Just been searching out caliper paints and "VHT Caliper Paint" seems to be a good choice as long as it gets the heat cure which Jim mentioned above. So I will get some and do both my caliper and MC when Winter puts a stop to riding.
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Jim's 1980 SG Miss September
- Thread starter Jim
- Start date
More Garage Art!
Looks great! Would look better if you drilled some holes in that bracket.
If you drill holes in the bracket.....then you'll have to drill holes in the rotor...….then you'll have to shave the legs....it will never end. My wife shaved her legs and wrecked 'em.
Scott
Scott
Yeah your probably right. My girlfriend shaves her legs and rectum too.
Jim, have you ever considered clear coating polished aluminum to save on future polishing time? In the UK they put salt on the roads in Winter and this really marks the raw polished aluminum if not cleaned off straight away. There must be a good coating out there somewhere (?) because I used an ordinary clear varnish in a spray can years ago (1985 - old technology) and it worked but softened a bit on hot parts and would get marked from the foot rubbing near the gear shift/back brake. There are these UV and solvent resistant 2K clears in a spray can now and they may be a bit more tolerant of temperature. At present I just wipe the polished Aluminum with WD40. Perhaps someone else has experience with clear coats?? Perhaps there is a very good wax preservative that works well on cool parts??
Edit: http://www.xs650.com/threads/protecting-polished-aluminum.13027/#post-131749
Edit: http://www.xs650.com/threads/protecting-polished-aluminum.13027/#post-131749
Meddy
XS650 Addict
Nice work on the caliper mount there Jim, you've been very busy there.
Clear powdercoat. Calipers brackets and lowers were powdercoated 20? years ago, wipe off dirt and brake dust, shiny again. The rim and fork brace require regular polishing.
Too bad I'm too cheap to do this myself........
Too bad I'm too cheap to do this myself........
Front Brakes... Done.
Didn't get any pics of in progress work, but I treated the calipers the same as the master cyl.... bead blast, VHT paint, oven... all that good stuff. Seals were all good so I reused them. Piston had very minor pitting so I elected to reuse it (fingers crossed). The PO had put new pads in to try to get the brakes working, so I reused them.
If you've never used Gary's bleeding method, you don't know what you're missing. I filled the caliper and line with fluid, then carefully pushed the piston into the caliper. Loosened the master and adjusted it 'till it was pointing downhill and connected the line....
Set the caliper on a stool with the banjo fitting pointing straight up, then started gently pushing the piston in....
Pushing the piston in forces the air up and out of the reservoir. Add a little fluid and pumped the piston back out.... pushed it back in.... rinse and repeat as necessary 'till the air bubbles stop coming out the reservoir. Adjust everything to it's proper position, topped off the fluid and screwed on the cap... and we now have a good firm brake lever.
Guess the rear's gotta wait for parts.....
Didn't get any pics of in progress work, but I treated the calipers the same as the master cyl.... bead blast, VHT paint, oven... all that good stuff. Seals were all good so I reused them. Piston had very minor pitting so I elected to reuse it (fingers crossed). The PO had put new pads in to try to get the brakes working, so I reused them.
If you've never used Gary's bleeding method, you don't know what you're missing. I filled the caliper and line with fluid, then carefully pushed the piston into the caliper. Loosened the master and adjusted it 'till it was pointing downhill and connected the line....
Set the caliper on a stool with the banjo fitting pointing straight up, then started gently pushing the piston in....
Pushing the piston in forces the air up and out of the reservoir. Add a little fluid and pumped the piston back out.... pushed it back in.... rinse and repeat as necessary 'till the air bubbles stop coming out the reservoir. Adjust everything to it's proper position, topped off the fluid and screwed on the cap... and we now have a good firm brake lever.
Guess the rear's gotta wait for parts.....
Last edited:
That’s some beautiful work there Jim! I have never seen that technique for bleeding brakes, it seems remarkably simple and effective. Nicely done sir! 
Thanks Bob. Yeah, it don't get much easier than that. Now we just need to talk Gary into doing a "how to" thread.
Nice pics and write up Jim!
Would like to clarify my method a bit. Put piston into caliper just enough to engage it with the seal. Now hold caliper with line port upward and slowly pour in brake fluid. (next time I will use an animal syringe to make this quick clean and painless). when it's full install line and banjo. then with caliper held so port is at top, squeeze in the piston. this should get nearly ALL the air out, first try. Go ahead drain your brake and try it again my way. 
I do have a caliper laying on the bench.......
Oh nice custom work on the MC cover!
Jim
Would like to clarify my method a bit. Put piston into caliper just enough to engage it with the seal. Now hold caliper with line port upward and slowly pour in brake fluid. (next time I will use an animal syringe to make this quick clean and painless). when it's full install line and banjo. then with caliper held so port is at top, squeeze in the piston. this should get nearly ALL the air out, first try. Go ahead drain your brake and try it again my way.
I do have a caliper laying on the bench.......
Oh nice custom work on the MC cover!
Jim
Yer a funny guy.....Go ahead drain your brake and try it again my way.
We'll just call this the MG method... Modified Gary method.
Forgot... Paul was askin' about the VHT paint. I did spill a little brake fluid on it this time Paul. Didn't seem to bother it. 'Course I kept a wet soapy rag nearby to wipe it down pretty quick.... but it held up good against the brake fluid.
Decals from Diablo Cycle.
These decals showed up today. I think they were about ten bucks shipped....
Shout out to Robin for pointing me at these.
Now I gotta go buy some red paint for the kill switch...
These decals showed up today. I think they were about ten bucks shipped....
Shout out to Robin for pointing me at these.
Now I gotta go buy some red paint for the kill switch...
I like the Testors Flat Red 1150-RM11501
I've had a few inquiries as to the (lack of) progress on the SG. Guess I better do some 'splainin....
I've had arthritis in my feet for some time now. Usually a day of relaxing here and there will be enough to keep it under control... until now. I finally bit the bullet and went to a specialist. He's put me on a steroid regimen... with cortisone shots to follow. Looks like I'll be off my feet for a few more weeks. Gettin' old ain't for the faint of heart.... but it does beat the alternative.
I've had arthritis in my feet for some time now. Usually a day of relaxing here and there will be enough to keep it under control... until now. I finally bit the bullet and went to a specialist. He's put me on a steroid regimen... with cortisone shots to follow. Looks like I'll be off my feet for a few more weeks. Gettin' old ain't for the faint of heart.... but it does beat the alternative.
Tough old guy is redundant, there ain't no other kind.
Gotta say I wuz wondering also.
Hope you get to ride it a few times afore winter shuts you down.
I hope the treatments work well and quickly for you Jim. Arthritis is a bitch! Feel better soon buddy!
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