ALT-3 How to Restore a Motorcycle
Restoring a bike can be therapeutic instead of stressful, and it all depends on how you approach the project.Can't be in a hurry, and you can't scatter your attention all over the bike, because this leads to less than what the restoration could be.
It can be compared to trying to clean up a totally cluttered basement in that you can get overwhelmed unless you start in a corner and methodically work your way through the rest of the basement.
This is also the case when restoring a bike, and unless you take all the parts off the bike that can be easily taken off and replaced later, the restoration will not be at its best. A full restoration which includes re-chroming, paint and all other components being replaced that are unreasonable can cost quite a bundle.
However, a bike that is original can be taken apart in the fall, taking considerable care and attention to how you removed the pieces so that it will all go back together in the same way.Once you have all the removable parts (everything except the engine) taken off, keep them separate from each other just as they are on the bike.
In other words, parts from the rear of the bike separate from the front components etc. Taking all the parts off serves you in two ways. First it will allow you much better control, and more time devoted to each part when you can do the cleaning standing up or sitting at a work table rather than causing knee and back pain because of being hunched over working on the parts attached to the bike.
Second, it allows you to spend more time and attention to each part, and once each is cleaned up as best it can be, you can decide whether it will be good enough, or whether you should send the part out to be re-chromed or painted. Keep what is good enough aside, and then farm out the pieces you want redone, and wait till you get the pieces back before replacing all the parts back onto the bike.
There are many great chrome cleaning/polishing agents to choose from, but it's what you apply the polish with that will provide the best results. A very fine, and I'm talking the finest steel wool that you can buy will do the trick as far as removing oxidized chrome and even slightly rust color from the chrome being exposed to condensation and drying over a period of time.
Each piece should get a going over until all oxidation and rust is removed. If the chrome has a lot of micro pits that make the chrome look dull in sunshine, you may opt to re-chrome. Take each of the nuts and bolts and buff them with a wire cleaning tool that you use with a power drill or a bench type buffer. The rotating wire brush not only cleans away any rust, but it brings back a luster to the nuts and bolts. Pay as much attention to the spokes on the wheels as you can if you have wheels with spokes.
Each piece no matter how small or large should be given the same attention until you are satisfied that what you see is good enough to put back on the bike, or what you may want to send out for getting it perfect.Once you have all the parts cleaned or redone and ready to put back on the bike, then its time to start on the engine. This can be a tiresome job, but there again, start on one spot or area at a time and continue to work your way through the rest of the engine.
Do not skip around, but instead make sure that where you started is as good as it can be before moving to the next spot. Eventually you will have all the fins and exterior areas of the engine looking at its best. If you scatter your attention all over the place because you want to get it done in a hurry, you will not get the results, and you will be frustrated in the end.
Do not think of time and effort, but rather think of the finished end. I took a 1970 750 Honda four with lots of chrome and candy apple red tank that was sitting under a canvas for 15 years. It was almost brand new when I put it there. Never ran it, never checked it out, but just let it sit there in all kinds of weather.
When I decided to get interested in riding again, I took off the canvas that I had carefully wrapped up the bike in, and to my dismay, the bike looked as though I pulled it from a garbage dump. I almost cried as I saw the chrome green and powdered with oxidation along with a build up of a rust coating as well. The wheels looked to be a disaster as well. In short, the bike had so much crude, dirt, rat droppings, you name it, and all over the place I could not believe that this was the same bike that was almost brand new before I let it sit for so many years.Undaunted, I put gas in, charged the battery, filled the tires up to the right pressure, crossed my fingers, and fired it up. Much to my amazement, the bike started right up as though it was used yesterday. I took the bike to my other home that I just bought, and put it in the garage.
I did all the things I explained in the above paragraphs and much to my surprise, each piece that I did began to look new all over again. Excited, I continued till every nut and bolt was like new, and then began the replacing of all the parts onto the bike. I didn't look at the bike in a way to see how each piece looked, but rather paid no attention until I put every last piece back on.
I then stepped back to look at the bike in whole for the first time, and tears filled my eyes as I saw the fruits of my labor pay off. The bike was once again looking almost brand new. The attention I get when I motor down little town streets with this 38 year old bike gleaming in all it's beauty was worth every ounce of energy I put into restoring it back to it's original condition before storing.
The beauty of it all is that this is totally original down to the last nut and bolt, and it is almost beyond belief that such a relic can look so brand new 38 years after its introduction. Time, patience, and dedication are what will get the job done. If you don't have it, then you'll have to trust someone else to dedicate what it takes to get it right.
However, the pride associated with it being done by you yourself is priceless.
