the beginning.

got my girl about 3 years ago off ebay 30k on the clock (now has 40k, still sweet as a nut) this was the day i got her.

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now i got the time to do it, so me and her are gonna have some time.... alone

the story so far .

got her down to the bare frame, re powder coated and now just putting her back together. she came to pieces no probs except a bolt sheared off for the oil line

this was a massive ball ache and a half as i thought, no probs ill use an easy out
it snpped off in the hole i then had to send the engine so an engineer to get it out.

morale to the story... dont use easy outs as i now know they are renound for snapping off and you cannot drill them out.

pics to follow i just need to resize them :o)

............. ahh the oil line bolts, 3 out of the 4 let go when I re-built The Duck!

So what's on the list 'to do'?

as you can see my engine was in a poor state due to the fact i used her through winter and never really cleaned under the fairings


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once i had seen how bad it was i thaught y not just do a full restore and have some fun

attached a pic of the bird almost stripped to show what it was like b4 i got started

first was to get the blasting and powder coating done, this all took about a month as the blaster really knew how to drag his heels but the powder coater was a really good family run business based in sheffield.

there is a pic of the frame down to bare aluminium in the boot of my car.

as for the wish list these are the things im wanting so far

• new rad or reconditioned dunno which im gonna go for yet as the old one isnt damaged or leeky its just scabby
• new oil cooler and oil lines
• get clutch cover, pulse cover and maybe sump re stove enameled
• so something with my swingarm ( suggestions please ?) maybe polish or powder coat silver?
• wheels powder coated
• new chain & sprocket
• rear caliper overhall
• new braied steel clutch and brake lines
• new front end not really decieded yet which but will defo have upside down forks and radial calipers
• brembo calipers, when i win the lottery
• new paint job top to toe but i will be keeping it black just may put some metallic flecks through

so ... not that much really, just will have to sell my to pay for it all

Thats a good list to keep you busy

One thought on the rad, if it is just scabby why not refurb it yourself and use the cash elsewhere? I've done it several times and have found this stuff to look better and last longer than the OE paint finish!
Eastwood Radiator Black Gloss Paint Aerosol | Frost Auto Restoration Techniques
.... and if the fins need straightening look no further than Mr Uglysticks fin tool (!) Cleaning a blocked radiator

you would not believe the amount of auto spares shops i have been in and noboby knew about that radiator paint, they all wanted to sell me high heat paint.

will defo take a look at the paint and plyers for my oil cooler but maybe i was being a bit modest when i said a "bit" scabby



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the aluminium a bubbling up and the cores are so rotten they disntergrate and fall off at the slightest touch

Well the side tanks often go like that if un-tended and used on UK winter roads ..... but when the fins start to disintigrate that does get a bit more messy! (Note I did find a supplier who sold the fins as a long strip so if you fancy saving youself more cash that way is open as well - saves on the £200 that a re-con costs!)

FYI it is worth 'bookmarking' Frosts when you are doing any type of 'restoration' there is usually a treatment/finish available that you don't generally find elswhere ............... and their service is good as well from my experience.

Great work so far!

Sounds like budget is an issue, so have a think about 'stage 1' upgrades to personalise your ride and keep the costs within reason.

1. Rad. Just clean it carefully, flick it with black heat proof paint and fit an ali rad guard. Mine looked like a Kenworth had smashed it in the face. Works fine. Looks fine, now. Sorted. Cheap solution. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

2. Oil Cooler and lines. See 1, above. New lines are good insurance. HEL.

3. Covers. Great idea. I just had mine 2-pak blacked. Sorted.

3. Swing arm. I simply had mine painted Mercedes 'bumper grey', along with the frame, fork lowers and innder fairings. Looks a million dollars and brings the bike up to date looks wise.

4. Wheel. I had mine welded (some big garks) then turned then P/C black. Factory finish.

5. Chain and Sprockets. Mandatory to replace. DID and Talon. Take the opportunity to re gear to improvments across the range. I went 1 down front, 4 up rear. The bike still pulls to 250kmph and cruising revs aren't stupid. Does it pull now? Aye. 6th gear overtakes at 60mph are instant.

6. Rear caliper. Mandatory. New seals and o-rings and a polish of the pistons. Check for pitting in the pistons (common). Replace if pitted.

7. S/S lines. Yes! to both clutch and brake. Take the opportunity to de-link the brakes (Jaws sells a HEL delinking kit). Massive improvement over CBS, IMHO. ...and 3kg weight saving after you remove all of the gubbins (hard lines, proportioning valves, sec master cyliders etc). HEL do a clutch line as well.

8. USD forks and Rad Calipers. No experience here, but from what I read, not (!) cheap and heaps of work. As an interim measure, just upgrade the RWU forks. Springs, longer spacers (get your preload set with these) , Racetech or Ohlins valves, Ohlins oil. Massive difference over stock. Not as much street cred compared to USD units, but the bike will handle 100% better.

A cheaper option to Radials hanging off 12R forks is to get GMax Brembo caliper adapter brackets and fit a set of second hand 996 Gold Series calipers. You will need a different master cylinder to preserve the brake force ratio due to the much larger swept piston area of the Brembos. I went for the Brembo 19RCS radial with adjustable pivot points. Not up to Radial standards, but the 996 calipers used in conjunction with the 19RCS are 1000% over the OEM Nissins.

9. Repaint. Aye. I just used a 2-pak jet black with an EBay decal set and 20 hours of hand polishing. Looks better without pearl or metal flake etc IMHO. Crisp. Black is the fastest colour so excellent choice.

10. Your ass. I won't be bidding on it ... Maybe Elf Toast is interested?

Gaz.

Originally Posted by Ghazzah

Great work so far!

Sounds like budget is an issue, so have a think about 'stage 1' upgrades to personalise your ride and keep the costs within reason.
............................A cheaper option to Radials hanging off 12R forks is to get GMax Brembo caliper adapter brackets and fit a set of second hand 996 Gold Series calipers. You will need a different master cylinder to preserve the brake force ratio due to the much larger swept piston area of the Brembos. I went for the Brembo 19RCS radial with adjustable pivot points. Not up to Radial standards, but the 996 calipers used in conjunction with the 19RCS are 1000% over the OEM Nissins. ..................

Gaz.

I can also vouch for a set of Graham's GMax brackets / HEL lines / refurbished Brembo Calipers, unlike Gaz I went for the AP Racing variable ratio master cylinder - dearer than Brembo brand new but, they come up on Ebay now and again and make a huge difference to the feel / power of the revised set up plus with the rear brake being separated you get total control of your braking and once The Duck / Gaz work out how to fit a sexy Brembo to the rear end it'll be sorted in the braking department until you give in to the lure of ZX12 or SP2 front end conversions....... I doubt that I'll ever have that kind of spare cash / ability

Originally Posted by TheDuck

............. ahh the oil line bolts, 3 out of the 4 let go when I re-built The Duck!

?

Snap when I swapped out engines ..... damaged a bit of the casting getting one out but it's not critical

on the Gmaxx brackets + brembos + radial MC ..... The rubber can't keep up with the stopping power ....

frosts website it the muts nuts, ive been looking for ages for a place like that

the missus aint gonna be pleased with me though, when i tell her she cant have a bunch of flowers for our aniversary, cos ive spent the money on a shiny new bearing puller

cheers for all the advice, keep it coming, im loving to hear from you all

Originally Posted by steveb

I can also vouch for a set of Graham's GMax brackets / HEL lines / refurbished Brembo Calipers, unlike Gaz I went for the AP Racing variable ratio master cylinder - dearer than Brembo brand new but, they come up on Ebay now and again and make a huge difference to the feel / power of the revised set up plus with the rear brake being separated you get total control of your braking and once The Duck / Gaz work out how to fit a sexy Brembo to the rear end it'll be sorted in the braking department until you give in to the lure of ZX12 or SP2 front end conversions....... I doubt that I'll ever have that kind of spare cash / ability

Steve, what is the i/d of your AP master cylinder?

All this tlak of broken oil line bolts...are these the wee jobbies that secur the hard lines to the front of the block?

Originally Posted by Ghazzah

...
All this tlak of broken oil line bolts...are these the wee jobbies that secur the hard lines to the front of the block?

Them be the ones ... a little salt + water + freezing temps and a few weeks of it and thats that .... they just shear the heads right off when a spanner or socket even looks at them!