'Belle's 748 Fix-up

[tigre]

And by "'88", he means "A.D. 88"...

 

What's ironic is that back in '88 I used to race against fz400s and at the time I lusted after one big time.

[Drunken Monkey]

And by "'88", he means "A.D. 88"...

 

Damn straight. Also we got squeezed our gasoline straight from the dinosaur rather than this whole "drilling for fossil fuels" thing you kids today do.

[ducnymph]

Congrats on the new bike!  Sadly, I could never get used to my 748 because it just never felt right. But to this day I still think that generation (916, 748s) are the most amazing looking bikes at. I often miss owning one just to look at it whenever I wanted to. Tamburini killed it on the design for sure.

[mostrobelle]

Yesterday morning, at the crack of 11, was to be the end of paint prep.  One way or another it was going to be over.  It needed to be over.  Tigre and I got some sanding supplies, some pin-hole filler, a toilet seat for his apt. and down to work we sat--he on his plastics and me on mine. 

I walked through the door and the players awaited me. 





I was peppy and ready for a full day of bondo and 400 grit fun. 



I focused my efforts first on the tail piece that had been crushed in the crash--the left side (as you sit on the back) took the brunt of it.  It took me three separate fiberglass sessions to piece it back together.  I'm pretty happy with the results.  I think once it's painted it's going to look like new. 







Next came the nose piece.  While it needed a lot less fiberglass work, the "nostrils" on the lower left and right on these photos had been obliterated in the get-off.  It took several layers of Bondo and pulling from my sculpture class back in college to reconstruct them.  Here's a progress shot. 





A lot of sanding later...the nose is back--almost as good as new. 



We worked pretty much straight through the day, with a lunch break, from 11 until 7.  Faaaaack...  I was cooked. 



The good news is that prep is done!  Next comes a nice primer, and a clear coat for the tank.  The tank currently is sitting in my kitchen.  I'm trying to keep it from rusting since it's just bare metal right now.  I found a nice orange and a maroon/wine-stain color in Krylon yesterday.  Might get a can of both and do a little test patch on the plastics. 

Not sure how much I'm going to get done next week--mom-in-law is in town for the weekend.  Hope to put in a few hours after we get her on the plane on Sunday afternoon.

[GEEZER]

I like the 'bandido' look in the last pix

where are you working? looks like a 7-11 bathroom?

[MendoDave]

"I'm trying to keep it from rusting since it's just bare metal right now."



Get some etching primer and spray the tank. That will hold off the rust.

[mostrobelle]

I like the 'bandido' look in the last pix

where are you working? looks like a 7-11 bathroom?

I'm in a friend's shop. 

[Popeye the Sailor]

Where the hell did you find a midget sized respirator? I've been looking for one for P.

[mostrobelle]

Where the hell did you find a midget sized respirator? I've been looking for one for P.

Bite me, butthole.     (Actually, I have to wear a cloth dust mask or a bandana underneath it to get it to fit right--Otherwise it's too big for my face.  I think if you drop a wad of dough on them you can get them in different sizes, but mine was a $30 jobbie I picked up at Ace a while back.  The cloth underneath helps keep my safety goggles from steaming up too.)

[TCK!]

This thread is relative to my interest.

Subbed.

[mostrobelle]

I have paint in hand, a bunch of parts that I needed, and now if I can just get some time...

BTW, someone recommended that I try City Paints for my painting needs and...wow!  I'll let you know how it goes.  You can get automotive paint put into good spray cans.  It comes in any color of course.  I got a ton of tips and a few free goodies, too.  So far it seems to be about twice the cost of what I was planning on spending on Krylon. 

The paint color I chose is a really dark burgundy color.  Looks great with the tank--at least in the can. 

[mostrobelle]

Life, per the usual, seems to be just a clown or two short of a three-ring circus these days.  Got the mother in-law dropped off at the airport; husband took off for the evening to work.  I have a head cold coming on and the toe I sliced up on Tuesday morning is still bleeding today.  Despite the pile of dirty dishes, the laundry beaconing me, the checks that need depositing so that I don't bounce my quarterly taxes payment to Uncle Sam, I managed to carved out a little time this afternoon to sit down and work on the Duc.

I wanted to fit up all the pieces, catalog the fasteners that I still needed and do any last adjustments prior to painting.  I have never seen this bike together and knew that I'd need a bit of time to figure it out.  Got the nose piece, snorkels and a few other bits on.  It's starting to look like a bike!



I took breaks in between messing around with the plastics to clear coat the tank.  I gave it two good coats and will probably polish it down a little and give it another couple.  My garage gets pretty damp in the winter and I don't want it to rust. 



So of course there are a couple of snags... The first is this thing.  This is the front fender and you're looking at the brake line coming across it.  There's a plastic clip that holds the line there that's supposed to be riveted into the fender.  The clip rests in the groove in the fender.  I was told that this is a hazard.  The brake line can rattle loose from the clip, get caught under the fender and rip apart.  The correct way to do this is to split it on either side of the fender and forget about the clip.  I can't tell if this has already been done by the previous owner.  I'm headed back to the shop with photos to ask.  I also have a number of Dzus fastener parts that I need and am hoping that they'll open up their pile of trashed plastics to me for a little pick-n-pull session.   





Snag #2: 



(You're looking at the right and left side panels and how they hit the belly pan--the whole thing is upside down.) Hrmmmm....why don't these look like mirror images of one another?  I was trying to fit up the new left panel I got from Sharkskinz and ran into some "weirdness" when I tried to figure out where to place the holes so that the left panel can fit with the belly pan.  The plastics on there now are Sharkskinz so, silly me, I just assumed everything should be 100% A-OK.  Wrong.  The belly pan is custom made I guess, and the right side panel has been modified/cut to accommodate it.  I will be cutting the left panel too apparently.  I'm hoping my Dremmel will do the job.  I made the necessary markings (in pencil, so they don't show up well) after measuring everything.  it was getting a little later in the evening, so I've hung it up for the night.

Despite all of the above, I find working on the 748 really rewarding and somewhat therapeutic.  I hope to get the fuel thingie back into the tank and locate all the fasteners that are currently MIA by the end of the week.  The plastics cutting will happen next weekend.  By this time next week my goal is to have a running bike with all parts required for a full assembly.  I'll sleep a lot better knowing that even if I don't get it all painted that I can at least ride it for my trackday on the 11th.

I'm pretty nervous about the cutting of the plastics because they're expensive.  I'm decent at this type of thing, and it's really just cosmetic, so I'm hoping for the best.  The bigger worry is getting the fuel doo-hickey [fuel injector?] back into the tank.  (No, I don't know what it is, but I know it needs to go back in there, and that's all I really need to know.)  There's a trick to it and one can mess up the process.  I was given some tips on doing it and am crossing my fingers that it all comes together and actually runs at the end.  Pulling it apart again would make me cry probably.  At least get a little misty...

[Speeddog]

There is a peg mounted to the front bottom of the tank, goes into the rubber grommet at the front of the 'airbox'.
The bolts that hold it onto the tank need to be loctited.
They can vibrate out, then fall into the horizontal cylinder throttle body.
That seldom ends well.....

Get a new O-ring for the fuel pump bulkhead that goes into the bottom of the tank.
They expand with fuel exposure, and thus are not reusable.DAMHIK.
A very light coating of grease on the o-ring and the tank opening will help with installation.
Get the bulkhead positioned, and install some longer screws to keep it aligned while you push it into position.
It's a firm controlled push to get the bulkhead in, watching to make sure you don't pinch the O-ring.

[mostrobelle]

There is a peg mounted to the front bottom of the tank, goes into the rubber grommet at the front of the 'airbox'.
The bolts that hold it onto the tank need to be loctited.
They can vibrate out, then fall into the horizontal cylinder throttle body.
That seldom ends well.....

Thank you!  No one told me that until now. 

Get a new O-ring for the fuel pump bulkhead that goes into the bottom of the tank.
They expand with fuel exposure, and thus are not reusable.DAMHIK.
A very light coating of grease on the o-ring and the tank opening will help with installation.
Get the bulkhead positioned, and install some longer screws to keep it aligned while you push it into position.
It's a firm controlled push to get the bulkhead in, watching to make sure you don't pinch the O-ring.

This second half I'm all ready for...taking it out was easy, but I was assuming that it would not go back in the same way, so I asked some questions in advance on it.  I had noticed some rubber o-ring thing come out when I disassembled the fuel tank stuff and guessed right that I'd need a new one.  I even have the extra long bolts in hand to get the bulkhead started and will be very, very careful using these.  I was told bad things can happen if I tighten them too hard. 

I'm printing out your post and putting it on the bike...it'll be a good reminder.   

[Desmostro]

tres tres cool madame