nc31 project

[bludclot]

as said in a previous post the tank had one coat of lacquer and had been left to cure. i put it on the bike for want of somewhere better. today i attached the decals after some careful measuring....



...moved it to the shed, prepared it and gave it 6 further coats of lacquer:





here's basically the same picture but without a flash. i'm not sure which shows the finish better really, you decide!



so that's the bodywork painted, just have to leave it to cure and harden now before flatting and polishing...

[Superjack44]

Looking good ,that bike is really going to stand out.

[tomigun]

This is really a beautiful and professional work!!

[Patch29]

Beautiful!!! Want to paint mine????

[bludclot]

errr yes i will undertake painting tasks for small fees and have done for some years now as a sideline.

i spent some time sanding the frame of all the spidery rust and other defects, didn't take long maybe only half an hour or so, but masking everything took considerably longer:



it was then primed and left to dry for 24 hours:



before being sanded and gloss blacked:



once un-masked i gave the engine and frame assembly quite a thorough clean which made me feel better about it.

this marks a bit of an attitude shift. i know that i said i was going to strip it to bare frame but it's been some nine months now and as my work seems to be taking me six days a week the desire to have this bike in one piece and on the road is stronger than the urge to have it show/concours standard, so it won't be stripped any further, at least not this time around. i still have the brakes and suspension to rebuild and there's new a headlight / clocks etc to go on so it won't be shabby by any stretch....

rear shocks next.

[bludclot]

bike was put into the back of the van today and taken to my local trusted mechanic. jobs are: valve clearances, strip and clean carbs.

I need some help with the shocks:



how is best to re-finish the main body part? it appears to be pitted chrome.

[bludclot]

while the main bit of the bike is away i haven't been idle. the airbox covers were shabby, scratched and touched in very poorly with various blacks. they were sanded and plastic primed, shown here wet sanded and waiting for colour. i'll finish these matt black:



and i put the valve cover in and asked for it to be powdered in chrome:



when i visited my mechanic said that the valves were all bang on, good news!

[Superjack44]

That is going to be one good looking bike

[Patch29]

Looking really good!!!

[bludclot]

due to business commitments this project stayed inactive for some weeks which turned into months... but once out of the other side i've come back to it:

the side covers were painted:



and i managed to finish the pesky radiator assembly at last! the radiator was quite badly bent and twisted - i imagine from where the bike had gone over:



so as i said in an earlier post i made a jig and straightened the radiator itself before preparing and painting it . the metal grill, grill clips and fan surround were all powder coated while the side trims i hammered straight, filled, sanded and painted. the fan and plastic surround were cleaned while the threads all needed tap and die treatment before it finally came together:





it's certainly not concours standard but it has cost only £12 in powder and parts and is a huge improvment on what it was.

i removed the front braking system from the bike and have stripped the calipers. parts have been ordered where necessary so that's in process now. i have taken a good look at the forks, the stanchions are corroded and, therefore, pitted. i have taken a punt on a used set from ebay that look corrosion free in the pictures, otherwise my originals will need to be re-chromed. that's an expense i could do without right now.