Lucky Strike done - and on the Market

I finished the Lucky Strike Suzuki today.  There was an issue with the front brake rotors being warped causing brake chatter.  I replaced the rotors with new ones.  The end result is really grippy brakes.

I listed it on Kijiji this a.m. after taking a test drive.

Lucky Strike - Nearing Completion

I finished most of the small projects that always seem to eat up time.  The Lucky Strike Suzuki is 99% complete - it needs the gas cap and needs the carbs synched.

I made an aluminum turn signal/license plate holder to replace the old one which was made out of perforated metal.  The signal lights are also installed and they work great.

I attached the front fairing stabilizer and windscreen.  The front end is pretty much done.  I just have to fix a wire loom and that's it. I took a picture of it in the garage at 12:45 am
I am kinda mad that the rear fairing and rear seat covers are slightly different colours.  The paint match is a shade off.  Ah well.

There wasn't much I could do about the muffler - it was pretty shoddy.  And the paint is supposed to look like a big red Lucky Strike dot laid across the middle of the bike - but the Chinese fairings have the wrong angles on their paint job so the dot looks a little wonky.... but the effect is still there.

I need to recover the seat and tune the motor and then it goes up for sale.

Overall I am happy with how it turned out and wish I could keep it.  I really like the Lucky Strike theme.  Maybe I will get to do another in the future.

This is what we started with -

And this is where we ended up -

Lucky Strike - White Wheels

I got the new rim to replace the dented front rim.  It's nice that I bought a white one.  That meant I only had to repaint the back rim.  With the white wheels and white fender the bike is starting to come together. 

Tomorrow I make the rear turn signal/plate holder, finish the wiring, attach the front signals, re-attach the muffler, polish the rear seat cover, and attach mirrors and fairing upper bracket.

It's getting there.

Lucky Strike - nearing completion

So today I sanded the tank with 1200 grit to remove a few runs.  Then I buffed it with a compound - it is pretty much ready to go back on the bike.

I have some wiring issues to clean up - the main wiring loom was just laying in behind the radiator - which meant it was touching the exhaust.  So some of the wires are melted together. It's a wonder it even ran.

I also replaced the broken rear brake pedal with a new one.

We are getting there.  Once the new front rim and gas cap come it will be full steam ahead. Hopefully they comes in next week sometime.

Lids - can't live without them (in Canada at least)

I bought a new helmet.  Made by Suomy and was a limited edition of 500.  It's a little bit of a different fit that the Shoei - a tad bit shorter front to back.  It is size 3XL and fits tight.  For the record I wear a 7 1/2 hat size and this helmet says it fits 8-8 1/2 . . . . . . . yeah right.

You can't even buy a size 3XL here in town - not even from the Suomy catalogue.  I tried a 2XL and it was way too tight.  So I was surprised to find it on Ebay and it was a bit of a gamble that it would fit.  It does.

The artwork is very cool.  Never hurts to have mermaids around.

Goodbye profit margin

So I was tearing into the Suzuki and it has been going good.  I have it mechanically running good and the bike mostly painted and shiny.

I pulled the rear tire and front tires to paint them white and discovered that the front rim is bent ever so slightly.  CRAP!

I have no doubts that the bike would run ok with the rim like this - In fact I'm pretty sure the previous owner was driving it like that because the area had been painted over. Caveat Emptor.

Kids - always always always pay as little as you can for a used bike.  Especially if it is in an area where you can't really inspect it.

I don't need to sell a bike that has a chance of crashing because of a bent rim.
Sooooooo I bough a white rim on Ebay.  Annnnnd goodbye profit margin.

This project was never going to make a ton of money.  The plan was always to flip it for at least 10% profit. I'm not so sure that will be possible now.  Again we'll see when it sells.

The rear rim I did get painted white.  It looks ok.  There were some dings in it that wouldn't sand out.  And I wonder how well the base/clear paint will hold up to chain cleaning fluid.  I guess we'll see.

Lucky Strike Paint finished

So I finished laying down the graphics and the clear coat on the Suzuki GSX-R tank.  I particularly like the little Lucky Strike logo I put on top of the tank.  And the Suzuki decals look good and are evenly spaced.

I still have to sand a few runs in the clear and buff it out later.  I hate shooting clear - I never seem to get it right, either too heavy or too light.  Hard to do.

Here's a shot of the whole bike mocked up for the picture.

So far so good.  I still need to paint the wheels white and then she's done.

Project Lucky Strike Continued

So I have most of the parts in for the Suzuki.  Ram air tubes, bodywork, lights, etc.

I built a spray booth using PVC tubing and plastic sheeting in the shop.   It has a zipper door and uses 3 20" fans to vent out the overspray.  I copied some guy who has this setup on YouTube.  It works OK - there are still a few nibs in the paint.

It kinda looks like Dexter's kill room : D

I got the tank painted white and marked out where the red will be.  Here's a mock up with the fairings on.  I will paint the red tomorrow, lay down the decals and clearcoat the tank.

The wheels still need to get shot white as well.  So far it is looking good.

Project Lucky Strike

A lot of life changes are happening so I have been busy elsewhere and not really applying myself to the bike projects.  Now that I have the house mortgage all figured out I can breath easy and get back to it.

The Suzuki is getting all decked out in Lucky Strike livery circa 1990's as an homage to Kevin Schwantz.  I got some fairings from Ebay that were painted and decaled.  They  are OK - from China with love.  So the tank and rear seat cowl need to get painted to match.

I stripped off the paint using an aircraft paint stripper.  There were 4 layers on the tank.  It worked pretty good and got the tank to bare metal.

Here is a close up of the tank - the stripper just makes it bubble and lift up.  Again it worked ok.  Some of the really thick areas didn't lift up and I ended up sanding them.

I filled all the small dents and sanded the tank.  Then I etch primed it, then hit it with 3 layers of high build primer.  Then I sprayed it with a light guide coat of black and block wet sanded the tank down with 400 grit.

Scott Ru$$ell

When I was a young lad I was infatuated with motorcycle racing.  I liked the American riders at the time in MotoGP.  And in the AMA racing I like Miguel DuHamel because he was Canadian. And Scott Russell because he was a bad ass at Daytona.

From Wikipedia:

"Raymond Scott Russell (born October 28, 1964), aka Mr. Daytona, is an American sports car racer and former championship motorcycle road racer, born in East Point, Georgia. He is a former World Superbike and AMA Superbike Champion, has won the Daytona 200 a record five times, and won the Suzuka 8 Hours in 1993. Russell is the all-time leader in 750cc AMA Supersport wins."

Russel wore a helmet made by Shoei that was designed by Troy Lee Designs.

Today thanks to EBay - this showed up in the mail.

 I Love It.

Long Live the 90's!

Waiting for Parts & Future plans

I buy a lot of parts for the bikes I repair on Ebay.  If you can wait for delivery this is the way to go for inexpensive parts.

I also input all of the data and expenses I have for these projects into Quick Books so I can track the spending and don't go overboard.  I have a budget for each bike that is below their current market value and my hope is that once they are fixed I will be able to sell them at a small profit.

The proof of that will be when they sell I guess - but so far I am enjoying it immensely and getting some dirt under my fingernails.

I have swing arm spools and bar ends on order for the R1, plus Rossi FIAT fairings that were custom made in China - I will need to get some decals but am waiting for the fairings to arrive so I can measure it all up.

I have fairings on order for the GSXR; also mirrors, ram air ducts, some Schwantz decals, turn signals, windscreen, choke cable and rear brake lever.  So far we are well in budget.

The 1993 CBR gets a lower triple tree, a clutch adjuster, new levers, signal lights, and I will need to paint the tank/wheels.  I am going to use the leftover fairings from the 1991 to save some $$$$.  It also has a need for tires.  This one will be close to the budget but I think I can make it work.

Project retro (1991 CBR) is done with the exception of fitting the bodywork better and cleaning up some odds and ends.

Let the waiting commence ; )

On and On - 1993 CBR

I set aside the Suzuki and started to make progress on the blue 1993 CBR.  It had had a rough life.
The Ebay carbs I bought arrived in the mail - damaged with a vacuum bowl broken.  I replaced it with one from the old carbs.  I then got some money back from the seller - so overall they only cost me 75 bucks (that's a good deal).

Once the carbs were on I added some new spark plugs and some fresh gas and lo and behold it started !  Nice.  These old bikes are hard to keep down.  I shot a short video of it and sent it to my friends (Nerd!)  They were not as enthused as I was : )

The front forks on this bike are messed up.  It appears that the top cap and tube are bent, as are the lower triple trees.  Yesterday I had swapped out upper tubes and internals from a 1996 F3 into project retro - converting it to a modern cartridge style. So I took those uppers leftover uppers and installed them into the lowers from the 1993.



Here's a shot of the disassembled fork -

The lower triple is messed up.  I ordered a new one from Ebay.  And then I cleaned and painted the upper triple.

I replaced the brake and clutch lever as they were both damaged.
It's coming along - I'm not sure if it will be worth a lot when it's fixed but right now I have most of the parts so it's a cheap project.

Project Retro - body work

The test fit of the fairings for project retro went OK.  Ebay fairings are a bit weird as far as fit goes.  For a bike like the F2 which is covered in plastic it means there are some gaps and fitment issues.  I had to trim some areas and make some adjustments.  Overall it is acceptable, but no where near as good as OEM parts.  Cheap tho......

I need to fit the front turn signals and figure out a few more fasteners (like the lower cowling center) but you get an idea of where this bike is heading.

Stripped - 1997 GSXR

My shop is looking a little crowded.  If you can find them all there are 6 bikes in the picture (and one snow blower which was not needed this year). A 1948 Jawa 250 Perak, a 1979 Yamaha XS650, a 2004 Yamaha R1, a 1997 Suzuki GSX-R 600, and 2 1991 Honda CBR 600 F2's.

So today I tore into the GSX-R.  I put it on the lift (again this is the best Christmas present ever. It is actually not in horrendous shape - it just needs some love.

  I drained the oil, and then opened the clutch cover to inspect the gears inside - apparently they can fail if the bike is rode hard. No metal and no broken parts inside. Clean as a whistle.

So I buttoned it back up and filled it with Mobil 1 Synthetic and a new filter.

I pulled the tank and airbox.  I dumped out the 2 year old gas.  I pulled the plugs and replaced them with iridium plugs.  I drained the coolant and replaced it. I also pulled the carbs and cleaned them (they were in pretty good shape).  Compared the the Honda this bike is easy to work on.

Once the carbs were back on the bike I put a battery in and fired it up.  The idle was erratic, pulling to 4000 and then to 1200 and then back to 4000.  The choke cable proved to be the culprit - it was not retracting properly.  I ordered a new one.

There is also some interesting wiring issues by the headlight - someone attached something (radar, who knows) long ago.

So I sorted the issues and now am just waiting for parts - fairings, mirrors, ram air tubes, signals, etc.

Another new toy - 1997 GSX-R

So I found a 1997 GSX-R for sale and picked it up on the cheap.  I was told it runs but we'll see.

I am so a product of the 90's.  Yes the bulbous style is a little dated but these are still good bikes.  Here it is at home.

It has had a rough life and is a bit crunchy - not many pieces of the body untainted by pavement.  But I know it will clean up nice.  The plan is to get it to Lucky Strike red and white colours - an homage to Kevin Schwantz who raced in MotoGP in the 90's.

Here is Schwantz doing what he does best circa 1994.  I think I will try to get the paint scheme close, and put his number 34 on it.  A little known fact is that when Schwantz retired from racing in 1995 he had 34 points in the GP series - the same as his number plate.

We'll see what the budget allows.  Hopefully it all works out.

Project Retro

So the name of the 1991 CBR 600 F2 project is going to be project retro.

The Chain and sprockets are on.  The DiD gold chain is nice. I also installed a new stator cover that you can just see in the pic.  This bike never had a new cover - the old one was scratched from a crash.

I painted the muffler system as it was looking a little ragged and re-installed it.  The carbs are on an just need to be tuned.  The radiator is on. 

I need to paint the gauge cover and install it.  Then the bulk of the work is completed.  Summer here I come.

New toy - R1

I have ridden 600cc bikes most of my life.  But I really wanted to get a liter bike to ride.

So yesterday I snapped at the chance. And here is a crappy picture of my new toy.....

It's a 2004 Yamaha YZF-R1.  I got it from a young man here in Edmonton who said he wanted to buy something smaller.

It has been crashed on the left side pretty hard and tipped over on the right side.  Mechanically it is sound and it has 13000 km on it.  I got it for less than 4grand.  The goal is to get it fixed up and ride it this summer.  I want to change the colour into a Valentino Rossi homage M1 FIAT scheme.

It will be a fun project and in the end I should have a R1 that looks good, runs good, and cost under 5 grand.

Crap & Carbs

The old 1993 CBR was annoying me because it would not start. And I don't know why but I need to fix things that don't work.  So I pulled off the air cleaner and dumped out the mouse nest in it (sorry - no photo).  Then I checked the spark.  Therefore, it must be fuel.

I pulled off the carburetors to clean them and inside they were gummed up with fuel varnish. Really gummed up - the choke would not move as the needles were frozen and the vacuum slides would not move either. This bike had sat a long time.  When trying to remove the air/fuel screws the two inside needles left their tips behind in the carb body.  Nice – now they are garbage.  I ordered a used set off eBay.  Not sure why as I never really planned to ride this bike or even fix it up.  Oh well.  They should be here next week.

I stripped down the carbs from my 1991 bike and boiled them in lemon juice.  Then I reassembled them.  They are so clean you could eat off them.  There was some light varnish in the bowl and a few of the slow idle passages were plugged.  It should run better now.  Next up is adjusting the valve clearance and syncing the carbs.

Work, Winter and Waiting

October 2010 - April 2011 there was snow on the ground.  When that snow melted I went back to work. I had a job that took me away from home from June - November in 2011.  This basically meant that I got nothing done on my truck.

I did get the garage door replaced on my return home.  The old door was just metal and was a 7 1/2 " door in an 8' frame.  So now a correct 8' door is on the garage. It is insulated and has a new opener which is super quiet as it is belt driven, not chain like the old one.  I went through Overhead Door and thought they were OK to deal with here in Edmonton.

So now the garage is one big open space.  The trucks are still parked outside in the snow.  I will resume working on them once summer 2012 hits Alberta.

For Christmas I got me a motorcycle lift.  It is hydraulically operated and is absolutely amazing for working on bikes.  I don't know how I lived with out it (I remember, I had a sore back).

So for the winter I am going to post the work I am doing on my motorcycles.

I own a 1991 Honda CBR600F2.  I bought it in 1995 and it was the first real street bike I ever bought.  I still have it and it has never really been fixed - it was crashed when I bought it.  Since there are now a ton of replacement fairings on eBay I decided to put some repairs into the bike and get it ready for summer.

Here is a stock photo of what it looked like brand new in 1991.

 By the time I got to it in 1995 it had been dropped on the left side hard and the right side lightly.

So up on the lift it went and I started to strip it down.



The plans are as follows:

New Chain and Sprockets (15 front & 45 rear)
Repair radiator/Overheating issues
Repair upper fairing stay
Fix Kickstand issues
Repair scratched/bent parts from crashes in 1992, 1993, & 1994 : (
Clean muffler
Fix gauges
Replace fairings

When coming back from the Saskatchewan job in November I picked up a 1993 CBR600F2 for 400 bucks.  It had been crashed hard, the front forks are messed up and the fairings pretty tattered (and off the bike).  It would turn over but not start.  I bought it for parts for my bike.

Here is what it looks like sans gas tank and radiator - pretty much how I found it.  That's my CBR in the background

So this winter will be full of bike repairs and getting ready for summer. 

Stay tuned.