SWINGARM REPAIRED AND SUSPENSION REMOVAL

I'm I'm I'm Today I completed the repairs on the swingarm. Managed to remove 2 of the bolts but the last one was a pain in the ass. Had to grind of the nut to access the remainder of the bolt. Welded in a new but to the bracket so it is now the same as before. Also have 3 shiny new bolts to use, but the will be treated to a nice coat of satin black.

Cleaned up the surfaces of the surfaces of the swingarm and smoothed the sides down to help with the final look of it. Finally a coat of primer to help with painting and rust prevention. The swingarm seems to have taken a beating in its life. Worst part of the bike easily. 

Had a quick look at the read suspension also. It is in and looks a poor state. As you can see in the pictures, the rubber bushes are perished and split. A new set will be getting ordered. As for the look of the suspension, it's all corroded. I can't afford new springs and shocks so they will be getting a coat of paint in the future. They are in good working order. Just ugly to look at. 

OIL FILTER AND SPARK PLUGS

Only had a wee bit of free time today so I changed out the old oil filter for a new HiFlow filter and replaced the spark plugs. 

The old oil filter was on tight and gummed up with thick oil. The spark plugs were similar on te threads however looking at the sparky end, they looked pretty healthy. 

I don't like the look of the caps though. They have seen better days. Might look into replacing them. I'll have to see what the cost is first. 

SWINGARM

Removed the Swingarm now. It's in a right state but still useable.

Going to give it a coat on satin black paint like the rest of the frame. The chain guard has caused me problems so far. It was attached with stainless steel Allen socket bolts that were stripped back. Had to slide a hacksaw in and cut the bolt. Now the brackets are blocker and unsure what to do. I'm thinking of making new brackets and welding them on.

FRESH COAT OF PAINT

Today I painted the frame with Satin Black Hammerite. I had sprayed the frame before but wasn't to happy with it. So I decided to just use the good old paintbrush. I'll see how it turns out in the morning. Quite happy with the Matt black engine now. Might sand off the paint on the fins at the side of the engine just to break up the black a bit.

MATT BLACK ENGINE INSTALLED

Been a long time since I made a post. I have cleaned up the ending as best as I can and gave it a spray with high temp matt black paint. 

Wasn't sure about it at first but it is growing on me. I think it will need a second coat but I installed the engine again, torqueing up the bolts to 44Nm as specified. 

Looking at wrapping the exhausts next. Going to do some study into wrapping before I purchase any wrap.

STILL STRIPPING DOWN

Today i managed to remove the exhaust after quite some time. Still working towards removing the engine however the lower rear mounting bolt is seized solid.

Also recovered the seat with an after market cover. 

STRIPPING DOWN TOWARDS THE ENGINE

So far I have removed the silencer, tank, farings, air box, carbs and radiator. I have also taken the offside frame arm off in order to remove the engine at some point.