In between rain storms and gale force winds I have been beavering away on the Suzuki RF600 I bought the other week. The bike had been resprayed many moons ago, the MoT history showing it left the factory in yellow and grey but was now in a very badly crazed white. The tank was particularly bad and looked like a badly kept piece of 18th century china so that had to be taken all the way back to metal.
I had tried paint stripper but it was barely touching it so I had to get the DA sander out and use various grades of wet and dry to get it where it needed to be, it took ages.
The side panels were not as bad but they were still nasty and in need of attention. I decided to give acrylic paint a go for this job, I had heard good things about acrylic being ethanol proof and easy to work with. Before I did anything I tested it on a scrap piece of metal. It sure was easy to use although the Motip stuff I used seemed to come out in a very fine mist so I had to adjust my technique to suit. Once it had dried I tried some neat fuel on it and it is definitely resistant, after 24 hours or so it appears to be proof so I went ahead and resprayed everything. This bike reminds me a lot of the Ferarri that Crockett and Tubbs used to drive in Miami Vice – you would have to be an old git like me to remember that. I just like it though so it will stay the same – white with black logos – if nobody wants to buy it I don’t mind keeping it.
The engine runs fine but there is a lot needs doing – the forks need new seals, it all needs a good clean, full service etc.
When it came to me the rear brake caliper had been removed from the bike, the paint had been stripped and most of it was in a carrier bag. It was missing it’s bleed nipples, the pad retainer pins and anti rattle spring, the pads and one of the bots that holds the two halves together. Oh and the pistons were so seized I had to heat the body of the caliper up to a ridiculous temperature before I could remove them. I gave them a thorough clean before replacing the seals and all the other bits and putting them back together. New pads went in at the same time.
It was nearly dark when I took this one but you can see the tank looks a lot better now. The side panels and rear trim piece are done, I just need to put them back on the bike but there’s a fair bit of tidying up I want to do first.
The front fairing panels still need to come off and be repainted, as does the front mudguard.
Article provided by David Powell of Boston Bike Bits.
