Dan's 71 KO Restoration Begins

[Dan87GT]

Hello,
I am planning on posting progress pictures of the restoration on my '71 KO...and asking lot's of questions along the way.
I purchased this 'KO in 1977 from the original owner with a few hundred miles on it..hard to believe but I put on alost 6,500 miles on it when I was a kid. In ~1980 the bike began to loose compression and became very difficult to start and being 10 year old with tools I took the top end of the engine apart and had no idea how to get it back together...and there it sat in our old shed for 28 years..
This winter I have decided to finally restore my bike to original...after a DR100, several CR125's...this bike was tough and never broke down..
This weekend I stripped it down, build a stand, and plan on removing the paint over the next week or so...enjoy!..

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[dennis d]

Keep us posted.I just completed one just like it.

 

[hornetgod]

Like Dennis said, Keep us updated with the progress. Build threads are some of my favorites. I wish I had created one when I had started my bike's restoration.

 

[Dan87GT]

She's Naked!!

A little progress this weekend...of course the frame is about 2 inches too big to fit in my media blasting cabinet....so, a little Aircraft Stripper , wire wheels, and a cheapo portable sand blaster for inside of the frame...

Any suggestions on the best way to remove the 38 year old caked on grease inside of the fork tubes?..


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[ez50]

KO restore

A long narrow cake knife will reach pretty far inside the tube. If you're married you might have a nice pearl handled engraved one from your wedding. Or maybe that wouldn't be a good idea, wife >:14:,you > :4:, the rest of us on this site >:24:.
If that's not an option, maybe you could weld a small washer to the end of a long rod and pull it out.
I bought a blast cabinet kit from TP Tools and built one so I could fit a Z hard tail inside. These little bike are the reason for most of my tool buys.

 

[bjatwood]

Where did you purchase the aircraft stripper from?:39:

 

[Dan87GT]

I bought the Aircraft stripper at Autozone, I have also seen it at Advance Auto as well...it is in the Paint section...can has a picture of an aircraft on it...works great...

 

[XSIVE]

I used that Aircraft Stripper as well on some Wheels from my sons car. That stuff is wicked nasty. Just bubbles the paint away. It kind of pitted some areas of the wheel too.

When I cleaned out my fork tubes, there was minimal gease in there. I took a wooden dowel and a cotton rag. I balled the meterial around the end and then duct taped the ends to the dowel. Then I plunged it with the rag and dowel like you would load pack powder in a Cival War gun. I used mine dry at first and stuff just came falling out. Very dry pieces of grit and sand. Then I put the rag in Carb cleaner and continued plunging with a clean dry cloth.

 

[Dan87GT]

Hello!....well life has gotten in the way of my restoration but I am back at it!...Today I decided to paint my bike myself with a paint kit from the MiniTrail70 site...this is my first attempt at painting with a HVLP gun but it seemed simple enough with a little practice..
Well...I got everything primered and it looked ok but I realized I have some serious orange peel...I think I may have had the pressure at the gun too low ~30 psi....any thoughts or suggestions?...Also, I was hoping to spray the base, Kandy, and clear tomorrow...can I just try to sand the primer smooth with some 400 grit?...

thank you!....

 

[bjatwood]

Wet sand the primer down to a baby smooth finish, make sure you spray some sealer on the primer before the base coat also. Painting take lots of paitence and pratice. Make sure you spray something elese with a little paint before spraying the frame to make sure you have your air pressure correct. This will (air pressure) change between the different coats also.:crazy:

Brian

 

[ct93ms]

Hey Dan, I'm in the middle of restoring my 71 too... candy ruby red, my plan is to restore and replace everything before I disassemble for paint.It will be interesting to see how your paint turns out, I have been thinking of doing my own paint too, although I think I will send it out to be bead blasted instead of doing my own stripping. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[kmcrab]

You will probably want to go finer than 400 grit on sandpaper. I would block wet sand first with 600 grit to get the orange peel smooth, then use 1500-2000 grit (wet) to get the fine scratches that the 600 grit left. Basically the same as color sanding. 600-2000 wet works well. It's tedious with all of the small areas, just have a lot of patience and keep remembering how great that finished job will look. Keep us posted.

 

[69ST]

Nice to see this thread revived. If ever there was a bike that deserved purist restoration, this is it. (special award to ez50 for: best use of smilies in a good thread:77. You've really got your task cut-out for you and it's not an easy one. The primer mishap may be a blessing in disguise. In order for a candy paint job to come out properly, everything has to go on super-smoothly. Otherwise, the final finish will look like shiny terrycloth - at best. Kmcrab gave you sound advice. Unless you have a high tolerance for tedium, plan on spending parts of a couple of days to get it right. The time investment is well worthwhile, but sometimes worth spreading out over a few sessions. It's really easy to miss spots of orange peel on primer. Revisiting the project over a few days, while you're still motivated to get the job done AND coming at it with fresh energy will serve you well. Shortcut the basic prep work and you'll end up kicking yourself later.

Okay, once the block sanding is completed, next task is figuring out why the primer went on this rough. Most primers are easier to flow-out than what goes over them. Could be your technique, might be adjustments. 30psi is kinda high for most HVLP guns. It could also be the materials supplied in the paint kit. The vendor plays mix & match with paint systems, implying you're getting HOK. That's the compromise in delivering a paint kit for that price. Not all primers require application over a base coat of etching primer, nor a post-application seal coat. HOK, PPG and others all make primer/sealers. No idea what you've been supplied; I'll guaran-damn-tee it's not HOK. Odds are pretty high that you'll have some spot-priming to do; a CT70 frame set has so many high spots that it's all too easy to sand through in a few places. Use the extra application to fine-tune your entire process. The base, mid & top coats all have to go on a lot smoother than primer, there's no block sanding possible between coats.

Yeah, I do realize that this might post might be a downer for you at present. It's not intended that way. Ever think back over some disappointment and find yourself saying ..."if only I knew then what I know now"...? Well, the intent was to provide you with some "too soon old too late smart" info, while it's still early enough in the project to do some good. As painful as the repainting process might be, it won't last nearly as long as the finished results. Better to do whatever it takes and enjoy the rewards of the job well done.

 

[Dan87GT]

Well....it's been too long....and I need to revive this thread...a few weeks ago, I dropped her off at a local paint shop.......



Woo Hoo......I did change it up and switch to the Candy Red...



Installed the easy stuff!........

 

[hornetgod]

It looks amazing! I love the Candy Ruby Red. Keep us updated a little more often. I like what I see.

 

[P.C.]

WOW!a blast from the past.good to see you back!it looks great.its funny i did the same thing as you.took it apart as a kid after it lost compression and never put it back together.even though the new parts were purchased.over 20 years of sitting,im glad i never sold it.and studied my manual!telling people i've had this since i was 11 is priceless!

 

[johnsgm]

That really does look great. Whats NEXT ?

 

[zeriods]

keep the posts coming candy red is one of my favorites looks fantastic:43::43::43::43::43::43::43:

 

[Dan87GT]

Thank you for the compliments!....I can't believe it has been 30 years since I last rode this bike!...
I little update...yesterday I decided to tackle the rear shocks. I built a $5 shock compressor that worked great..I disassembled them, a light sand blast, polish, and finished with a wire wheel..I also had purchased a set of the HD shock covers and new bushings from dratv a few years ago....the bad...one of the shocks is bent..so I am looking for another one...








---------- Post added at 07:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:26 AM ----------

Another update and question....last night I cleaned up a taillight assembly I bought off Ebay a few years ago...my original is bent and rusted badly....the new one is nice but has some light rust on the bottom and in a few corners...I lightly blasted the rust with some glass bead, installed a new wiring harness and gaskets....I turned out very nice but I beleive I will have it replated later when I do the brake lever, etc...
One question...I could not find a picture on the forum of this....on my bike the ground wire was on the bolt between the fender & taillight asm...if I look at the parts book it is between the taillight asm and frame(right side)....is this correct?....thank you!...

 

[zeriods]

the way you have it, is the way it is on my 72, but I'm not an expert.:4: One question, did you tell your painter the color you wanted, or did you buy one of those kits and wich one?