M944SS build

[oldndumb]

.....
OND, why do ya hate it?
.....

Because first permanent duty job assignment in The A.F. was to polish a T-33 with gobs of that stuff. Tired, dirty, but proud at end of day looking at the gleam. Then, on the next day, after the plane sat out all night, I was shown the same plane in a decidedly tarnished condition and was asked why I hadn't waxed it after the polishing. Wasn't any point in mentioning to the Sgt. that I had not been told that the AlClad skin started oxidizing immediately after polishing and that a protective coating of wax was necessary. Spent the 2nd day polishing it again and then waxing it. One good bit of knowledge after that lesson was that Glass Wax would protect the polished skin. Glass Wax, the pink stuff that is hard to find now.

True, the chemistry of it (solvent) dissolves some of the oxidization and therefore requires less elbow grease. But it is messy, dries out easily if not stored correctly, and supplies of it in the stores may not have much shelf life remaining. I am an amateur machinist and if I need to polish an Al part I usually use Mothers/Meguiars/Simichrome, usually in that order. I also use the same stuff, but with a powered buffer and foam wheel for stainless. Others may have their preferred products. I have slso found other products I liked better/as well but they were not consistently available. The three I mentioned are easy to find.

[Rudemouthsky]

Finally got some engine parts back from powder coating; mirror black cases and "bengal silver" side covers.

[koko64]

Mmm. Fresh!

[Dellikose]

Who did you use?

[Rudemouthsky]

Who did you use?

"Bonehead Performance". A lot of guys didn't wanna touch the heads and barrels but this guy was very confidence inspiring.  Good price too. Turnaround was forrreeevver but that's better than dudes who aren't busy which raises suspicion imo.

Finally got my S&P hoop from Italy:



Spent an hour polishing it.

And originally my Carrozzeria wheels were silver. ..which I later regretted...



So I had em hard anodized by Anodizing Specialists in Cleveland OH:



Much better. I really hated the silver and don't know what I was thinking.

[ChrisK]

Lol, love this seat-of-your-pants build, please take that as a compliment. Do what you want, how you want.

[Rudemouthsky]

Lol, love this seat-of-your-pants build, please take that as a compliment. Do what you want, how you want.

Ha, of course. I just can't wait to build it...

[oldndumb]

Build it!?!
Heck, I just enjoy looking at the exotic parts you are collecting. 

[koko64]

Those parts are gorgeous.
That wheel looks great in black. I prefer black or gold wheels generally. That hoop is exquisite. Not thinking of anodizing it too? I guess you want to show off it's form.

[Rudemouthsky]

Build it!?!
Heck, I just enjoy looking at the exotic parts you are collecting. 

haha...maybe I should hang it all up in shadow boxes around the house with accent spot lights. Italian bike parts really are like museum pieces in a way.

[Rudemouthsky]

Those parts are gorgeous.
That wheel looks great in black. I prefer black or gold wheels generally. That hoop is exquisite. Not thinking of anodizing it too? I guess you want to show off it's form.

That was a another tough choice, I had the option of black for this from the beginning. I felt like, what was once one of the uglier parts of the gen1 Monsters is now one of the best, and the silver would pop out a bit more.

So far the color layout is: silver frame, anodized black forks, black tank, black wheels, silver hoop, and I have 2 swingarms; one black powdercoated  and one silver. With the colors mentioned I think the black swingarm in back with blacked forks up front would be best, but the silver one is another NOS score from Ebay so that's a tough one.

[koko64]

You're right, the silver hoop goes with the frame.
It's a tough choice on the swing arm. Have you done a mock up?

[Rudemouthsky]

You're right, the silver hoop goes with the frame.
It's a tough choice on the swing arm. Have you done a mock up?

Yes. The black is better, but I WANT to like the silver more. It's tough to bin a NOS part that had been patiently sitting in a box since 1998.







It's likely gonna be the black. If the SA is silver, the hoop should've been black.

[koko64]

Only one solution then, get the NOS swingarm freshly painted black.

[Rudemouthsky]

hahaha...