Attempting to bring back a VFR that was left for dead.

That VFR should be a test subject. Too see how far wear and tear goes to the limit. I think that they are one tuff SOB! I admire your effourt and courage to start from one end, and finish it on the other. I would not know where to start...

Once again, I respect your courage

 

Congrats on your new found passion! Looking forward to seeing the progress.
Good luck & all the best.

 

WOW a Fifth Gen that looks worse than mine....never thought I'd see the day!!! Look forward to seeing your results!!!!

 

I'd say they take alot of abuse it you look at "Tinkers build" Oh I liked that read there also. wich was lowsided but taken care of from what you can tell. To mine wich was road hard and put away even harder with out even a kiss good night. I'd agree the take alot of abuse. I started tearing her down more in detail and when I was removing the tail and broken lens I noticed rash on the top of the end part of the tail. as well as rash on what was left of the lens. This guy not only droped it every way he could damaging the left, right, and upper fairings he LOOPED it and took out the tail as well.. after market fairings maybe in the future if I cant figure out how to repair this mess. But back to Tinks build It showed me 2 things. 1. This bike can be reserected!! 2. I may have bitten off more than I can chew. I dont have the experiance for machine work (or anywere near me that I trust) or alot of extra money to spend. Like Tink I'm trying to do this on a limited budget. But I'm not one to give up eiether. I have said this before and will prolly say it many more times I really aperciate all the help, suggestions, and well wish's for the myself and the sick ol girl thus far. Think im gonna call her Cher cause of all the plastic work and repair shes gonna need to look young again!!

 

Hey thanks for the link I'll be in touch with him thats forsure I have a question for y"all onthe front forks is it worth the extra to do the adjustable cap ends to have more adjustability. Or are the rebound, springs, and revalve adjusted for your weight all you really need on a vfr. Im not tryin to do track days just keep up with my buddies as well as maybe suprise some of them if you know what I mean. A extra $125 is alot but if I could get away with out it I can surely put that $$ somewere else needed I'm sure. As far as the rear that looks like a great option of $420 for the bolt in 929 shock since just a revalved rear w a new spirn is $295 why not go for the best on the rear. again advise and input greatly aperciated..

 

Front Forks.

The springs are the weak point.

I pulled my forks apart, cleaned them out, new seals, Wilbers progressive strings http://www.wilbers.de, 5w oil.

Work great.

 

Ok Did more work on her today as far as removed the P.A.I.R system, kept going on the fairings with the quick fixIll let you know how it turns out. But so for its working very well. I dont think I'll have a problem with the water soluable issue as i ended up with a small hole in one of the gloves I was wearing and got some on my finger. I tried to scrub and scrub and that stuff is still on my finger. Anyways I went and took a dremel tool with a rounded end grinding bit and groved each side of the crack and filled each one leaving a slight over lap. I then took 100 grit paper and knocked down the outter side of the repair almost flush with the fairing, finishing off for now with 220. looks pretty good and all the twisting and moving around I didnt notice any of the repaired area showing sighns of new cracks. I also ordered a used clear LED tail light combo, and a inner fairing. The inner that used to be on the bike was missing when I got it. So thanks to E-bay and $125 later they willbe here by Friday I hope. When I looked at the prices for new ones I tought I was going to have to go with a normal amber rear so I got real lucky on this. I also came up with a set of PP3 track take offs that only had maybe 6 hours on them for another $70. I'll post pics as soon as I can. I busted the screen on my phone so I'm waiting on the replacement screen ya E-bay again..

 

The QuiclkFix is good stuff in its place. What I am saying is that there are better solutions to repairing busted fairings. Lots of stuff on that in just these forum in the archives.

Bottom line here is if the superglue fails after a shitload of prep and spending a couple of hundred bucks on just the paint you can't whupass on your buddy who told you how good the QuickFix was.

Ok got it. Thank you for the heads up. I looked at a few of the threds and I have about a 50/50 shot of it holding. So far so good though. It held the prep thus far, I still have to hit the primer in a few days with some 320 and I have decided to go ahead with the black plasti-dip. For two reasons. First I hope the black will show anything I may have missed. And two I'll be able to ride it for a while to see if the repairs hold up to the stress and vibration from riding her that way I'm not out of a paint job just a few hours of prep. But next time I'm in DWF I'll look into the plastic welders at Harbor frieght (I love the store) My wife not so much as you can guess why... I can practice on the upper as I feel its a wasted cause. A memeber here has one in real good shape that he has offered to me for what I consider a pretty good deal.

Speaking of a deal the taillight I bought from ebay is only going to end up costing my $20 the seller contacted me today and said that there is about a 2 inch crack along the bottom of the lens that he didnt see and one of the tabs are broke so he told me he's know off $60 if I wanted it still he sent me a bunch of pictures and to me it doesnt look bad at all looks to be just the corner crack prolly willn't even see it on the bike. Anyways the taqb isnt much a big deal. If it is I'll just cut the tab off the old light and use it if it comes to that. Better than $200 for a new one. Speaking of looking for parts anyone have a header they could part with cheap? I need something I can use to make a left exit exhaust. Also looking for a hi mount exhaust can. Im looking at gpr's if I go new. but would rather give my money to someone that could use it if theres any used ones floating around..

 

If you like those 50-50 odds, we should play some mano a mano Texas Holdem sometime., or let me deal Blsckjack. No experience with PlastiDip. I do have some insulated pliers and a couple of screwdrivers that I think have something like that on them.

On your tail light fix, there is where gel superglue is great. The lens is acrylic.

Harbor Freight delivers. Nearest brick and mortar to me when I''m in Oregon is about 60 miles. I guess you could drop your wife off at Neiman's while you cruise the Dallas Harbor Freight. This at your own risk!

For those flaws in the bodywork that will show up the method used is to overcoat your almost ready partially sanded primer/filler coats with an "indicator coat" . This comes even in rattle cans from auto paint suppliers or it can be made up by adding some black to grey primer. Where more prep is needed or more priimer/filler or spotting lacquer is needed will show with sanding.

Another trick to sanding is to spring for 3M wet and dry paper. Best stuff there is for that.. Use warm water in a bucket and a small squirt of plain ol dish detergent. The 3M sponge sanding blocks are also the best on the market that I have found.

 

Already did the overcoat used a black primer over the Slick Sand. Just waiting for it to be better than 16 degrees out. No heat in the garage.. Not a lot of paint/primer does very well in low temps or high humidity. The neat thing about Plasti-dip is if you get a chip or other flaws you can use a q-tip and repair the damage with out reshooting it. It also comes in a aerosol can or by the qt/gallon. I also have the type of spray gun required to shoot it. That and when I'm ready to paint it you just peal it off and your ready to go. Lacquer paint was ok in its time but the newer formulas of paint as I'm sure you know have the benefits of both lacquer and enamel with out a lot of the draw backs. Lacquer seems to require a lot of maintenance after the job is finished to keep it looking nice as in the way of waxing ect. It's also know for being less durable than the other options. But I do agree the lacquer goes on nice and smooth. I like the finish of urethane even though its nasty stuff. I've done some body work and paint on a 69 Land Cruiser I restored a few years but this will be the first for a motorcycle, and the tank on this vfr has so many different angles and edges it may take me a few tries to get it perfect. But I think with practice it's possible. I like the sanding blocks as well..

 

You're not done yet? I was expecting completed pics by this point.

 

There are lacquers and there are lacquers. from nitiro-cellulose from gun cotton developed after WWI to the newer stuff that are acrylics. Both can be topcoated with the clear catalytic polyurethanes.

Yep, 15 degrees is too cold even for a lacquer primer/surface. HVLP shooting that plastic stuff? . I have a jug of the stuff somewhere. The insulation soft coaring I send out to an outfit in Seattle that does all the plating and powdercoating for Kenworth. Their soft coating is about 4-5 mils.

One of the tricks to shooting lacquer of any type is multiple coats. The greater the ratio of solvent to paint the faster the dry time. Best shot IMO with a conventional setup and not an HVLP. To save labor in wet sanding and rubbigg out, cut your paint way back with thinner every couple of coats. Lacquer and shellac dry very quickly by evaporation, so what ya got is the topmost coat "melting" or dissolving the previous coat. All this because unless you are madly in love with a red or yellow the lacquer will make your pesos go further.

Lets hope ya don't have too much of your waterbourne housepaints stashed in that icebox of a garage...Not real good results on those puppies.

Tank can be easy if ya get them to eyeball height and shoot them out from front to rear or vice-versa. The easy way is to build a Tbar out of scrap lumber. Even slicker is a lazy susan bearing on some chipwood.

 

Every time you post, I get hungry. What is that in your avatar?

 

No not done have alot of pics but I dont have a way of posting them up as of yet. The screen on my phone is still being sent. I didnt want to say how it boke but I will cause its kinda funny. Well it is now that its been a few days and it will help explain why I havnt moved along with the project as fast as I'd have liked to. A few days ago I got thrown off my horse not once but twice. Why twice u may ask well because I just had to show him who was the boss after the first one. ya that didnt work ouot to well... But the funny thing is it was the first 1 that hurt the most he got to a fun run and did what they always do headed for a barb wire fence and trees limbs. Well he couldnt make it to the fence do to the libs being to low for him to even go under so he put me off about 5' from the fence and trees. As I layed there for 10 min or so (I couldnt move because my back hurt so bad) once I got up I found him at the back of the pasture. (Hes on 30 acers) I didnt get scold him or anything I just asked if he got that out of his system! tryed to get back on him and he acted a fool so lets say we had a short talk. I then tryed to get on him again and he was fine. I got all set and adjusted in the saddle and sturups leaned forward and patted him on the shoulder and praised him. And then it happend I said lets go!! and next thing I knew I was on the ground again. But this time once I was off he didnt move. after that lets say he got very aquanted with the big old oak tree we have out there. So thats why I have no pics of the prep so far. I have a bunch I have taken since but I dont want to post out of order. Afret all what fun would that be..

 

I may have to look into the lacquers your taking about. Thats why you cant put lacquers over enamels wright? Cause the lacquers try to bond to the enamel and the enamels dont want to bond. Now I know whta you cant shoot lacquers over the others was never explained to me that way I was just told its a big nono but you could put enamels acrilics (s/P) over the lacquers. I have never thought about doing it that way. Thank you for the suggestion. I dont use a air compressor for the Plasti-dip it can be a pita I use a airless gun well thats what I call them. The ones you use to paint houses like a wagner power painter ect. Speaking of powder coating I used to work for a out fit in Nor-Cal love the stuff, but from the work I've seen around here not alot of these shops have very high standards when it comes to quality work.
Heres another question for ya Badbilly have you ever herd of the DIY Hydro dipping? Im wanting to do some of that on my inners, guages, exhaust guard (if it doesnt get to hot) and other mis parts. You can get a DIY kit for $100 and each sheet of print is only $10. The videos I have seen on Youtube make it look doable whats your take on that stuff. And what type of tip do you use a 1.4 or smaller for the lacquers I need a new air sprayer so I am looking at getting a few fer deal somewere.
I also say a bike in the forums that had the wire mesh over the fairing holes it looked pretty good. That got me thinking how about instead of filling in the dumbo signals using this mesh instead. I could also try my hand at making some small low profile air ram looking scoops to cover some of the hole for a more custom look. I want to keep it to were I can change it back if I need to at a future date. I just have no idea were to begin as far as the molding goes. I guess its Youtube again..

 

Ok I need some quick answers and help finding a part. I would like to put a power comander on the bike I was going to wait to post this in the thred but I have found one on e-bay for $150. It is the older PC3R serial port version that lets you adjust the timming. Its in poor looking condition about as bad as my bike was when I got it. But he says it does work. It doesnt have the serial to usb cable but that can be bought off ebay cheap enough. I looked for weeks for a used one when I was building my zx12r and found several on a zx board like this one.
My question is does anyone here on the board have or know someone that has a PC they would be selling. I will also consider a usb but would prefer the serial version.

 

Lacquers can be applied over enamels using barrier coats. Shellac is one that is most common. Shellac is bio chemical. Any full service auto paint purveyor will have same. The short answer is that the solvents in lacquer will dissolve the bonds in enamels. The common solvent for lacquer ie "lacquer thinner" is a good paint remover. Keep in mind the the terms "lacquer" and "enamel" are misused most of the time.

I hope you have a real airless and not one of those Wagner rigs that have a diaphragm built in to a cup gun. They are not even good for spraying Miracle Grow or weed killer.

The shop I use for my powdercoating has very high standards they also do work for Boeing. The outfit is big.. All kinds of plating and coatings. The powdercoat shops that don't seem to co great work are the botiques with high prices and every excuse in the book as to why the coating looks like shit.

Airless tip sizes are written .14 as a for instance. There are two components that count. Fan width and orifice bore. For laquer use the smallest tip you can buy for those small parts. Again IMO, using an airless is fine but unless some measures are taken prior to cranking the rig up and hosing away you can get into deep shit in a hurry. The chief culprit is the line from the pump to the gun.

Lets say you just shot some regular waterbourne housepaint aka "waterbase" which BTW is one of those terms that are popular but not really technically correct, and you ran water through all of the parts of the rig. Then days later you haul out your lacquer or very pricy auto paint and start spraying and your paint work looks like it has some skin disease for which there is no cure. The strainers, buckets, the pump, the lines especially and the gun and tips have to be clean. The general way is to run lacquer thinner through the entire system and to use a separate line for each type paint used. An airless has its uses to be sure but an HVLP or conventional rig is much better for the type work being discussed here.

I have seen that Hydro dipping stuff in a demo. The dude that was doing the pitch reminded me of Ron Popeil or one of those gals with big tits on one of the sales channels. All sorts of conditions must be present to give acceptable results. The basics have been around for centuries going back to paper marbling done by the Persians before Allah took over and the whole bunch went bonkers.

For painting plastic bits, I have found that Sherwin-Williams/Krylon "Fusion" is a great primer/sealer for almost any topcoating. I scuff sanded my stock VFR chainguard, applied a coat of Fusion then topcoated it with Hammerite. Still holding after four years..

Best bet and I'm sticking to my story is to buy or check out a current book on auto painting/body repair.

Sounds like you are up near the panhandle... Many of the types of paints for cars bikes ect can be sourced through any NAPA store. They are Martin-Senour distributors. Martin-Senour is good stuff and is under the Sherwin-Williams umbrella.

 

Good to see another Chico native on here!