And that's a fine looking dipstick you got on top of them.
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Mailman’s XS2 a full on restoration
- Thread starter Mailman
- Start date
Thanks guys! I appreciate it! It’s weird, today I sanded and remasked before shooting, but I did no solvent based wipe down first. Just a clean barely damp cloth to pick up dust. Shot the first coat of color, alls good. Shot the second coat of color and got some small wrinkles. Silver dries fast, so I hit the wrinkles lightly with some sandpaper, wiped it down shot the third coat of color and all was well.
The clear is funny also, and I remember this from the first time I used it, it has a little orange peel look to it when you first spray it, and you’re thinking “Oh Crap!” And then it slowly levels out. And by tomorrow it will have leveled even more and will be glossier.
The clear is funny also, and I remember this from the first time I used it, it has a little orange peel look to it when you first spray it, and you’re thinking “Oh Crap!” And then it slowly levels out. And by tomorrow it will have leveled even more and will be glossier.
Looks great Mailman! JC
Ya, you wouldn't want my Carbs on there 
General rules.....plastic jugs labeled "paint thinner" are usually mineral spirits. Mineral Spirits leaves a slight oil residue when dry. Some enamels can be sprayed over dried/wiped mineral spirits, some enamels can't. You said that your paint dried fast, probably lacquer. Mineral spirits is usually death for lacquer. Pre-Cleaning with alcohol paint thinner risks removing the previous paint. Pre-cleaning with Iso alcohol is a safer bet, it will remove wax, oil and silicone. Way back when, or not that long ago we pre-cleaned and even bathed in Toluene, some got cancer, maybe even myself.
Not your case, but, spray enamel over lacquer or enamel. Do not spray lacquer over enamel.
Scott
Not your case, but, spray enamel over lacquer or enamel. Do not spray lacquer over enamel.
Scott
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Well done Bob!
...but does Madam know that you were out in the garage doing that?
Wouldn’t it be a shame if....someone...you know...told her.....?
...but does Madam know that you were out in the garage doing that?
Wouldn’t it be a shame if....someone...you know...told her.....?
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Usually I do my final wipe down with a paint prep solvent, which I do have on hand, I don’t know what made me grab paint thinner. Probably a mistake.
Back off Snidely!
Haha! 
I’ve been cleared by my Dr. I am good to go!
All rightly then let's get to work on them carbs.
How’s THAT for a cross-border role reversal!!
- the American playing Mountie CST. Dudley Dooright
- The Canadian playing the nasty Snidley Whiplash...
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I’m back in the saddle again!
I’ve gotta tell you the truth. I was beginning to feel like I had lost all momentum on this build and it was pretty discouraging. Getting my engine case painted again, freed me up to start reassembling things on this bike and , I’ve gotta say, it feels GOOD!
So let’s get right to the days activities!
First up , the clutch.
If you all can remember, my clutch was an absolute bear to pull. I did a whole mess of experimenting ( really just following 2M’s and 5Twins lead ) and what I realized was ,
1. I needed a better clutch cable
2. A longer arm on the clutch actuator gave a tremendous improvement.
So, I bought a Motion Pro cable, ( I could only get it in black ) and I painted it silver to better match the rest of my control cables.
The first thing I did was have a look at the inside of the engine cover, where the clutch actuator ( worm gear) bolts to. 5Twins had observed that a raised lip around the machined opening , sometimes presents itself and causes warpage of the actuator when you tighten it down. Sure enough, I had such a lip on my cover.
The photograph doesn’t show it well, but it actually went all the way around. So I filed it off.
Then I drilled a new mounting hole for the Clevis pin, 10mm further out on the arm to give me a better mechanical advantage. This distance now matches the actuator on my 77D, which was my target for this project. If I could make it as light as my 77, I’d be very happy. Here’s the before and after, with the repositioned pin and everything greased up and back together.
Now I can install my new Motion Pro cable. I spent a ridiculous amount of time routing this 50 different ways trying to come up with the perfect routing.
After getting the clutch cable installed, I spent a fair amount of time trying to dial in the free play and feel.
And the results? Damn I do good work! Clutch pull effort is about 1/3 of what it took before, it’ feels like butter baby!!
By now, my day is starting to get away from me but I had one more goal for the day. Get my carburetors back on,
That really didn’t take much time. I popped them on and got the fuel lines on. This time I remembered to add hoses for the overflow!
And I got my clear tube installed for the float check.
So I’m very close to round two
of carburetor testing, it would be really swell if the gas stays inside my carburetors this time.
Stay tuned!
Later, Bob
I’ve gotta tell you the truth. I was beginning to feel like I had lost all momentum on this build and it was pretty discouraging. Getting my engine case painted again, freed me up to start reassembling things on this bike and , I’ve gotta say, it feels GOOD!
So let’s get right to the days activities!
First up , the clutch.
If you all can remember, my clutch was an absolute bear to pull. I did a whole mess of experimenting ( really just following 2M’s and 5Twins lead ) and what I realized was ,
1. I needed a better clutch cable
2. A longer arm on the clutch actuator gave a tremendous improvement.
So, I bought a Motion Pro cable, ( I could only get it in black ) and I painted it silver to better match the rest of my control cables.
The first thing I did was have a look at the inside of the engine cover, where the clutch actuator ( worm gear) bolts to. 5Twins had observed that a raised lip around the machined opening , sometimes presents itself and causes warpage of the actuator when you tighten it down. Sure enough, I had such a lip on my cover.
The photograph doesn’t show it well, but it actually went all the way around. So I filed it off.
Then I drilled a new mounting hole for the Clevis pin, 10mm further out on the arm to give me a better mechanical advantage. This distance now matches the actuator on my 77D, which was my target for this project. If I could make it as light as my 77, I’d be very happy. Here’s the before and after, with the repositioned pin and everything greased up and back together.
Now I can install my new Motion Pro cable. I spent a ridiculous amount of time routing this 50 different ways trying to come up with the perfect routing.
After getting the clutch cable installed, I spent a fair amount of time trying to dial in the free play and feel.
And the results? Damn I do good work! Clutch pull effort is about 1/3 of what it took before, it’ feels like butter baby!!
By now, my day is starting to get away from me but I had one more goal for the day. Get my carburetors back on,
That really didn’t take much time. I popped them on and got the fuel lines on. This time I remembered to add hoses for the overflow!
And I got my clear tube installed for the float check. So I’m very close to round two
of carburetor testing, it would be really swell if the gas stays inside my carburetors this time. Stay tuned!
Later, Bob
I smell momentum building!
Great news on the clutch and paint. 
My case cover better not give me any lip, or I'll take a file to it.
My case cover better not give me any lip, or I'll take a file to it.
That clutch cable looks factory Bob. What paint did you use?
Great news on the clutch and paint.
My case cover better not give me any lip, or I'll take a file to it.
Haha! Thanks Scott!
Rustoleum Professional color is simply called silver. I was actually surprised at how well it takes paint. There was a point early on , when I thought I would have to use my original tachometer cable. It was intact, but discolored from age. I sprayed it the same way and it came out very nice actually. It’s a pretty good short term solution, Motion Pro will do special order silver sheaths, and Gary and I were looking into them , but they were out of stock at the time.
I may order a new cable later.
