BSAKat
XS650 Enthusiast
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand here are the fruits of Sunday's labor.
Oh, and yes, I've painted over almost all the chrome. The fenders, taillight bracket, chain guard, front engine mount (pictured below), gauge buckets, and headlight bucket were all ruined. Rust, pitting and the chrome peeling off in some places. I wasn't about to shell out for new parts or plating, so it was the rattlecan for them. Each of those pieces got thoroughly de-rusted, degreased, scrubbed with a wire wheel, cleaned again, and sprayed with two coats of self-etching primer and three coats of satin black lacquer with primer in it. Since the bike is Carmine Red, I decided on a cool red-black color scheme with hints of chrome here and there (headlight ring, grab bar, headlight ears, tappet covers, mirrors, shocks, etc.). Before final assembly, I'm going to attempt to buff the original paint out while leaving the dents and scratches. This thing is a survivor and I want it to wear its scars with pride.
- New All Balls steering bearings installed
- New triple clamp and rebuilt forks installed
- Wheels mounted
- Gauge bracket installed with new dampers
- Handlebar mounted with new dampers
- Taillight assembly rebuilt and bolted to the rear fender
- Rear fender mounted
Oh, and yes, I've painted over almost all the chrome. The fenders, taillight bracket, chain guard, front engine mount (pictured below), gauge buckets, and headlight bucket were all ruined. Rust, pitting and the chrome peeling off in some places. I wasn't about to shell out for new parts or plating, so it was the rattlecan for them. Each of those pieces got thoroughly de-rusted, degreased, scrubbed with a wire wheel, cleaned again, and sprayed with two coats of self-etching primer and three coats of satin black lacquer with primer in it. Since the bike is Carmine Red, I decided on a cool red-black color scheme with hints of chrome here and there (headlight ring, grab bar, headlight ears, tappet covers, mirrors, shocks, etc.). Before final assembly, I'm going to attempt to buff the original paint out while leaving the dents and scratches. This thing is a survivor and I want it to wear its scars with pride.