, pull back bars with pods, and a "custom cameleon" paint job.
but if you want to update your bike for better reliability, yes, Dyna ignition, tapered neck bearings, radial tires, new shocks, progressive fork springs and on and on...

Thanks for the replies guys. Let me reply with that I have restored a couple of bikes ( a 77 kz650c and a 1975 500H1) and I went all out. They looked much better than off the showroom floor. Polished all aluminum replaced alot of hardware with stainless allens, and frame was gloss black, seat pan too. All the body was repainted and decaled to original look, and all decals where replaced with reproduced ones.
I guess I would like to keep the LTD looking very original, but want to definately upgrade the wearable parts for safety and a better ride. But How about paint? The frame is not bad but could use a little touch up. The battery box has a couple of acid stains. The front master cylinder has faded to almost silver and the handle bar control on the throttle side has some brake fluid stains.
So how much (in your opinion) can I do before it is not original in the collector bike market?

Thanks, Tom.