oh my DOG! rebuild time....

[desertjoe]

whilst waiting for new back tyre, decided to re-do a few things on my RD07....full service, wheel bearings front an back, steering bearings, choke cable, new reg/rec, fuelpump, swingarm bearings etc etc. but now that its semi-stripped, with a slight tremble in my heart, i decided to go for the dreadfull full strip and get my rusty frame sorted. we have the highest rust-rate in world, with sea-mist and salt roads. the last sandstorm flattend my radiators, frosted my headlights, and stripped most pain of front of bike, and now shes rusting......
sooo, here we go, taking the plunge today! issues i need advice on please:
1. plastics are painted with matt black stonechip paint. so, sand down, Paint? undercoat? how to rejuvinate unpainted plastics?
2. all the aluminium bits? swingarm, footpeg brackets, bashplate, rims etc. sandblast it all? paint? leave sandblasted? lacquer finish?
gonna hammerite frame as no powdercoating done here.
wanna repaint bits in some desert theme, has anyone maybe a photo sample/idea for me?
she runs sweetly, (48k on clock) and i dont want to tamper with the engine, but whilst its out, besides valve clearance, and final driveshaft, anything else i should look at?
so here goes, into the dark murky hole we plunge!

the way she looked when i got her a few months ago.....

semi stripped last night, will have to tidy up this mess before i start the serious bit today!

sand-blasted and rusted frame. notice the frosted headlights!
ok, wish me luck! will take picks as i go along
as my grandma used to say, live fast, die young, and have a good looking corpse!

[fabienlegall]

I've suscribed to the thread

[een705]

Looking forward to seeing your rebuild good luck

[desertjoe]

ok, so far so good! since making the decision last night, i decided the first step is to get organised. so this morning... re-packed crazy garage, cleaned up, placed some more work tables out. sorted and stored parts already stripped. (usually work of memory and place stuff in radius of bike of floor). important went shopping for: cleaning materials, wire brushes, clean rags, ziplock bags, markerpen, compartment tray, larger rack with plastic see-thru drawers, number of small see-through tubs, masking tape, notebook. some things i have, tool wise and other cleaning and loosening agents. afterwards ill make a list of all i used....oh, and rigged up the jukebox for some essential background noise (helps to not hear the phone/girlfriend/dogs/etc) not forgetting digital camera. no beer at this point.....
made notes of all tips/methods/warnings/methods i could find of this site. stuck method on the wall. laptop with MR. HAYNES and MR. HONDA on standby......
but remember please, i'm an african, i'm rebuilding for practicality, not cosmetics! the end result will be a twin that i can trust to take me across africa and back, not make it to the showroom with perfect colour co-ord!
so here goes: next post with photos, as i keep losing what i write!

[desertjoe]

so, some stuff was stripped already as i was busy with other stuff, but i'll try and keep things in order thats logical for me:
1. body panels, seat and tank. battery disconnect
2.back mudguard/numberplate assebly, keeping all complete.
3. back wire loom, marking wires with masking tape tabs (i know MR. H has colour coding, but im semi colour blind and wires get dirty. just makes me sleep better)
4. both back footpeg assemblies of frame (where i can i put bolts straight back where they came out, or in pastic bags with I.D. written on)
5.exhaust assembly from first clamp back (bolt broke off as expected)
6. back wheel. re-done wheel bearings. left brake assembly intact.
7.back brake assembly, intact remove from footpeg bolt backwards as one, including brake-fluid reservoir. leaving switch on frame.
8. swingarm, main bolt, and detached from back shock at most convenient place. checked and re-griesed all roller bearings.
9. all attachments to plastics containing the battery (not sure what its called) the whole rest of the back plastic assembly. so remove on left side: reg/rec, relay (mark), CDI, plugs, main connction/fuse assembly. mark rubber housings. right hand: main fuse box, back shock oil reservoir, coolant reservoir, marking pipes top/bottom.
10. then the back mudflap/batbox assembly comes of complete
11. front time! trip meter and instrument panel. mark wiring especially to indicators. the plugs are all different, so no worries, they can only go back one way. just marked front loom.
12. front wheel. replaced wheel bearings, re-griesed speedo assembly.
13. undo attachments and drop front shocks.
14. strip handlebars
15. undo handlebars
16. undo steering pivot, drop out and remove steering head bearings and races.

thats all for now floks! 4 hrs? without the bearing swap! had to stop to watch the sheep shagging kiwis and their welsh sheep shagging ref cheat the springboks..
wont post every step on photos, but here's the gist of it

got this organizer for bits and bobs. maybe just makes me feel better. i am higly un-organized, and have to force myself to over-do it, or end up with a pile of scrap!

got this tray thingy to put in marked parts, with list of tips on back, and ziplock bags marked with bits in (see how long this lasts!)

tidyer space with bike on milk crate (less precarious than the previous arrangement) just makes it all easyer to get my flat head around things...
the state of things after day one (before i totally removed handlebars) oh, and i forgot to mention i removed the radiators the previous day

front section removed and wires tagged and numbered (the only ones im worried about are are the lug types that goes to the indicators)

so lets see what tomorrow brings

[Betterl8thanever]

O.M.G. your a brave man,
Will be watching rebuild with great interest.
When you are done give her lashings of ACF 50.
Should help with salt/corrosion in the future.
Good luck.

[desertjoe]

as we say out here. aggg, its not that bad (wishfull thinking!) so whats this ACF 50 stuff? never heard of it! anything will help. gonna finish this stripping job tomorrow chaps! bishop said to nuns?

[lootch67]

Geez Joe, if this is the way you change tyres I expect a full engine strip down when it's time to do the valves

ACF 50 is anti corrosion stuff that you spray on the bike. Don't recall seeing it there. WD40 might be your best bet but it's gonna make one helluva mess with all the dust. Then again, a good covering of dust and oil will probably do a good job at keeping moisture at bay Are you simply going to repaint the frame? How about some of that bakkie liner stuff for the subframe and cockpit frame. I think you get an aerosol version. There must be people there who can give you some good tips on rust prevention. I don't know much about the lacquer option.

Good luck with the refurb!

[desertjoe]

yea lootch, was thinking of maybe rubberizing the front where the most stuf hit the frame, and rust occur. well anyway just put in another 3 hrs, and im almost done stripping. just exhaust and engine left! wil post update at the end of the day. gotta find someone to help get the bugger out!

[desertjoe]

tha! daaaa! finshed stripping to frame, and engine out! 10hrs total time spent, and ready to sandblast frame! chuffed as chips. metholody and photos to follow tonight. beer-o-clock now!