Picked this 1996 up a while back. Took about 7 months to finish. Engine is untouched, had no need to do any internal work with the low mileage. Checked out fine. Unfortunately, the biked lived in florida the majority of its life, and aside from oil changes, was pretty lacking in external maintenance. Everything was removed and cleaned, or replaced. 100% OEM build.
It started as a red candy color, but I exchanged the fairings for a P5 model set in green that was closer to completion. Considering swapping it back after the red set repaint is finished.
This is what blown fork seals looks like. There was hardly any fork oil left in them.
Some painting. Many mistakes were made, but ended up with a decent finish.
This is what happens when you try and mask off a new section with wet paint.
This is what happens when you fail at edge taping.
Lower fairing came out great the first time. The decals were not as I hoped, on one sheet. Going to have to PPF over them to prevent peeling.
Temporary paintbooth, with explosion proof fans, and automotive paint capture filtering the outdoor vent. Worked like a champ. Very little trash, and no overspray in the garage.
Commercial grade filters were worth the cost.
Completed, for now anyway. Always something to improve on.
Your bike looks good. You've done a good job on the paintwork as it is so difficult to get a professional finish.
I was curious about the black exhaust headers. Did you buy them like that or do you spray/paint/dip them yourself? If you sprayed/painted them yourself I'm curious exactly what you did.
The shiny headers are from Deep Creep penetration oil. The exhaust I found on ebay was in good enough condition that I just rehydrated the metal over a period of months. It returns to matte black after it absorbs the oil. And yes, it soaks right through the OEM coating. Just needs time. For exhaust needing paint I use VHT Flame Proof flat black after a blast cleaning. More of a chore to repaint exhaust, as you have to slow heat cycle it in order for the paint to stick.
Thanks all. I was hoping others could enjoy and possibly use to motivate to finish projects. People like Ninjanut, MTE, and Turbo kept me inspired with the build updates they post.
I would like to say it's perfect, but there are plenty of things to improve aestheticaly. Funny thing is that this was actually project #2 and it was finished before the first.
Looking forward to the pictures!
I am about to dive into the deep end and try my hand at tri-coat matching the brandy wine red 1996 paint. I'm sure there will be a horror story or 2.
Frame and swingarm are original, just in decent shape. Plenty of scratches.
Engine: Strong cleaners. Warning! Use these with vapor mask and gloves. Do not let them soak. Wipe immediately, they will stain.
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