| Author | Message | ||
     Chrisrogers3 |
Well I have been pestered enough so I am going to post about my toy. In December I picked up a smashed (much worse than originally thought) 2008 Firebolt. It was one of those spur of the moment purchases and I picked it up on ebay for next to nothing. Here is what I started with.....  Yes that is a piece of rebar holding the front end on...  As you can see the front end is toast...  So the disassembly process starts...  Busted front isolator and the neck is pretty screwed up....  I will post some more photos shortly.... | ||
| Chrisrogers3 |
So here is a pic of the stem that broke off and got wedged in the frame, I finally lost patience and got a BFH it then came out nicely...  Thankfully the stator and rotor sprocket and clutch were untouched (primary cover was shattered)  So pretty much here is what was left after all the damaged parts were removed... (not a lot to work with other than a frame and engine lol  The other side...  And now here is the engine sitting here since the frame and swingarm went to the powdercoater.  | ||
| Bitbear |
Fascinating. Keep the photos coming! It looks like a smashed in frame, too? How are you dealing with that? | ||
| Ramm |
Wow, that is insane. Definitely keep the pictures coming! | ||
| Firebolt32 |
Horn looks good. LOL... I was thinking about doing this. Looks to be a pretty big headache. Case of Amber Bock should cure your pains. | ||
| Dogdaze |
That's ballsy man - great job so far! | ||
| Piotr12 |
Wow, coming along nicely. Cant wait to see the finished bike! | ||
| Midknyte |
It's amazing how the patience of you guys, and the relatively straightforward/simple assembly of these bikes intersect... | ||
| Not_purple_s2 |
So the frame is still good? The neck wasn't FUBAR? Should be a great track/race bike or are you going to re-title for the road? Better than buying new and then replacing parts with upgrades. You can start with a clean slate. | ||
| Chrisrogers3 |
To answer the frame questions. I thought for sure the frame was toast after I started looking at it so I took it to a local shop and he checked it out and said it was surprisengly perfectly straight. So I took the bike back home and started to do a little work on the neck, some very light filing and sanding and I was able to pull the head bearings. The old bearings were shot of course but I didnt know at that point if the new bearings would fit. So I took and did a test fit with a new bearing and it fit nice and snug with no pinching so off to the powdercoater. Here are a few pictures I took just tonight. I should be getting the rest of the parts from the powdercoater tomorrow so I can start the front end reassembly. Here is a shot of the bottom side of the neck....  Some header wrap I threw on her...  The absolutely gorgeous Pearl White paint job that I spend a good chunk of money on....  After some media blasting and some TLC the swingarm looks brand new....  A close up shot of the frame, this is the same blue as the hero blue wheels but after 4 coats AND a nice metal flake (yes it is all powdercoated)....  And here is a side shot of her...  And another....  And I am going to get in inspected next week and she will be a driver maybe even put it in a show or two.... | ||
| Not_purple_s2 |
WHOA!!! That's sweeeeeet! | ||
| Ochoa0042 |
very nice, i've been wondering what a painted-to-match-the-wheels frame would look like... too bad its not amber, keep us posted!!! | ||
| Augustus74 |
You work fast my friend! | ||
| Randomchaos |
Holy shit! Talk about taking a bike like looks destroyed, and turning it into a real beauty! | ||
| Xbgeorge |
That is sexy! I just can't believe you went to all that work just to make it easier to wrap the pipes. (Message edited by XBGeorge on April 09, 2009) | ||
| Juniorkirk |
...b-e-a-utiful | ||
| Firebolt32 |
The heat from the powder coating doesn't affect the lining of the fuel tank? | ||
| Rombi |
I sent you a PM with some questions. Not sure how the PM system works here so just letting you know. | ||
| Chrisrogers3 |
Thanks a lot for all the compliments on the bike guys. It has been one of those projects that I absolutely loved doing and now thats its coming near an end I want to do another lol. I should have some more pics up tomorrow or over the weekend! Firebolt32-I have went round and round with the fuel tank lining issue and no one could really give me a straight answer I couldnt even get an answer of what the lining actually is. I know others have powdercoated their frames before and seemed to be oblivious to the lining issue and haven't had any issues so I figure why not give it try. If worse comes to worse I pick up a frame somewhere. Ochoa0042-I think the amber would turn out much better IMO. THe blue is a real bit** to coat because its a candy color that uses the luster of the metal underneath it to give it that nice deep shine. So of course when I went with the 4 coats (all coats containing the metal flake) I lost the transparency effect and it came out a dark blue. IIRC the amber that is used for the wheels is not a candy color. I can check with Dupont for you if you are interested, but if its not a candy color you would have a LOT better chance matching the parts, of course then you have to deal with the issue of the metals not all being the same and taking color differently! | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
Excellent job, and not nearly as simple as you make it seem. There is nothing like the satisfaction that one gets from building something really special all by oneself. You will certainly receive many compliments on this motor, and you will have earned every single one of them. Well done. | ||
| Firebolt32 |
cool...thanks for the info. I'm wanting to start a project like what you have going on. Powdercoating is nearly a must because of it's durability. | ||
| Augustus74 |
Not an expert powder coater but - I don't think the paint is baked at a high enough temp. to affect the lining and candy colors are put on over a silver or gold base to give them their luster. (bike still looks great and want to see the rest of those pics!) | ||
| Bads1 |
Not much of a liner to effect really. | ||
| 03worc9r |
Looks great, keep up the good work! You will definitely be able to ride the bike with a lot of pride after completion. | ||
| Pogue_mahone |
i did powder coating in the mid 80's...we baked at 450 F no idea if that'd hurt anything,...i doubt it. | ||
| Mluds0379 |
I've seen this bike first hand, it is SHARP!! Lot of time and effort for sure. | ||
| Typeone |
killer project, looks great! | ||
| Firebolt32 |
we baked at 450 F Funny...I thought it was 4.20 pm  | ||
| Hughlysses |
Very cool project. I'd be very curious to know how much money you've got in it when you get through. | ||
| Glitch |
Funny...I thought it was 4.20 pm  |
