rut31
XS650 Enthusiast
Thanks, cruzin! Haha, about two years!! Nah, I've been working on this bike for two years but it has been a lot of hours polishing. Towards the end I got better tools to make it go faster though.
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rut31's build
- Thread starter rut31
- Start date
Thanks, cruzin! Haha, about two years!! Nah, I've been working on this bike for two years but it has been a lot of hours polishing. Towards the end I got better tools to make it go faster though.
Hi wannabridin,
bikes ain't practical no matter what.
Practical rides a 4-door Chevy.
Mind you, Rut's build is really not practical but Gawd, it sure looks pretty.
Sez the guy with the 3/4HP polishing mop with it's first set of polishing compound sticks
still only used once because getting the shine ain't worth the hassle of doing it.
Mind you, the grinding wheel on it's other end has seen lots of work.
rut31
XS650 Enthusiast
Hi rut,
you posted:-
it has been a lot of hours polishing. Towards the end I got better tools to make it go faster though.
Sending parts to the chrome shop ain't getting better tools at all, it's cheating!
Looking forward to seeing the completed bike.
rut31
XS650 Enthusiast
Cheating?? LOL! I did polish all the aluminum and stainless parts. I sent out the carbon steel stuff to get chromed.
Hi rut,
me, I rely on the patina of road dirt and engine oil to hide the state of my bike's paint & polish, but to each his own, eh?
Seriously though, did the chrome shop do the job right?
I remember a friend's 1930's Frazer-Nash sports car
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frazer_Nash
having it's raw steel polished front axle protected with several coats of transparent lacquer.
Friend claimed that the axle couldn't be painted because paint would hide any developing cracks and that getting the axle chromed could lead to hydrogen embrittlement if it weren't done right.
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I do the same thing with my truck. The scientific principle is termed "dynamic equilibrium at the point of maximum saturation". The amount of dirt that accumulates on my truck equals the amount that falls off.
As I recall my old school memories of chrome processes, chrome has poor "throwing" power. That is, chrome tends to plate directly in a line-of-sight from the chrome bar to the target. To improve chrome's dispersion during plating, hydrogen is bubbled in the plating solution.
The resulting plated parts become permeated with this hydrogen. Steel parts will now act like a different alloy, and acquire the property of "hydrogen embrittlement".
Folks experienced spoke breakage from this.
The solution was simple. Bake the parts in the oven at 300-350°F for an hour or so, to drive out the hydrogen...
rut31
XS650 Enthusiast
Hi rut,
rephased the motor so it runs smooth and ditched the front brake so it'll stop like it was still 1925.
Still, I have to admit that it does look real pretty.
rephased the motor so it runs smooth and ditched the front brake so it'll stop like it was still 1925.
Still, I have to admit that it does look real pretty.
rut31
XS650 Enthusiast
I've been looking for a front wheel with a drum brake that I like. Once I do I'll put on a different lower for a brake stay. I just wanted to get it running.
ProSimex
XS650 Addict
brakes only slow you down man.
