Returning the 1975 B back to original

[Michaelo]

Labour of love, maybe, but turning my 75 B model back to it's original looks is time consuming but rewarding. The road continues with the latest work near completion, started out with a set of new progressive springs then had to re chrome the fork tubes due to excessive pitting.....looking at the lowers which were painted black I set out on a mission to make them bright aluminium....Pictures say heaps so here's a progression of the work to date

Front end before (black paint from PO....thanks for that)

About four hours work to get to this stage...the black paint wasn't very friendly at all. I decided to go hard at it and get the lowers polished up....

Back from the polishing (glad I didn't do that lot) and before two coats of UV stable clear coat....still yet to spray them due to inclement weather...looking sexy I must say

This was to see what they looked like after the fork tubes came back from the hard chromer dude

May as well keep going with the tidy up, more blast and paint....

May as well put a kit through the brakes....where does it end?

So now I am waiting for the weather to clear up so I can get my clear coat on, then I am going to be assembling and woohoo, one happy XS 650 owner.....riding time....

 

[angus67]

It doesn't end. Shiny!!!

 

[Mailman]

Beautiful work Michaelo! Big improvement.

 

[fredintoon]

Hi Mick,
ooh, there's pretty! But I'm sure you know that looking good is only half the battle.
Reassure me that if your bike still has it's original brake hoses you plan to replace them?
And everyone sez that brake disks work better if they are drilled full of holes.
Note:- I'm pretty damn sure you already know all this stuff but some other poor sod reading this may need the hint.

 

[Michaelo]

I like shiny Angus67, I too think its an improvement, expensive one as well. Fred, hoses will be replaced soon, disk will remain the same, the "anchors" work fine now but a little spongy due to hoses but it pulls up really good.
Painted the lowers today, out West for work and it's bloody hot at 37 degrees C (98.6 F) and low humidity so i've waited for some coolness to come and put two coats on just now....happy days

MIck

 

[phil1rowe4]

Looking good Mick,
You realise that one shiny bit will show off all the other bits that'll need shining now.
Cheers,
Phil

 

[FLEA]

well worth the effort .who did your chroming ??

 

[Michaelo]

That could be a issue down the track Phil, still getting it back to normal will take sometime as I am trying to keep it as a everyday rider. Flea, Rad Hardchrome in Brisbane was who I used, about a week to ten days turn around time....

 

[MaxPete]

Looks beautiful Mick!

Too bad about the heat my colonial brother....wanna swap?

Pete

 

[FLEA]

That could be a issue down the track Phil, still getting it back to normal will take sometime as I am trying to keep it as a everyday rider. Flea, Rad Hardchrome in Brisbane was who I used, about a week to ten days turn around time....

rad chroming are they related to rad suspention in bris ?? will be sending the tt350 shockie to them to be rebuilt as way cheaper than any other mobs iv found , if its a one stop shop for chroming too ,could come in handy ,how did they go with the chrome depth on the tubes ,a lot of shop have trouble with the thickness , a mate had his done yrs ago and finished up having to buy new tubes as chrome was to thick ..fingers crossed we need a good chrome shop in qld

 

[5twins]

I'm not sure holes in the disc really improve braking all the time but are supposed to help in the wet. Without them, you will get a momentary lag before the pads displace the water and bite. Weight savings isn't much either, only about 1/4 lb. at most. But, they do look cool, lol.

 

[hotdog]

rad chroming are they related to rad suspention in bris ?? will be sending the tt350 shockie to them to be rebuilt as way cheaper than any other mobs iv found , if its a one stop shop for chroming too ,could come in handy ,how did they go with the chrome depth on the tubes ,a lot of shop have trouble with the thickness , a mate had his done yrs ago and finished up having to buy new tubes as chrome was to thick ..fingers crossed we need a good chrome shop in qld

Yes Flea, rad suspension/rad chroming same place - used to send a lot of rear shocks and forks their way for re-hard chroming, has always been quality work.

 

[Michaelo]

Well that worked, wrong way around....

Did a 100 miles and all good...

 

[Michaelo]

Next avatar

 

[Michaelo]

Now time for a ride of the beastie....a good 200 miles of it when finished.....

 

[Michaelo]

After that it was time to replace the swing arm bushes, pivot bolt, tube and seals. Purchased from Heiden Tuning the pivot tube was a tad shorter, out of round by a heap which was a mission to straighten up and make the bolt / tube interface to make the correct measurements right. Had to modify the bushes to suit, ended up taking a extra few hours of work to get the pivot tube and bushes right.....
The original bushes were intact...just, original pivot tube was cactus, now the bike goes around corners heaps better (no slop in the ass), what's next I wonder?

 

[MaxPete]

Beautiful!

 

[Michaelo]

Thanks Pete, it's a constant battle to keep up with repairs, once the majors have been done it will be just maintenance, I've already found the next project.....bendex spring.....

Cheers Mick

 

[Mailman]

I'm right behind with the bendix spring. My starter sounds horrible.

 

[MaxPete]

Yup - the one the 1981 Special is not too good either.

Pete