The refurb starts here

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Speedy
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The refurb starts here

Post by Speedy » Tue Oct 07, 2008 9:40 pm

I started this about 2 months ago now, but it's not finished yet. All it needs now though, is to put it all back together and that'll be just as soon as I adjust the valves; since the engine is off, it'll be a bit easier to do that now!

Firstly, some photos showing how negleted this bike was:

The usual crap that collects behind the front sprocket cover:
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Dismantling is the easy bit:
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Just look at the piss poor attempt at respraying the frame by the tit that sold me this Bandit:
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Rust, rust & more bloody rust:
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Below is another piss poor attempt by the tit, at fixing a tiny 'weep' on the petrol tank; yes, that was a blob of ordinary paint:
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Not sure if my solution to this will be any better than his over time, but... There's 3 or 4 layers of that stuff on there, plus it was resprayed afterwards, so will have to wait & see:
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So once everything was taken apart, a few bits were sent off to the powdercoaters:
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The motor was stored away while the cleaning up of all the other bits was being done:
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That'll be it for now, but before I go here's a piccie of the freshly powdercoated frame:
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More of it soon... :)
When the mind is relaxed, the body will go faster! 8-)

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superlite
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Re: The refurb starts here

Post by superlite » Wed Oct 08, 2008 2:52 pm

I'll get the ball rolling!

The frame looks sweet. Obviously you have a different paint scheme in mind - so what are you going for? It's amazing how fragile the trellis frame looks when it's sitting alone. Has it got a bit of weight in it?

I've always wanted a Bandit 400. They're about the only cheap 400 down under. Comfy and quick, what more can you ask for?

I can't believe there are no other Bandit owners on here :o
'Take it to the Back'

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Speedy
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Re: The refurb starts here

Post by Speedy » Thu Oct 09, 2008 12:18 am

Very slight change in the paint scheme. It'll remain black, it's only the frame, swinger & forks that are now silver, plus a few other main bits that have had a lick of black paint!
I'm on a tight budget with this one, so a total respray is not an option for now; this is my second bike after all; maybe at a later stage it'll get a new coat of paint.

The frame/subframe has a fair bit of weight on it, at a guess I'd say around the 7-10 kilos mark.

Yeah, where's all the Bandit owners? I thought there would be a fair few more B4's on here! :poke:
When the mind is relaxed, the body will go faster! 8-)

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superlite
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Re: The refurb starts here

Post by superlite » Thu Oct 09, 2008 9:23 am

Silver chassis should make it stand out from the (erm) crowd of Bandit 400s out there! I always quite liked the shape of the tank on them.

I recall blasting around on my brothers bandit 250 for a little bit. The front suspension was ordinary, but probably just tired, apart from that it was loads of fun! I've forgotten how much fun straight fours can be! They like the revs! Does the 400 share many parts with the 250? If so, heaps of 250 spares down under.
'Take it to the Back'

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Speedy
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Re: The refurb starts here

Post by Speedy » Fri Oct 10, 2008 11:08 pm

The 250 certainly does look similar to the 400 and probably does share quite a few parts with it.
Have a look at them in wikipedia: http://www.banditalley.net/wiki/doku.ph ... alley_wiki" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Suspension is likely to be well gone by now, but I hear that the shocks from the 600 will fit straight on, even the most recent ones.
When the mind is relaxed, the body will go faster! 8-)

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Re: The refurb starts here

Post by Raptor » Sun Oct 12, 2008 10:49 am

Speedy wrote:but I hear that the shocks from the 600 will fit straight on, even the most recent ones.
Not sure if they do, but would need a respring as the 600 is way heavier than the 400.

Looking goood by the way, I am liking the slilver frame.

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Speedy
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Re: The refurb starts here

Post by Speedy » Sun Oct 12, 2008 4:31 pm

Cheers Raptor. :)

Ok, a few more photos of the tragic state this bike was in:
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Some other bits needed a shiny new coat, so I got busy with the aerosols:
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The mudguard was particularly bad; cracks on the crap paint it had, as well as cracks on one side of the plastic itself! The speedo "cup" looked bad too; under that round sticker there was a big scrape, so it all got a makeover!

These turned out ok, they're all shiny & new now:
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This project was never meant to be a total refurb, but once I started stripping the bike down, more & more bits showed even more neglet; so I got carried away and only realised how far things went, when I finaly had the poor Bandit in a load of boxes! The ones below are only a few and have all the stuff that is now clean & ready to be refitted:
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Once everything was cleaned (most nuts & bolts and all!), I could finaly get on with the reassembly!

It's close to finished and I'm hoping to go out on it in a couple of weeks or so, but that depends on my time and the weather...
More updates soon. :)
When the mind is relaxed, the body will go faster! 8-)

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Re: The refurb starts here

Post by Raptor » Sun Oct 12, 2008 6:05 pm

Nice to see its coming along nicely.

Must get on with mine, still the weather was just too nice today so went for a ride instead. :D

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Speedy
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Re: The refurb starts here

Post by Speedy » Mon Oct 13, 2008 9:48 pm

Raptor wrote:Nice to see its coming along nicely.

Must get on with mine, still the weather was just too nice today so went for a ride instead. :D
I'm hoping the weather holds for another couple of weeks or so, so I can take this out for the 1st time; I have to make the most of the rain free days, as I don't have a garage! :(
When the mind is relaxed, the body will go faster! 8-)

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superlite
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Re: The refurb starts here

Post by superlite » Fri Oct 17, 2008 1:14 pm

Wow! Overspray city!

The parts that you've given the once over look very nice though! I'm impressed.

Eagerly awaiting more pics. I'll be starting the reassembly of my project bike this weekend - you've given me some inspiration. Just a shame that my project bike is a Yamaha Chappy 80 - and has been in boxes for nearly two years. What I'd give for a 30 hour day and the gift of constant awakeness!
'Take it to the Back'


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