I'm pretty much a trial and error guy lol. I can share with you what I did, what parts specifically are you talking about? The hardware was by far the hardest to clean since it was small and hard to get into all the areas. It would be easier to replace it if you can find the right bolt, but many of these items are pretty special, ie the clutch and throttle lever bolts/nuts.
snrusnak mod thread
- Thread starter snrusnak
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Help Support Buellxb Forum:
Well my engine block is showing signs of peeling and general dirt, and the bolts just about everywhere are rusting. I need to replace the hardware, much like you did, but as you said getting the exact bolts is quite difficult. You can get the length and thread density right but the head type and tool fitment aren't going to be exact. There's nothing more annoying than getting a Torx out to remove a bolt and finding its an allen fitting 
christianmb
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[up] Nice looking ride! It looks like you worked hard on getting her back to where she should be.
Thanks christian!
Oldgit, I can help you with the hardware. I used a power drill, vice, scotch pad(or whatever it's called), vacuum line, an old screw, and a vice.
This is the only pic I have. Put an old screw into vacuum line and use the shaft of the screw to clamp into the drill's chuck. Then you can put the hardware in the vacuum line and hold scotch pad in your hand and wrap it around the hardware with gentle pressure. The hardware cleans up easily.
Another way I tried which actually worked better was putting the hardware in a piece of vacuum line then clamping that into a vice(the vice won't damage the threads if they are in vacuum line). Then use a wire brush on the drill to clean up the head of the bolt. This just went faster with the wire brush.
As far as peeling powder coating, the only way to fix that is to have it redone.
Also, keep in mind when you do this many of the parts will quickly rust as they are more or less mild steel. I dipped mine in a cup of oil to try and help prevent this. I can tell some are stainless and some are mild steel. All the bolts to the triple trees have not rusted, but some others have such as the ones that hold the levers on the bars. I'm going to try to find replacements for as much as I can. If I were you, I'd find replacements for what you can, then clean what's left.
Also, for just general cleaning, I mixed dawn dish soap and water in a spray bottle and spray that all over the bike then lightly hose it down(scrub where necessary, if necessary) and it worked well. Dish soap is a great mild degreaser.
Oldgit, I can help you with the hardware. I used a power drill, vice, scotch pad(or whatever it's called), vacuum line, an old screw, and a vice.
This is the only pic I have. Put an old screw into vacuum line and use the shaft of the screw to clamp into the drill's chuck. Then you can put the hardware in the vacuum line and hold scotch pad in your hand and wrap it around the hardware with gentle pressure. The hardware cleans up easily.
Another way I tried which actually worked better was putting the hardware in a piece of vacuum line then clamping that into a vice(the vice won't damage the threads if they are in vacuum line). Then use a wire brush on the drill to clean up the head of the bolt. This just went faster with the wire brush.
As far as peeling powder coating, the only way to fix that is to have it redone.
Also, keep in mind when you do this many of the parts will quickly rust as they are more or less mild steel. I dipped mine in a cup of oil to try and help prevent this. I can tell some are stainless and some are mild steel. All the bolts to the triple trees have not rusted, but some others have such as the ones that hold the levers on the bars. I'm going to try to find replacements for as much as I can. If I were you, I'd find replacements for what you can, then clean what's left.
Also, for just general cleaning, I mixed dawn dish soap and water in a spray bottle and spray that all over the bike then lightly hose it down(scrub where necessary, if necessary) and it worked well. Dish soap is a great mild degreaser.
Hey snrusnak, catching up on posts on the forum and saw your build thread. Glad you decided to put one together, it is very interesting and the bike looks awesome! Some good tips here if I ever decide or need to redo my front end. Been putting some odds & ends on mine, new shift & brake pedals, XB tailight, CGR bar end mirrors, LSL footpegs. Got some tasty LED turn signals to put on next as well as a new dashboard and a hidden rear caliper. Will post pics when I am done.
Hope you got the AFV leaning out fixed and have been getting lots of riding in.
Hope you got the AFV leaning out fixed and have been getting lots of riding in.
Thanks guys. I stole the levers idea from my father in law, he did it to his sv1000. I like it a lot better (both looks and comfort).
I still have a ton of other things I want to do like led lights etc. etc. but for now I'm just trying to get a real nice clean base.
I haven't been riding recently as I took the plastics off because I'm selling them to another member on here. I still haven't received my new set either.
I still have a ton of other things I want to do like led lights etc. etc. but for now I'm just trying to get a real nice clean base.
I haven't been riding recently as I took the plastics off because I'm selling them to another member on here. I still haven't received my new set either.
Thanks for that snr. I notice in your mini RSS pic your engine and bracket are in the same sort of state as mine, so I don't feel so bad now I plan on stripping that bracket (and my bung bracket) off and getting them sorted, clean up the pipes and cables, and getting the lower triple stripped and refinished. Also the big bolt (I dunno what its called) that holds the front on is corroding and needs a refinish, pretty much same as yours again.
When I rework my hardware I use a Proxxon with wire brush head (its like a Dremel). Its good for cleaning the threads too if need be.
I plan on stripping that bracket (and my bung bracket) off and getting them sorted, clean up the pipes and cables, and getting the lower triple stripped and refinished. Also the big bolt (I dunno what its called) that holds the front on is corroding and needs a refinish, pretty much same as yours again.When I rework my hardware I use a Proxxon with wire brush head (its like a Dremel). Its good for cleaning the threads too if need be.
Yeah most of the parts up front(including the front of the engine) is corroded on mine. I'll be redoing all the parts that come off easily, but as for the engine I will probably just rotate it, clean it, and spray it with paint, since I don't want to remove it and tear it apart just for coating. The headers will get ceramic coating.
My new set of plastics will be here tuesday!!!
All I'll be missing is a black chin fairing...
Within the next 3 weeks I'll have the new plastics on, install k&n air filter, do some sort of airbox mod, probably redo my breather mod, and install my 1" drop lightning pegs.
I also ordered a personalized plate last friday!
All I'll be missing is a black chin fairing...
Within the next 3 weeks I'll have the new plastics on, install k&n air filter, do some sort of airbox mod, probably redo my breather mod, and install my 1" drop lightning pegs.
I also ordered a personalized plate last friday!
So I need to decide how to do my airbox mod. I want to open it up a bit, but don't want it to be a hack job. I'm looking at the two options everyone else does:
Cut a bunch of holes in the airbox, something like this:
Pro's of this method are that it'd only take about 30 minutes, the airbox would still snap together, and the filter would definitely secure correctly.
The other option is something like this:
I'd cut out the piece that sits on top of the airbox, then use one bolt(drill a new hole, as close to the "center" of the piece as possible). I have my breather tube holes plugged. I'd rather do one bolt closer to the center, than two bolts using the breather holes.
Pros to this are it MIGHT perform better? Cons are that it will be a little more work(not much, so no big deal), and there's a possibility that I won't be happy with the fitment/secureness of the filter(I'm very particular....).
Just wanted to get all your opinions....
Cut a bunch of holes in the airbox, something like this:
Pro's of this method are that it'd only take about 30 minutes, the airbox would still snap together, and the filter would definitely secure correctly.
The other option is something like this:
I'd cut out the piece that sits on top of the airbox, then use one bolt(drill a new hole, as close to the "center" of the piece as possible). I have my breather tube holes plugged. I'd rather do one bolt closer to the center, than two bolts using the breather holes.
Pros to this are it MIGHT perform better? Cons are that it will be a little more work(not much, so no big deal), and there's a possibility that I won't be happy with the fitment/secureness of the filter(I'm very particular....).
Just wanted to get all your opinions....
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