Four Wheel Forum

Well, kinda...I still have the frame to contend with, but there really isn't a whole lot MORE that can be disassembled. On an up note, the motor is turning out STUNNING:


Untitled by Matey-O, on Flickr

(The emblem isn't going there, I'm painting part of the frame that shade of red.)

Will be interesting to see how the finished bike looks. Will it be a cafe-inspired style?

Looks different but in nice kinda way.

Sam.

Yes, it does look interesting. The creative side of me wants to do something like this, but the conservitive side always wins out and I end up with a mild custom.

It will be cool to watch this build for sure.

What technique did you use or what paint? I am doing a similar finish on a CB350 engine for my cafe bike. Afterwards I'll knock off the pant on the edges of the fins for a later model Triumph look. Looks great and hopefully durable.

I've just realised what sort of paint that is, I've got it on some of the cases on my drag bike, crinkle black from a store somewhere in America.

sam.

Wow...

That's Harley style. Looking forward to the completed project pics.

Spokes wrote:Yes, it does look interesting. The creative side of me wants to do something like this, but the conservitive side always wins out and I end up with a mild custom.

It will be cool to watch this build for sure.

The only custom thing will be the paint. The Engine will get polished sidecovers, and the rest of the bike will be two tone: A red to match the emblem shown and Wimbledon White, which is a period correct off-white.

I've painted plenty of little model cars, and the minimum amount of paint I can buy will let me screw up three different times.

Frankly, I can't believe this was a 50 year old motor. Soda blasting is a freekin' miracle! It started off looking like:
Untitled by Matey-O, on Flickr

And looked like this prior to paint:

Untitled by Matey-O, on Flickr

Larzfromarz wrote:What technique did you use or what paint? I am doing a similar finish on a CB350 engine for my cafe bike. Afterwards I'll knock off the pant on the edges of the fins for a later model Triumph look. Looks great and hopefully durable.

I just realized I didn't answer you. It's VHT high temp black header paint, and I'll be polishing the (aluminum) fins as well. I'll leave the cast iron fins alone as I'll not be clear coating the motor when it's finished. (Too many 'my clear coat yellowed, how do I fix it?' threads for my tastes)

I laid the paint down on a 65 degree day, and while it looks GREAT, the surface is kinda fragile, you can rub it with a finger and it starts to get shiny. I'll be chucking the pieces in the BBQ this weekend to see if I can't toughen it up some.

From the internet, courtesy of Google:
Off the Vehicle:

Paint must be completely dry before beginning curing process.
Heat to 250°F (121°C) for 30 minutes.
Let cool for 30 minutes.
Heat to 400°F (204°C) for 30 minutes.
Let cool for 30 minutes.
Heat to 650°F (343°C) for 30 minutes.
Let cool for 30 minutes.

That is definitely different, I am interested to see how it looks on the finished bike

So...baked the motor in the BBQ.

Issue 1 - I could only get it to about 500 degrees.

Issue 2...well, my google search history now contains the phrase 'ca95 engine mount bushings'...I was wondering why it was smoking as much as it was.

Too funny.

What parts did you bake, exactly? The entire engine? Just the head?

Likely 500 degrees is just fine for baking paint- I think most powder coaters look to bake at 350-450 deg F.

Larzfromarz wrote:Likely 500 degrees is just fine for baking paint- I think most powder coaters look to bake at 350-450 deg F.

I was just wondering whether the engine seals got baked, or the rubber wheel on the cam chain tensioner, or the carb insulator, or the alternator stator coils and wires, etc.

Ok, I'm assuming the alternator wasn't on the engine during the bake, but I was just wondering about the little plastic bits inside the case.