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Official YZF Makeover Thread

Billy,

Have you thought about sandblasting the header and ceramic coating it. I can attest to the longevity of the pipe after doing that. Lots of color choices these days as well.

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Oldschool said:
Billy,

Have you thought about sandblasting the header and ceramic coating it. I can attest to the longevity of the pipe after doing that. Lots of color choices these days as well.

IMG_1025.jpg


IMG_1037.jpg
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I originally thought about ceramic coating the headers but my remaining money dictates otherwise. It's going to be painted black. As long as I prep them properly they should stay good. The paint I'm using is specifically made for headers and is good to over 2,000 degrees.
 
FZ1riderNY said:
I originally thought about ceramic coating the headers but my remaining money dictates otherwise. It's going to be painted black. As long as I prep them properly they should stay good. The paint I'm using is specifically made for headers and is good to over 2,000 degrees.
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Before I did the ceramic I had tried "high temp" powdercoating and it was burnt off (on the front half of the header) before I did 20 miles. I guess as long as the stuff is made for headers you should be OK. Properly prepped and painted will look so much better than what they were when you got the bike.

It must be very satisfying to transform the machine the way you have already.
 
dang... I've been behind on your thread here Billy... you amaze me man... you want to adopt my FZ for a few months and give it some much needed love? I've been neglecting the poor thing... I think I put on a grand total of 900 miles last year.... it needs to be ridden, and I think it could use a bit of your special touch....

just throwing it out there... you could come down... hang with me for a weekend... drive the bike back up to NY.... ride it for a season... give it some lovin'...... I couldn't offer you much in return... other than getting to toy around with a completely modded out Gen 1 for a while....
 
va_rider said:
dang... I've been behind on your thread here Billy... you amaze me man... you want to adopt my FZ for a few months and give it some much needed love? I've been neglecting the poor thing... I think I put on a grand total of 900 miles last year.... it needs to be ridden, and I think it could use a bit of your special touch....

just throwing it out there... you could come down... hang with me for a weekend... drive the bike back up to NY.... ride it for a season... give it some lovin'...... I couldn't offer you much in return... other than getting to toy around with a completely modded out Gen 1 for a while....
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Aaron, thats not too far fetched brother. If you wanted to, you could bring me the bike and I would definitely do the proper job. As I went along, I'd tell you any misc. hardware it needed and you could just have it shipped direct to me. Believe me, I love doing this stuff, and I know that you wouldn't just re-trash the job I did. Anytime you want to , just drop her by.:tup:
 
FZ1riderNY said:
Aaron, thats not too far fetched brother. If you wanted to, you could bring me the bike and I would definitely do the proper job. As I went along, I'd tell you any misc. hardware it needed and you could just have it shipped direct to me. Believe me, I love doing this stuff, and I know that you wouldn't just re-trash the job I did. Anytime you want to , just drop her by.:tup:
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Maybe you could make this a side business? Start scheduling people through the winter, one at a time. :D
 
I could see it working.... I think we've all seen what your special touch can do to a bike... you bikes are always spotless... all of your work shows a massive attention to detail and your understanding of each individual component, as well as how all of the various components work together as a system.... I'd trust you with my ride any day.
 
Me!!

va_rider said:
I could see it working.... I think we've all seen what your special touch can do to a bike... you bikes are always spotless... all of your work shows a massive attention to detail and your understanding of each individual component, as well as how all of the various components work together as a system.... I'd trust you with my ride any day.
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Ha, , ,! (You bet it would work.) I already have trusted him with mine . . . . :woot:
 
"Bikes Beautified By Billy"

"Cleanse My Ride"

"Riding Grimeless"

"Park & Shine"

"Mr. Clean Bike"

"Showroom Shines by Billy"

"Grime Away"

"Billy's Bike Bath"

This could catch on Billy. Doing one a week if they want it really stripped down? Maybe even charge for extra services like winterizing, oil and filter, cleaning or replacing air filters, coolant flush... Who knows? You already have your first employee... Richie does a FINE job too but he learned from the best!
 
va_rider said:
I could see it working.... I think we've all seen what your special touch can do to a bike... you bikes are always spotless... all of your work shows a massive attention to detail and your understanding of each individual component, as well as how all of the various components work together as a system.... I'd trust you with my ride any day.
Click to expand...

pilot8127 said:
Ha, , ,! (You bet it would work.) I already have trusted him with mine . . . . :woot:
Click to expand...

FZ1inNH said:
"Bikes Beautified By Billy"

"Cleanse My Ride"

"Riding Grimeless"

"Park & Shine"

"Mr. Clean Bike"

"Showroom Shines by Billy"

"Grime Away"

"Billy's Bike Bath"

This could catch on Billy. Doing one a week if they want it really stripped down? Maybe even charge for extra services like winterizing, oil and filter, cleaning or replacing air filters, coolant flush... Who knows? You already have your first employee... Richie does a FINE job too but he learned from the best!
Click to expand...

johnnyontherocks said:
Rainbow Bike cleaners:D
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Aaron, thanks for the kind words, and like I said, anytime you'd like to drop it off here I'm dead serious about giving "Big Blue" a makeover!


Thanks Gary! You do some good work yourself, and you have a great working garage to do it in. If I had a place like that I'd be DANGEROUS!!


Eric: What can I say?! I don't know which name to choose cause I love them all. Richie.....He has A.D.D. He was with me the first two days and I haven't seen him since! He likes the finishing stuff like removing body panels and such. He gets bored quickly when it comes to grease and grime. Hahaha!


Johnny! You have the memory of an elephant brother!!! :tup:
 
Okay! It's picture time! I ran straight from work into the garage. I needed to get something substantial done this evening. My main goal was to remove the rear shock, rear swingarm, and get the rear of the motor clean so the rear end could be buttoned up and crossed off my list.

I removed the shock with no problems.
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As you can see with the shock removed there was still some grime that was just bothering the heck out of me.
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Next I removed the swingarm nut and removed the bolt.
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The great lift Dave (Earlzach) gave me came in handy to secure the bike while the swingarm was removed. I didn't want to rely on just the wood stand.
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The swingarm came out easy as pie!
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I checked the axle and bearings and regreased everything once I saw that the bearings looked like new. There was zero play so everything I suspect was within spec.
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I started cleaning all the crevices I couldn't reach when the swingarm was installed.
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After all was greased I re-installed the chain guide and end caps and made ready for installation.
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Before re-installing the swingarm I got to cleaning the rear of the motor. I removed as much dirt as I could. Some of the "cast" pieces have a texture to them and are not smooth, making it hard to remove every bit of dirt.

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I cleaned up the dogbones and shock perch before installation of the swingarm.
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The swingarm went back in perfectly and has no side play whatsoever. She's all greased and looking good.
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I re-installed the "now clean" rear shock and tightened everything down. I can now say that the rear end is done. I only need to mount the Bridgestones, chain and new sprockets and then I can concentrate on the front end which should go much quicker.
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I was happy to get in the mail today, the December 1996 edition of Cycle World which featured the YZF in Black and Gray. I only hope that the bike comes out looking close to this one here!
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So tomorrow I will try and get at least the rear tire mounted so that I can get the bike rolling again. I also am waiting for the Chain Tool which didn't make it by the time I left work. I really wanted to have that for tomorrow but I guess I can sand down the exhaust in the meantime. Stay tuned tomorrow for some more updates. Thanks for looking!:tup:
 
Damn fine work my man! You're inspiring me to tear down more of my bike rather than start putting it back together! Well, I do have to remove the fairing to see what is cracked still but I'll take a look at the rear tomorrow to see how dirty things are. ;)

Keep it coming!! w00t!!!
 
FZ1inNH said:
Damn fine work my man! You're inspiring me to tear down more of my bike rather than start putting it back together! Well, I do have to remove the fairing to see what is cracked still but I'll take a look at the rear tomorrow to see how dirty things are. ;)

Keep it coming!! w00t!!!
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Thanks Eric. Tomorrow should be a good day. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that Sunday morning I'll be finally picking up the Harbor Freight Trailer!!! I was just waiting for that elusive 20% off Coupon which my friend at work brought to me today!!! Yahoo!! I can't wait.
 
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