CL360 exhaust, Primer, and Finally some Colors!!

Alright so after having a prolonged hiatus I have returned to my dutys as blog master with much to talk about. First, I finally got the cl360 exhaust pipes in and for 50 bucks and what its gonna cost to paint and wrap them, it was a steal!

Before:

After:

I also managed to do a final clean up of the frame and I got the wheels to more or less shine. Now yesterday I took some time and prepped a whackload of parts for painting, it was raining out so I figured there was nothing else to do. Today, I went out and bought a can of Dupli-color Engine enamel. One low gloss black and the other Chevy orange. The result has so far been fantastic! I am really happy with the way the orange came out, especially since it was almost neon when I was painting the parts. The only problem I had was that the spray can says to bake the parts at 300 F. So after talking with my folks they allowed me to use the oven in the kitchen (dont ask WHY they let me use it, I know I wouldnt let my kid do that). With these pieces out of the way, I am now left with the frame and gas tank and engine side covers to paint, the exhaust needs fixing up, the front brakes need rebuilding and new tires and its more or less ready to ride. I make it sound so easy, but in reality I spent 8 or so hours outside today just painting! In the end it will be worth it (I think).

Clean, Paint, Purchase

Alright, So Three big things have happened recently in the build. The first is about my attempt at making my own soda blaster. Next I have an update from the paint department, and finally, I managed to find some more junk on the web to put on the bike.

Last weekend I decided I was fed up with washing parts, then rinsing then drying them only to find the stuff was still dirty, so I went in a different direction and searched the web for a better way to clean parts that involved less work. What I found was a how-to on building your own soda blaster. You can click here to find out more about what it is and how to build one.

Here is my home made soda blaster: Overall, It worked alright. I would not recommend doing this on anything other than carbs and petcocks, It simply is not powerful enough and from what I have heard for some reason paint does NOT adhere to surfaces that have been soda blasted. Anyways, here is the before and after of the petcock I cleaned.

Today I was able to get a few coats of primer and paint down onto some parts. The engine brackets, swing arm seals, the brake rod, and gauges all got a good few coats of black, while the rear brake stay, and the seat cowl were primed. The cowl needs a number of cracks filled that I hadn't noticed before, and the brake stay needs to be cleaned. To me, the paint process is a BIG sign that the project is finally moving toward completion.Since the day I got the bike I knew the whole exhaust needed replacing. Finally, after a number of weeks of searching I managed to get my hands on a pair of CL360 exhaust pipes. They are "Scrambler" style meaning that they run along the side of the bike, above the crankcase. More about the pipes later once they are delivered. I also managed to get a set of rearset levers which will allow me to move the footpegs backwards, making for a more comfortable, sporty riding position.

As far as my time schedule goes, I really do not have any clue how much longer it will take to get this bike back on the road. For the time being though, I'll keep myself busy cleaning, painting and purchasing stuff for the bike.

Next week should see the arrival of the exhaust, and the beginning steps of mocking up the bike (something I should have done BEFORE I had torn it to pieces). Stay tuned!