Surgery begins....(with pics) LONG

[jwhughes3]

I always knew the potential was there with the aftermarket pipes reducing restriction...

The Rising Sun is a 78 Standard with a Kerker & pods and always pulled better than Great Ranger riding solo even with the more worn out engine.

Now that the stock airbox restriction has been removed, it pulls super hard to redline in the first 3 gears (didn't go on freeway yet) and could feel the front end lighten up (no I didn't try to wheelie).

This is definitely gonna help my 2-up acceleration since SWMBO and I are not skinny people (don't worry she already knows this)

I'm wishing I had done this last year...

John

[jwhughes3]

OK I didn't take pics yet, but took front fender off and began process to primer and paint. Got first coat of primer on and waiting to sand for second coat.

John

[jwhughes3]

Striping comes tomorrow.





John

[T99Ford]

Just a word of caution with regard to the clearcoating. Be very careful in clearing over another type paint system. Most rattle can paints are not very compatible with quality gun paints, and will craze, wrinkle, and fall off when hit with the clear. Sometimes clearing can still be done if done carefully with a good number of mist coats and ample flash times, but it is usually better to use one system all the way through.

Just don't want to see your masking and painting effort go to waste the way I have seen a number of my projects go...

[petejw]

nice work on the paint job,
shes looking good.

with regards to the vent hoses,
the 2 coming from the carbs are vented to the
atmosphere, dont block these off.
and the engine breather is also vented, some put
a small filter on there to prevent anything
crawling inside.

[jwhughes3]

thanks petejw - I will keep the pics coming as I progress.. I put a minipod filter up there under the seat...

T99 (when did you switch from T71? I am blind I guess) - I have cleared the tank and side covers so far and so far so good - nobody is gonna give me any awards for painting I imagine but I want it to look good enough to make ME happy. It's all practice...

BTW - I am looking at attending an Emergency Medicine conference in Big Sky end of July so I will have to look you up (no I am not riding there ) I would love to see your bikes in person and meet a fellow forum member.

I don't know how long it will take to finish all this but my goal is to be done prior to the July 4th Rally in Durango.

John

[jwhughes3]

I started on the rear fender today because my taillight came in the mail and I was excited....

As you can see with it primered, there is a section I had to hammer in from the outward curve to be kind of flat to accept a flat light. It is shaped to the light and wholly contained under the rubber gasket which will be evident once mounted.



Here we are back to the front fender taped and masked for striping. That low tack tape can be a problem though as it lifted ever so slightly in one tiny area and left a hint of overspray that I removed with wet sanding.



This is my secret to timing between coats - the time it takes to finish one and the next coat is ready...



Adding clear after unmasking stripe - I briefly considered a more complicated stripe, but my taping skills are not good enough. This was tough enough and took an hour to get centered and even along the length and used a big wad of pulled off tape



So thats it for this evening's work...if I could skip work I'd finish much faster!

John

[SFSPECBIKER79]

looks real nice jw looks like your almost finished, and will be riding soon. will be sure to check back to see how it coming along. sorta makes me want a nother project bike but, i been into old boats lately. i have a 83 midnite virago its a real good lookin specimen. i just need to track the title down on it, and thats a headache. i may start on, if it dont sell soon. thought of parting it out but, i just hate to scrap it. only has 19.000 on it.

[jwhughes3]

So I just get started this afternoon in the garage (I mean like 1 minute of sanding) and SWMBO says my son who had just left for work was stuck with a flat tire just at the end of the neighborhood on his way to work.

So I leave with her so I can swap the spare while she takes him to work. I got there and saw this:



I said "that's not a flat - that is an accident!" - the car had 3 wheels over curb with skid marks on curb and grass and of course the fence. He gunned it turning onto the larger street and lost control, fishtailed over curb and into fence. A bystander gave me the story after he'd left. I laughed as I thought about my Dad in heaven laughing at me below, remembering my own feats of driving "skill". At least no one was hurt (except his pride) and my rear tire and likely alignment.

So got back and taped off rear fender stripe and cleared it.

Here you can see it along with front fender laid over the tire for effect.



A better view of front:



And delivery guy brought me goodies today -



I also repainted the hose holder hardware black (no pics) because they looked dingy. I have the stainless lines, just haven't put them on yet.

Maybe this weekend I can get it back to rideable shape until the seat is done.

John

[jwhughes3]

Today felt really good - after work I tackled wiring up the new LED light - 1938 Lincoln Zephyr style from Technostalgia.



Here it is on - soo bright! (and it pulses)



I turned it off to take this pic due to overexposure...



Here it is from right rear quarter view...



Right front...



Here the new windshield is in place now that the clamps arrived. The bars stick out about 3" once adjusted - should I cut these off???



Here I added a new license holder from twisted bar stock - small led to be wired tomorrow to illuminate.



Hope to finish a couple other things tomorrow...

John

[natemoen]

I would cut the mount bars off once you are sure you have it where you want it. I would also check to see if its legal to mount the plate on the side like that. Some places it HAS to be on the back, others don't care as long as it is still properly oriented.

Looks good though!

[petejw]

shes come up a treat john,
i like the clean look of the rear end,
the tail like looks sweet, wish i could do
something similar to my sport but have no
where to put the blinkers.
as nate said, id cut the bars off once ur happy
with the position of the shield.

[SFSPECBIKER79]

john, when looking at the side cover i thought of something you might want to try. this is the idea, get some of the two part jb weld and mix it thick. put a gobb of it where the latch is on the bottom of the battery tray. then inbed a nut it it and let it set up , then u could make a hole in the cover, and put a small screw it to hold it in place. may have to shim the back side of the cover to bring it out a little, or maybe you could put a screw in the gobb of jb weld with the head inbeded in it, and use a bullet head nut to screw on the bolt. they make them in several different sizes i'm think. would be simple fix. any way, turning out to be real nice looking xs bike, and i like the taillight. fits the bike and the 70's era, real nice .

[jwhughes3]

for the idea - i will think about how I want to do the fastener...

Today went for a half tank ride - overcast and slightly chilly above 80 mph but nice feeling with small shield in place - no more fighting against the wind so much....

I was having slight wisps of smoke coming from under seat breather minipod - the crankcase positive pressure pushing it out...

Sooooooo... I drilled the #2 pod and added a 1/8" threaded nipple to Tee into the crankcase line.





And the new Tkat brace came so I installed it - truly remarkable fit and on in 5 minutes start to finish.



And in daylight the license relocation...



I cut off the windshield bars (thanks nate) and added a couple rubber caps to end to give it a finished look.

I might need to rejet since even though its running better than before it is lean with the pods being so unrestricted - my pipes blued after the ride today for first time in 30 years ...


John

[DGXSER]

Very Very nice John!! Turned out excellent in my opinion!!

You guys are gonna get me divorced...when I bring home another basket case to put together a more modified ride this time!