Champagne wishes...

[knumbnutz]

Nice looking red, really suits the bike too. You better find that kid again, his eyes will pop when he sees that beast !

 

One MAJOR point to remember when curing paint as its often not discussed or mentioned in the manual, in fact I think this is essential to point out beforehand.

I have done all of my curing in the oven. I baked a set of heads, barrels and tappet covers and you must be extremely careful about the timing of the curing process.

If you paint it, move it to the oven and remove it at the wrong time, you will hear an awful screeching following by long term whining.

 

Not from the parts cured but from the wife as the room will be filled with smoke and odor after you open the oven. So always makes sure they are not around at the time, this should serve  as a warning for all.

 

FWIW, I used a matte finish on the engine i was building and it really hardened after baking. It will do the same as riding it, but the benefit is that its hard at the time of assembly and far more resistant to oils , stains etc

[Scud]

That cracks me up. I have shared this experience... and tales are oft-repeated as evidence of my incorrigible immaturity...    But she has come to accept that bearings, races, and other small parts may visit the freezer on occasion.

 

And the candy apple red... yeah it fits the champagne bodywork, but it's BOLD.  My 60-year old Harley-riding neighbor nearly teared up when I had him carry the alternator cover out of the garage and into the sun. Then I heard about things that were candy-apple red in his life... and some things he always wanted. Quite a good time really.

 

Maybe I should look into a cheap, used oven for the garage.

[Chuck]

 

Maybe I should look into a cheap, used oven for the garage.

Well, yeah. You can find them all day at garage sales or Craig's list. Maybe for free. (Guzzi content). Then, you can do your own powder coating on small parts.

[Scud]

The LH bar was slightly bent from going down - which made getting the bar-end weight out a bit "challenging."  So I squeezed it back into alignment.

 

 

 

Then got the front end back together, including putting the original clip-ons back on, new grips, new-ish reservoirs, some new stainless fasteners, etc.  Hand-me-down Omron relays from my Red LeMans.

 

 

 

 

Stripped the bubble-paint from the tranny - then gave it one more flush with diesel fuel because the pink-goo was still slowly oozing out of places. I think it's finally clean.

 

I know I said earlier to conduct an intervention if I start to paint another drivetrain... but I cannot put the bubble paint engine and transmission next to that luscious candy-apple powdercoating. Interventions must be held in person. Bring goggles and a long sleeve shirt...

 

On paint: With my new IR thermometer and portable space heater, I was able to record a 160-degree surface temperature on the fork bottoms. That'll have to do. I'm going to bake the transmission covers in the oven, but will just point the heater at the main case, which still has a lot of oil in it. It's a good idea to harden it as much as possible before assembly.

[Scud]

Here's my "spray-booth." I had to dig the sawhorse out from under the project to pull this off.

 

 

 

I think stuff looks cool in primer grey.

[czakky]

Primer gray does have a cool light effect.

[docc]

Primer gray does have a cool light effect.

Hey, wait . . . that's basically what color my Sport is . . .

[JRD]

I think Scud is THE Guzzi wrench.  Not one, not two, but THREE hammers in one photo!!!!!

[Scud]

I think Scud is THE Guzzi wrench.  Not one, not two, but THREE hammers in one photo!!!!!

 

I like the baby-ball-peen for most things. But the steering races needed the big ball-peen... and the urethane mallet is nice for tapping on anything with threads or bolt heads.

 

A different interpretation is that Mrs. Scud has a new Subaru Forester. So I have (at least temporarily) withdrawn from the "big garage" where my toolbox and lift are... and have been working in the "small garage." It's a constant battle to keep the tools organized on the floor - and I just keep getting more tools out and not putting any away. "Small garage" has a urethane floor, so spills (think transmission pudding) wipe up easily. "Big garage" got used as the spray-booth for a few hours yesterday.

 

It has not evaded my perceptive eye that the Forester will fit more easily in "small garage" than the Mazda CX-9... but these observations should not be shared at this time.     

[Chuck]

Hey. When you gots it (hammers) flaunt it.

[Unkept]

Thanks, she's coming together nicely - and I've noticed quite a few new parts that you installed. How's Germany? Spring must be on it's way... and riding all over Europe must be on your mind.

 

Your earlier post, where you confirmed that it was Redline heavy in the transmission, got deleted in a server-update. I bet you are glad to have missed seeing that mess in person.

 

Hey Scud,

 

Germany has been pretty good. Still snow here... Going to Cologne soon to look at a university we are interested in attending, and our German language courses at the school in town start in March!

 

It's fun seeing how you've come along on this.  

[Scud]

I finally finished up the transmission. The whole misadventure started because I thought I would pre-emptively replace the pawl spring. As it turns out, that spring was seriously fatigued and probably about ready to break.

 

 

 

Seals arrived recently, so I was able to get the transmission back together and installed. Also put in the Hyperpro shock, since I moved the Ohlins from this bike over to my red LeMans, which had the Hyperpro on it.

 

Soooo glad to get the transmission off my bench. 

 

 

 

...and a shiny new aguila. 

[Chuck]

You're an animal Scud. Any more, if I get anything at all done in a day, I consider it a good one.

[Scud]

Well Chuck, I've got some motivation, because I need to clear a bunch of parts out of my oldest daughter's room before she comes home for spring break. If I get the gauges back on and the hydraulic reservoirs filled, then I can put the fairing back on. That's the biggest "parts-in-house" violation I have going right now.

[Scud]

And the gauges are finally off my bench...

 

Bars and gauges "before"

 

 

 

and "after" with original clip-ons re-installed:

 

 

 

Powercoated: fairing bracket, top triple clamp, warning light cover, reservoir brackets

 

New: clear plastic warning light cover, reservoirs (donated from Scura), grips, stainless fasteners, and another fresh aguila. Let there be no more spare keys bouncing on the aguila...

 

And hydraulic systems flushed with Motul DOT 5.1 fluid.

 

I seriously thought about trying to open the gauges to paint the needles... but that looks like quite a hassle. I found two methods:  one to peel the folded metal away from the back of the bevel ring, and the other to cut the case off with a dremel and then reattach it.