Project 42, a UK-spec 1986 VFR750F, is showing some assembly progress. In this photo we see that the centerstand is mounted along with the refurbished set of Supertrapp slip-on mufflers. All the fairing panels and windscreen have been test fitted, then color-sanded and buffed. Here, I've mounted the head and tail light fairing in order to machine buff them on the bike, which gives me a more stable platform for buffing. Those are spare wheels/tires mounted while awaiting the originals to return from the paint shop.
(Right) Here's my basic polishing kit: After sanding with appropriate grades of wet/dry paper, always finishing with 5000-grit, I machine polish using 4-inch pads on a DA machine. In most cases, Meguiar's Ultimate Compound (with an orange cutting pad) will buff out the dull sanded finish, with Ultimate Polish (black polishing pad) the final step. It takes a steady hand and a certain amount of self-confidence to take sandpaper to your shiny paint and clear plastics. Always use the minimum grit possible to get the job done and be especially gentle along the decal edges. These very fine microfiber clothes are strictly reserved for this kind of polishing so there's no possibility of contamination with grit, oils, etc. After use, they're hand-washed and rinsed before machine washing.
This tank now has its original luster back. I'm not after restorative perfection here, just the best that the original parts can be.
This tank now has its original luster back. I'm not after restorative perfection here, just the best that the original parts can be.
(Right) After sanding and buffing the windscreen, I repaint the blacked-out backside as several black areas were scuffed clear during its life. This is an easy operation — I clean the black surface, sand lightly with 1200-grit and carefully mask off the clear screen. The black is then sprayed with three light coats of satin black. Here, we're ready for paint.
(Below) Next up are the turn signals and mirrors. The signals were treated well during the past decades of use, and I will be able to reuse them with sanding and polishing. On the left is a before/after photo showing a sanded and a polished signal. The lens is left attached (as is the tail light assembly) as they get the same treatment, and when finished, I will remove the lenses for cleaning residual polish from the seams. For this project I'm using one NOS and one repainted mirror. Both are fine sanded and polished.
(Below) Next up are the turn signals and mirrors. The signals were treated well during the past decades of use, and I will be able to reuse them with sanding and polishing. On the left is a before/after photo showing a sanded and a polished signal. The lens is left attached (as is the tail light assembly) as they get the same treatment, and when finished, I will remove the lenses for cleaning residual polish from the seams. For this project I'm using one NOS and one repainted mirror. Both are fine sanded and polished.
(Below) A common fix I use for the 2d-gen bikes is to enlarge the front turn signal holes. I do this to allow a "relaxed" fitting of the signals, meaning the fairing isn't pressing up or down on the rubber signal stalk. I remove only about 2mm of plastic around the perimeter — the rubber trim strip still fits snuggly but the stalks now have a little more clearance, which helps me to align the signals up/down and front/rear, allowing a nice, level appearance. TIP: Drooping signals may be able to be fixed by swapping the stalks side-to-side if they're not too far gone. It worked for this project, both front and rear.
One of the under-appreciated tasks of a thorough bike refurbishing is re-fitting of the body panels. After a few decades of use and abuse, it's often a time-consuming and frustrating process to get all the panels aligned. I sometimes need to remove/install a headlight fairing, for example, a dozen times in order to tweak its mounting points to allow proper alignment of the lower panels, which are all affected by the headlight fairing mounting. Even the windscreen can be visually twisted by a misaligned front fairing (typically caused by a tip-over). It becomes a 3-dimensional puzzle that simply takes time and attention to detail. But it's one of the many details which sets your bike apart from most.
RSS Feed