Member Contributer Kel Posted March 10, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted March 10, 2014 Tom, thank's for the offer! I'll be up next week, will PM for address and time! BTW, this is what I do on weekends ... Dmitry, Tom and I were talking about you on Saturday. I told him I knew a guy who does vapor blasting. Small world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer tomk1960 Posted March 10, 2014 Author Member Contributer Share Posted March 10, 2014 Wow, that's very cool. The metal looks refinished! I want to know more about this - you should start a thread and tell us all about it and show off some of your work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Dmitry, Tom and I were talking about you on Saturday. I told him I knew a guy who does vapor blasting. Small world. My ears were burning in the helmet, now I know why :) Wow, that's very cool. The metal looks refinished! I want to know more about this - you should start a thread and tell us all about it and show off some of your work. Not sure if there is a "shameless self promotion" subsection on here, I do have some pics up on FB and Picasa did a bunch of work on my NSR (that's what the head is for) but nothing on the VF needed blasting. Most of the parts I end up doing are BMW, British Iron and vintage scooters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer tomk1960 Posted March 15, 2014 Author Member Contributer Share Posted March 15, 2014 Next on the list to be refinished was the collector. It was rusty and gross. Oddly enough, the header pipes are fine though. No rust - just discolored from the heat. I decided to blast and refinish only the collector and leave the header pipes alone. They hardly show and I'd rather not mess with them. The rust blasted off quickly, but underneath there was some sort of silver paint or primer that took a fair amount of time to remove. Does anyone know how the collector was finished when new? Was is silver or black or just bare metal? After a coat of high temp satin black powder: The collars are going to polish up nicely - look closely and you can see a big difference between the right and left one. I took care of the clamps as well, so now the exhaust is ready to go back on the bike. I have all new exhaust packings and seals. Should I expect any problems getting this back on? Something tells me that it's going to take two sets of hands to get everything aligned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Kel Posted March 15, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted March 15, 2014 Looks nice Tom. The collector is often quite an eye sore and usually untouched by most. This will make the bike look great. It shouldn't be too bad to get back on. Maybe a few love taps on the bottom to get the rears up and on but I'm sure you'll be just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Captain 80s Posted March 15, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted March 15, 2014 Everything is looking great. Good job. Exhaust should go on pretty easy. I get it up in position by hand, then with bike vertical, I use a floor jack to press it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer tomk1960 Posted March 23, 2014 Author Member Contributer Share Posted March 23, 2014 You were both right - the collector unit was a piece of cake to get back on. With nice clean fittings and new exhaust packings, they slid right into place. I just had to put my jack underneath to hold it while I tightened the bolts. The swingarm and shock coupling unit went back on without any issues either... After quite a few weeks with a bare looking rear end, it's nice to see that wheel back on. It's also nice to have that center stand back on as well, and now it doesn't look neglected any more. The front rotors and mirrors are pretty much all that's left to be refinished, then I can get the brakes back together and bled. If I have it all done by the end of April I'll be happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Kel Posted March 25, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted March 25, 2014 Looks fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer tomk1960 Posted March 30, 2014 Author Member Contributer Share Posted March 30, 2014 There are only a couple details left to be finished before I'll be ready for final reassembly of my "mild" restoration. One of the things that bugged me were the mirrors. They were in ok shape, but next to everything else that's been refinished, they looked tired. I don't know if any of you have tried disassembling these, but it's not too bad. The trickiest part is getting the glass out without breaking it. When I first started restoring mirrors, I brought them to a local glass shop and paid him to get the mirror glass out, since I was afraid I'd break them. The last time he had some of mine, he broke one and gave me a hard time about it, so I decided it was time to learn how to do it myself. A little practice and now I can have the glass out (in one piece) in 5 minutes. So this is what they look like completely apart: After blasting and final prep, I shot them with super mirror black powder, which is close to the original black chrome and a lot easier to apply than black chrome powder. It lays down nicely and after curing, you can still see the stamped oval logo on the backside. Getting the glass back in takes a little practice but isn't bad at all. Lots of WD-40 and some care and they pop right back in. Here's a side by side before and shot with one of the finished mirrors (lower one) next to a spare that I have. Now all I have left to refinish are the front rotors. They should be ready to go back on within a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veefer800Canuck Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Wow, that's persistance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer CornerCarver Posted March 31, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted March 31, 2014 Looks great Tom! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmitry Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 I got to see this stuff in person, pictures as impressive as they are don't do the justice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer tomk1960 Posted April 22, 2014 Author Member Contributer Share Posted April 22, 2014 After a week's vacation, I got back on Saturday and was itching to work on my VF. My GF had to work today but I had Patriot's Day off, so it was a good day to do whatever I wanted. So the calipers and master cylinders all got rebuilt and prepared for re-installation. A couple caliper pistons were questionable, so they were replaced with new ones. Every bit and piece was either powder coated, glass beaded, or polished and then new seals and pads were installed. Then it was time for my favorite part - putting nice, clean, rebuilt parts back on a bike. Here's the left front caliper all back in place. Even the rotor got attention - the braking surface was glass beaded and the inner ring was powder coated. Then the rear caliper went back on and braided brake lines were installed front and back. I'm just about ready to bleed the brakes, but that will wait until Sunday. My video man will be visiting and we're going to shoot a new how-to video on bleeding a totally dry brake system from scratch. What's left? Rear set and muffler installation and finally, bleed the rebuilt clutch system. I'm on schedule to be done by the end of the month as planned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veefer800Canuck Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Good work on the brakes. Your wheels look like they could use some love now though......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer tomk1960 Posted April 22, 2014 Author Member Contributer Share Posted April 22, 2014 Yeah, you're right about the wheels. When it's time for new tires, they'll be refinished. I cleaned them up and polished the edges best I could. I'll just have to keep the bike in constant motion so no one notices! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dedofnite Posted April 22, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted April 22, 2014 Very cool, Tom. I just found this thread. I have an 84 also, was about the same condition and not running. I offered they guy $500, and he took it! Haven't ridden mine for a while, just got it out last month to start a rebuild. Tank was rusted, just got it back from the radiator shop that cleaned and coated it. Carbs next! Nice patient job on your restoration. Best of luck. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer CornerCarver Posted April 22, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted April 22, 2014 Kevin, When a rad shop cleans the tank does it impact the paint finish? Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dedofnite Posted April 22, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted April 22, 2014 Not at all, Keith. In fact, the guy waxed the tank for me when it was done! Very good service, a local place I found by web search and Yelp review. They do a lot of bike tanks. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer CornerCarver Posted April 22, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted April 22, 2014 ^^ Sweet, I had never thought to go that route for a rusty tank. I will have to take a look around my area when I get back home. I have a VF500F tank that is need of some love. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer tomk1960 Posted May 1, 2014 Author Member Contributer Share Posted May 1, 2014 My goal with the Interceptor was to have it done by the end of April, so technically I'm late by one day. Regardless, I'm happy to say that it's back in action again. When I got home from work today, I tightened the muffler clamp bolts, reinstalled the chain guard, rolled it out of the garage, and fired her up. My shake-down cruise consisted of heading out to the local inspection station that's a few miles from here. I headed out a bit slowly and carefully, checking to make sure that the newly rebuilt brake system felt safe. The brakes feel awesome! I would imagine that they feel as good as the day the bike was new. The bike accelerated nicely and shifted smoothly, just like it did before I tore into it last winter. So here she is out in the sun for the first time in 2014: The punchlist is all checked off - calipers, pads, brake master cylinders, clutch master and slave cylinders, swingarm, torque link, mufflers, collector, mirrors, clip-ons, center stand, rearsets and all related components, etc. Everything looks and feels new again and now I just have to ride her and check for bugs. It will be interesting to know how the powder coating holds up where the muffler attaches to the collector. This is the hottest spot on the pipe, so if it holds up here, the rest will be just fine. Over the next couple of weeks I'll take it for some good long rides and sit with it idling after it heats up so that it sees the worst case scenario. Spring is officially here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vfrcapn Posted May 2, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted May 2, 2014 Beautiful job, very nice. Every since I finished my R the F has been my 'next resto project', I started twice and gave up. You really did it right, great effort. Makes a great desktop background pic. @Dedofnite, I thought the rad shops boiled out the gas tanks to strip them, like a rad, removing any paint in the process. What did they do to preserve the paint? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vfrAustin Posted May 2, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted May 2, 2014 WOW! Very nice work Tom. A true restoration. Now to ride and get to feel the pull of that engine. Congratulations on a job well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted May 2, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted May 2, 2014 Well done Sir!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Kel Posted May 2, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted May 2, 2014 Looks great sitting outside. Nice work as usual Tom! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VF1000RS Posted May 2, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted May 2, 2014 Wow, beautiful bike! Well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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