The Chain Rescue......

     So, one evening, being bored of the usual offerings from the TV, I looked at a random link on YouTube, to a guy going by the name of Delboy's Garage, about using distilled white vinegar to remove rust. Now I am a doubting Thomas, however, always open to new and easy ways to achieve my goal.
     Being the proud owner of a rusty chain, I have 2 choices, buy a new one or see if I can recover teh old. Guess what, I opted for door number 2! of to Walmart and parted with 82 cents and got some vinegar.

With one of a recently 'acquired' plastic tubs filled with the quart of vinegar, i rolled the chain and, along with the split link, immersed all, to 'cook'. It was around this time the mystery of disappearing Tupperware arose. My wife swears that our daughter is taking them for college.....
     After 4 days, not the weeks that Delboy left his very old and rusty chain, i opened the tub:

     As you can see, it is true, as Delboy says, this
looks like a lasagna, unfortunately, it smells a lot like a Victorian public toilet.
     I remover the chain, and washed it off with a hose, then, filling a bowl with a dilute solution of Mean Green and water, proceeded to clean up the chain. Using a combination of a wire brush and a spattering of exercise, not unlike taking 'Jean-Luc' to warp speed, cleaned the chain. I must say that my chain was in a lot better condition than the one on YouTube. So the rollers were not rusty or pitted, and i trusted Delboys' assessment of the rubbers. That being - they are robust and hold up to the vinegar. I must concede, that the resulting chain is very nice, not 'brand-new,, but never the less, more than good, and certainly keeping me to my mantra of 'Repair, Restore, Replace'. And the vinegar is way cheaper than the most budget of chains.
     Every link has been looked at for wear and rolled, the chain is good again, very little signs of wear, looks like was replaced and then the bike left in the yard. As can be seen, the chain came up good, and is now in my wife's missing Tupperware, with a light coating of CRC to tide it over until I need to fit it on the bike:
     The chain is good, i forgot to take a final picture, the one here ->
is prior to final cleaning and treatment. I have to say that I am impressed with the results, not to mention my amazement at home chemistry projects!

     Well, I do hope, if nothing else; you can see nothing ventured, nothing gained. My next installment will be the Assembly of the front suspension and attaching to my very glossy and black frame, along with the rear units and swinging arm. And this month my big project purchase is going to be tires (tyres - for the British among us). Am looking at around $220.00 for the pair.
     Until the next time, spanner responsibly, ride safe and enjoy.

Powder Coating, mmmmmmm, Frame is done

     Two weeks after dropping the frame of at Powder Tech Plus of Orange Park, I got the call, well the rather nice voice mail stating that my frame was done. As fast as i could go, off I went, anticipation building with every mile covered. Powder tech is organised artistry, perfection from chaos. The yard, looking in disarray, is in fact an ordered production line. After the usual exchange of pleasantries, and funds, my frame was bought around. Chatting to the owner, he said that there was a grinding 'gash / line on the underside of the frame, he took the liberty of welding it full and grinding smooth. An absolute gent! Can't say enough about these people, amazing service and fantastic finish. The pictures below can't do it justice, also uploaded a quiet video, let me know if it doesn't play.

 

    I elected for gloss black, and was not disappointed! The frame is in better than new condition. When the bead blasting was done, every hole was plugged, every blemish smoothed. The result is, in my little world, breath taking, I only hope I can do the rest of the build in somewhere near the quality and to the standard that these parts have been finished.

     The urge to start assembly was too great. It is at this point I feel it necessary to reinforce my restore before replace strategy for my Caferacer. So, every nut, bolt, chromed dome head nut etc is polished then looked at critically, to see if it can be used. Of note, minor pitting on chrome, once polished and any rust removed, can be rectified by rubbing aluminium foil over the affected area. This little gem, can save a little wedge every now and then.

Initially, I needed to replace the old ball bearing head races with tapered ones, off to eBay I went. All balls racing proved to be the vendor of choice, and $36.00 and 3 days later my new bearings arrived. Having already punched out the old housings from the frame the new ones were to be inserted. This is a straightforward procedure, you must ensure the bearing seat is the right way around, the thinner wall to the outside of the frame. Then they are tapped into place using a softer material, in my case i used an aluminium 'punch' to settle the pieces in. Simple. Then, having removed the other housing from the stem, I tapped the dust shield on and the, again, ensuring the bearing was the correct way around, fitted the lower bearing to the stem. There are many You-tube videos on how to do this. Once the bushings are in and bearings on, test fit the parts. Greased, and then I assembled. Below is a video of the frame and steering head.

     The actual refurbish of the steering was relatively easy. Once disassembled and cleaned, it was painted with the black wheel paint and the old bearing housings removed, including the dust shields. The the new shield and roller bearings pressed onto the lower section, and the upper placed over the column once the head was inserted into the frame and then the steering head nut tightened, only finger tight at this point, just letting everything settle.
      The swing arm fittings were in a sorry state, but sticking to refurbish, repair before replace, they were all taken to my grinder and cleaned up (a little more on that on a different tack when you read about the chain). A teaser I know, I just can't hep myself. Then they were totally de-greased and I elected to parkerise the steel parts. They were not stainless so, having experience of the process I cracked on with the process, the results so pleasing I applied the same finish to the salvaged washers for the brake discs and rear sprocket. The results can be seen on the chain tensioner below:

     Yes, I can see there is a little tidying of the rusty nut, rest assured it has been done. I just got a little busy and into the KODAK moment.

      That is all for now, another installment soon, on the assembly of the forks, they have been totally refurbished by me, and they do look good. See, now you can't wait for the shiny......Oh, but first will do a short piece on the chain.

The bike that started it.

     So, in case you were wondering, this was the bike, the picture and the inspiration for my madness. The foolhardy perusal of Craigslist and impetuous purchase of my ugly duckling, my KZ650.
     I know it is a Honda CB750 but the urge was upon me:

     I know there are differences,  but if I can get close to this look I will be a very happy man.

From this:                                                             To this:

     That is all for now. Awaiting my cut frame from Powder Tech. Then I can start more assembly.