Bridgestone Motorcycle Parts Discussion Board
Bridgestone Tech Talk => Restoration => Topic started by: verygary on December 11, 2015, 05:20:40 PM
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After getting good help on the "tech talk" page I thought I should share my restoration project as I stumble along. Here is the bike I'm starting with. Bought it from a fellow member of the VJMC who decided he would never get to it. He got it in 2010 from the wife of the original owner for helping clean out her garage after he passed away. It's an odd little bike. Speedometer show 476 miles, last licensed in 1993. I would guess the speedometer has been replaced but am not sure as the seat, footpeg rubbers, grips etc could be from a very low mileage bike. What I didn't realize when I bought it was that all the parts that were painted black were originally chrome. To make matters worse, whoever painted it tried to scratch up the chrome so the paint would stick. Quite a few of the blue parts, including the gas tank, were repainted at some point with a blue that has a metal flake look. What's good is that it is an almost complete bike with original parts. VIN number is 17HO13784. Efforts to date are mostly taking it apart, cleaning/polishing what's easy and bagging/tagging the parts. Taking lots of pictures as I go. Wish me luck.
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Welcome to the site Gary! Looks like you got a nice complete project bike. Good luck, lots of people willing to help here. Have fun, Steve
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It sounds like your doing all the right things.
Good luck and enjoy the experience. Take your
time and don't get frustrated.
Randy
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Well, with the help of the tech forum I pretty much have everything apart. The rear wheel and the motor are in my shop. I've got what I assume is the original Bridgestone 2.50 -17 Motocross tire off the rim, the spokes out new bearings in. I'm polishing the hub and tin/zinc plating the spokes and I have new rims as the old ones are rusted beyond salvation. The condition of the tire suggest the bike may really only have 476 miles on it. I love a bike that I can carry around in the trunk of my Honda Civic and have lots of room left.
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Hey Gary, where did you get the new rims?
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I found the new rims a few months ago on eBay. They were listed as fitting a BS 90 and they seem to be the same as the original ones. Seller was "Classic Scooter Parts and they were $84 for the pair.
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Thanks, Gary. That sounds like a pretty good deal to me.
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Joy to the World and peace to Mankind (and one wheel done, one to go).
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Looks like Santa was good to you.
Merry Christmas.
Randy
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How do I get Santa to rebuild my wheels??...;-) Happy Holidays!
...bert
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Bert,
Rebuilding the wheels is one the the jobs i like doing and polishing the hubs etc.
Thanks.
Steve.
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Can we all send you are wheels ????? ;D i can pay you with beer... well thats watt i work for..... and the last guy gave me 4/ 40 round clips for 223 and there colt... not bad for free ::)
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Sorry, can't work for beer. A few years ago I developed an allergy to it. I'd drink it and break out in handcuffs. Gave it up.
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ROTFLMAO!! ;D
...bert
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Gary
Have a look at the pics of my 1967 Mtn - pre mix. It is an Australian delivered model which I bought from a chap in South Australia (SA). The photos can be found in the gallery section under 90s or Restoration projects.
I had the tank re-chromed and my son-in-law who is a spray painter painted it for me.
Your resto looks great so far.
Cheers
Ray
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Thanks Ray, photos are always helpful. The deeper I get into this bike the more uncertain I am about a faithful restoration. Haven't made up my mind yet but I'm toying with the idea of black frame, covers etc and silver vein powdercoat on the parts that are scratched up chrome (previous owner thought scratching and painting would cover up the rust pits). The tank has been scratched and painted and the inside really poorly Kreemed. Chroming is getting really expensive here and not sure if I want to put that much money into a bike. Also haven't come close to finding a powdercoat blue near the original color. I have a 1962 Honda Sport 50 that is blue and I'm just not crazy about the color. I'm just going to continue cleaning, polishing and replacing for now and worry about the color later. Thanks again for the photos.
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This is the system I use for re-using the original spokes on the Mountain. I clean them on a wire wheel (carefully), then polish on a buffing wheel, clean the spoke with wax and grease remover, tin/zinc electroplate for a minute and a half, shine lightly with triple aught steel wool and finish with metal polish. I'm happy with results and have done several sets of wheels.
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Got my first shipment of parts from Richard's Relics. So great to have access to quality parts. Thanks Richard. Also, have decided, after getting all the paint off the gas tank that it's just not reasonable to get it back to original. And since it's not going to be original, might as well go all the way and build it how I want to. Decided to go with gloss black instead of blue, and silver vein powder coat instead of new chrome. Experimented with the headlight ring, which was really rusted and pitted. Really liked how the silver vein looks, especially with a coat of clear over it. I think the tank will look nice with the chrome cap, the badges and the black rubber knee pads. The exhaust guards are in good shape and with the new handlebars from Richard and the new chrome wheel rims I think it will look good.
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Slowly but surely, actually not surely. Decided to abandon a "by the book" restoration as there was just too much damage to the chromed parts and the pits were too deep to sand out. The idea of hiding the pits by using silver vein powdercoat is working well. The powdercoat has a texture that absorbs the pits and makes it look pretty nice. I've done the headlight rim, the front fork nuts the main engine hanger and all the pedals and wheel stays. I have the gas tank to do and decided to redo the luggage rack as the glossy black just shows too many blemishes that I thought wouldn't be noticeable. The gas tank is going be be a challenge but think I have a way to fit it in my little oven. The exhaust is in really nice shape except for the rust pits and the scratches a previous owner applied to try to make paint stick. Don't know what kind of paint they used but it was a lot of work to get it off. I'm going to try EHT exhaust paint on it.
Does any one know where the headlight earth wire (ground wire) grounds to? I took lots of pictures but didn't get that. I seem to recall it attached to a horn mounting bolt. Does that sound right?
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Looks great Gary! Ground does go to the horn mounting screw. Thanks for sharing, Steve
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Hi, Gary,
Yes, your memory is still working OK. The headlight earth does go to the horn mounting. If you're using the old wire, checvk it's still OK, as they can break with continual flexing around the steering head.
The bike looks good, by the way. Never mind that i's not factory original colours, it's what looks good to you that matters. Don't forget to ride it when it's finished, though!
Graham