Bike restorations

[Rhydian]

I'm not technically minded however I do love tinkering. I want to know what sort of skills and equipment may I require to restore an old or broken motorcycle.

I only ask this as I've got a horrible urge to take my current bike apart and that would not be good lol!

 

[TheDiabeticBiker]

Tools would be your first step. Probably would be good getting a hold of a manual like Haynes and use YT for help. Others will give you more advice.

 

[Mikesmotorbike]

a shit load of time

Plan the amount of time it'll take you to do it (including postage of parts) and then triple it, and maybe square that result too. These projects allways end up taking alot longer than first thought.

But don't let that stop you The feeling from seeing something you built on the road is just awesome!

 

[Rhydian]

a shit load of time

Plan the amount of time it'll take you to do it (including postage of parts) and then triple it, and maybe square that result too. These projects allways end up taking alot longer than first thought.

But don't let that stop you The feeling from seeing something you built on the road is just awesome!

I have lots of time, alone.

 

[Chris033081]

When I think of restoration projects, I am reminded of my first bike...1981 Honda CB650SC Nighthawk.
Bought it for $300 running, but the #3 cylinder had minimal compression.

After getting the piston out of the cylinder, I was faced with a peridicament. I could not find replacement rings nor a new gasket set to put the motor back together.

After finding a 1981 CB650C motor and swapping that in the original carb boots would not fit on the intake.

With nowhere to turn and YouTube not yet running, I stopped and sold the bike and motor to a local high school.

I miss that bike.... :|

1) Tools
2) Repair source knowledge
3) Parts source
4) Time
5) Money
6) Pictures to share along the way...

 

[mrtommygunwhite]

i shall do a vid on this in the next few days but if you have the time its awesome t o do

 

[thunderous71]

One thing I think is a must have...

A garage / workshop / shed to store the bike while you work on it and all the bits you erm find

 

[dexterbiker]

A magnetic dish for loose bolts

 

[mrtommygunwhite]

One thing I think is a must have...

A garage / workshop / shed to store the bike while you work on it and all the bits you erm find

Nah dont need a shed i use my mums garden but deffo a sheet

 

[Rhydian]

I have a garage and 2 sheds so that's not a problem.

I have minimal tools or money but I do have an income so it's not too much of a problem if the timing is right.

I've got basic tools, I haven't got a compressor which I'm guessing would be a necessity when it came to stripping it down removing rust etc.

Never welded before so that's out of the window unless I take broken parts to a workshop.

Anyone have an idea what sort of costs having parts machined would lead to?

 

[Trinith]

I have a garage and 2 sheds so that's not a problem.

If time also isn't an issue I'd say buy a beater and learn as you go. There's lots of resources online that will tell you how to dismantle bikes, you just have to know how to search for them. http://www.ronayers.com has an epic parts fiche that has exploded views of almost all the parts for a LOT of bikes.

I have minimal tools or money but I do have an income so it's not too much of a problem if the timing is right.

Buy/rent the specialty tools as you go. The only thing you probably don't have is a stick with a magnet on the end. Look for a telescoping one, like an old school car antenna, they're lifesavers sometimes. A boatload of ziplock bags that you can label and put nuts/bolts/screws in is also a lifesaver. Using tape to label parts, wires, connections, and things like that is also a fantastic idea, and you can also wrap sets of large bolts for a common cause (like those that hold the halves of an engine case together..) together to make it harder to lose one.

I've got basic tools, I haven't got a compressor which I'm guessing would be a necessity when it came to stripping it down removing rust etc.

That would be very handy, but a basic wire brush and some WD-40 will remove a lot of rust. You'll need an electric or pneumatic grinder of some sort to polish things if you're that interested in making everything look as new as possible though.

Never welded before so that's out of the window unless I take broken parts to a workshop.

Welding shops aren't terribly cheap, but learning to weld yourself for this purpose isn't a great idea. I took 3.5 years of metal machining and welding classes in HS, and there's no way in hell I'd trust one of my welds on anything structural. It's easy to do, but very very difficult to do right.

Anyone have an idea what sort of costs having parts machined would lead to?

Depends on the parts and the shop, in all honesty. I've seen heads get resurfaced for only $40-50 on a motorcycle, while surfacing the heads on my truck cost almost 10x that. Done by the same shop too.

The hardest part of rebuilding things is usually learning what to do and what not to do. The biggest thing I can say is keep it organized, and expect it to take a whole lot longer than planned. I should have been able to rebuild the front end of my VFR in a day, but it ended up taking a little over a week. You should hit up Busasaurusrex on YT, that dude can rebuild practically anything. He'd most likely have loads of awesome advice for you. If for some reason he doesn't respond to a YT message let me know, I can call him and tell him to go check his damn email.

 

[Rhydian]

I have a garage and 2 sheds so that's not a problem.

If time also isn't an issue I'd say buy a beater and learn as you go. There's lots of resources online that will tell you how to dismantle bikes, you just have to know how to search for them. http://www.ronayers.com has an epic parts fiche that has exploded views of almost all the parts for a LOT of bikes.

I have minimal tools or money but I do have an income so it's not too much of a problem if the timing is right.

Buy/rent the specialty tools as you go. The only thing you probably don't have is a stick with a magnet on the end. Look for a telescoping one, like an old school car antenna, they're lifesavers sometimes. A boatload of ziplock bags that you can label and put nuts/bolts/screws in is also a lifesaver. Using tape to label parts, wires, connections, and things like that is also a fantastic idea, and you can also wrap sets of large bolts for a common cause (like those that hold the halves of an engine case together..) together to make it harder to lose one.

I've got basic tools, I haven't got a compressor which I'm guessing would be a necessity when it came to stripping it down removing rust etc.

That would be very handy, but a basic wire brush and some WD-40 will remove a lot of rust. You'll need an electric or pneumatic grinder of some sort to polish things if you're that interested in making everything look as new as possible though.

Never welded before so that's out of the window unless I take broken parts to a workshop.

Welding shops aren't terribly cheap, but learning to weld yourself for this purpose isn't a great idea. I took 3.5 years of metal machining and welding classes in HS, and there's no way in hell I'd trust one of my welds on anything structural. It's easy to do, but very very difficult to do right.

Anyone have an idea what sort of costs having parts machined would lead to?

Depends on the parts and the shop, in all honesty. I've seen heads get resurfaced for only $40-50 on a motorcycle, while surfacing the heads on my truck cost almost 10x that. Done by the same shop too.

The hardest part of rebuilding things is usually learning what to do and what not to do. The biggest thing I can say is keep it organized, and expect it to take a whole lot longer than planned. I should have been able to rebuild the front end of my VFR in a day, but it ended up taking a little over a week. You should hit up Busasaurusrex on YT, that dude can rebuild practically anything. He'd most likely have loads of awesome advice for you. If for some reason he doesn't respond to a YT message let me know, I can call him and tell him to go check his damn email.

Thank you so much, great advice on organising bolts (I had to remove my front fairings and dash to find a bolt I dropped down into the lighting loom lol), and no I don't have a magnet on a stick

 

[Trinith]

great advice on organising bolts and no I don't have a magnet on a stick

I am the king of forgetting what goes where. Baggies and ducktape saved my ass bigtime when I had to rebuild the nose of the VFR in 2011.

http://www.staples.com/office/suppl...angid=-1&cid=PS:GooglePLAs:580692&KPID=580692 Something like that.

Oh, and a big selection of shop rags helps too.

 

[TheDiabeticBiker]

I think I'll be stealing some tips here. I'm going to restore my SR. The bolts I tool off the rear wheel/swing arm are swimming around in the lid of my silicon spray in WD-40 haha.

 

[mrtommygunwhite]

i shall upload 2 videos on this tonight