Getting stuff stripped down ready to clean and paint

Been at it for a bit again today. Slow going , the fibro and sciatica are kicking my arse at the moment!

I've stripped out the front end and have a bit to do to get them ready to refinish. I have to get new top stanchion guides and I'm replacing the seals and dust covers. I could do with new stanchions but the pitting is not going to affect the stroke as it all seems to be at the top between the clamps.
It's almost stripped down to the bare bones now. I used to be able to pull a bike apart in a day, not as quick these days, I'm already into week two but It's coming apart nicely apart from some really seized swing arm pivots. I'm getting some new ones turned up and drilled for pulling when I need to lubricate them.


I had to drill the centre of the pivot for a 6 mm bolt, the one Kawasaki put in when they built it was off centre and only a 4 mm thread. The 4 mm bolts were just not up to the job so I did it my way. Which worked first time on both sides.


Home made puller from a bit of plate and a 6 mm bolt
The bike lift has made life so much easier and whoever had the bike in bits last did a decent job of making sure all the bolts would come out easy enough by putting a dollop of copper ease on most of them. Obviously some have thread lock on them to stop them vibrating lose but only the ones that need it.

I still need to remove the cooling system and get the carbs and air box off so I can get the engine out on the deck to start preparing it for a refurbish and paint. The frame is getting the same treatment before I start to put it all back together.

I need a few days away from it now to rest up and have a think about the rear axle. I could go the IRS route but it would mean two jigs for the wishbones and be a bit pricey so I'm going for the beam axle type that uses the swing arm pivot as a starting point to sort the rear axle out. I'll use slightly uprated shocks on the rear using the original mounting points.

I'm waiting on axle parts and will post pictures as soon as we have them. 20 years ago this would have taken me six weeks, I'll be happy if it's almost done in six months but next year should be all about riding it and less time in the shed!

More as it happens :-)


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