Motorcycle Restoration

Wonderful job, the cleaning must have been hard, but it's really worth it.

 

The cleaning of the carburettors was quite easy as the caustic solution and acid bath did all the work. The caustic takes all the oxidisation off the alloy parts but leaves them a little dull, so a quick dip in the acid removes the dull sheen and also cleans the brass parts at the same time.

I still have to use a bit of elbow grease to clean some parts, so I don't always get off so lightly!

 

You all make it sound so easy John. If only you could drop the parts into liquid and then have a beer while it's cleaning alone.

 

And if only I had a magic wand to wave and the bike was then finished....

 

but then you'd have to be home before midnight and you would loose a paraboot

 

Here's a long overdue update on the project...

Its been a busy and sometimes frustrating time for us recently with the restoration and time is fast running out so we need to get our skates on if we want the bike to be ready in time for June's D-Day celebrations in Normandy.

For various reasons the reassembly process of late has been a case of 'one step forward and two steps back' as problems have been arising more than we would like them to. Problems have included paint (from different batches) not matching, new parts not fitting properly and the discovery of more leaking seals on gearbox and engine covers.

Things are now looking more favourable and we can now see light at the end of the tunnel.

The struts for the mudguards, the front ones in particular, took ages to get right. We had to cut and extend them to get them to the correct size.
We also had to fabricate the small upper front mudguard support. This one was a challenge to make as it had to follow the shape of the inside of the mudguard.

 

Ohhhhhh yeah, I know THAT challenge only too well!

How's the timetable shaping up, will you make it for June???

 

Yes, it was an absolute pain to shape....check....adjust....check....adjust...etc!

We are currently on track to finish the project on time, but who knows what problems are lurking around the corner?

 

Apart from a few components to connect up, the electrics on the bike are also nearly complete.

However the rear tail light on the bike is very very dim when illuminated so we are contemplating replacing the traditional filament bulb with LEDs. This modification will also be beneficial to the charging system on the bike as LEDs draw much less power than a normal bulb does.

 

The engine is also back in place, but minus the gearbox which is waiting for new oil seals and kick start return spring to arrive from Poland.

 

This is the frame identification plate which has been stamped with the bikes model number, frame number, engine number, unladen weight, engine horsepower, engine capacity (CC), weight with a sidecar attached and year of manufacture.

 

Well, it was a long and winding road but we did it!

The bike was finished in time and we took it to Normandy for the 70th anniversary - but only just! More on that episode of the story later....
I will continue showing the restoration process and then get back to the Normandy trip later.

 

More fun was to come in the shape of a fuel tank that resembled a sieve. After stripping off the old paint we discovered that it was full of small holes and unable to do anything with it we were forced to source another one, and that's when eBay becomes your best friend where we managed to find one for sale in Ukraine.

This is the replacement tank


And here it is having the old paint stripped off of it.


We then attached the BMW badges to it and then prepared it for painting

 

We also managed to get our hands on a nice original Bosch horn.

It wasn't working too good when we got it but after a strip down and thorough clean it sounded great.

 

At least you got there John! I started my own latest project five weeks ago...but a haematoma that abcessed has now stopped play Just back from getting it sliced and diced on the surgeon's table, so am going to lose a month or two!!!

 

Glad to hear that you're on the mend. What is the project you were working on?

Ours was a long and winding road to finish the bike but we got there eventually. There are a few mechanical problems, that we found whilst riding in Normandy, but they are hopefully not major ones.

 

" Importé d'Allemagne" ? Does that mean you are going to export it to France ?

 

Its my old "tricolour" GPZ550 (ZX550 A4 to any Transatlantic members reading this!), picked up on gumtree a few years back for 200 quid! Honda 550-4 fork stanchions with channels machined in to take Kawasaki fork bushes and a pair of stainless slugs ( I know...but its the tapered ones for old Triumph forks that are iffy ) giving me 4inches over in the front, Sportster tank, foot controls and pegs pushed back forward a couple of inches, flat bars in 4" risers, a replica fatbob guard in fibreglass cut down and mounted as a "hugger" over the stock 18" rear tyre...and Hagons made me a cute shortie monoshock that drops the rear end 6cms - and another 2 with me on it LOL The idea was to see how far how fast I could get using just Ebay, the net and minimal metalwork - and then price up the parts and work as a "kit"...

Then the (cut and d)rain stopped play...

 

Ha Ha yes, it is rather odd that the id plate wording is in French? :huh:

Years ago I dreamed of owning the 550s bigger brother...the GPZ750. A fine looking bike for its day!

 

I'd been wondering what had happened John, but dared not ask in case it'd all gone wrong !

( Should've known better............. :S! )