Johnnycyclone

I have been using products from this company, English Custom Polish. It's a little pricey, but a little seems to go a long way. http://www.englishcustompolishing.com/index.html I mainly use the Showman's blend, but they offer 3 different polishes for Aluminum. The showman's blend also has waxes in it to add to the shine. 1) Metal polish & restorer aluminum polish - this is for aluminum that is in rough condition, not really a polish. I have never used this one. so I don't know how well it works. http://www.englishcustompolishing.com/usca/metalrestorer.html 2) Showman's blend. http://www.englishcustompolishing.com/usca/showmans.html 3) Custom blend aluminum polish. I haven't used this one yet, but I am going to order some and give it a try. It's supposed to make aluminum really shine once it has been restored. We shall see. http://www.englishcustompolishing.com/usca/custom.html I also use their Hot Chrome polish for chrome and it seems to work really well. I haven't really compared it to anything else so I don't know how it compares. Hope this helps....Terre

I don't have a lot of confidence in the clear sticking to the aluminum, so I am with you, and will just keep on polishing when needed.

One piece at a time, and tonight I decided to clean up one of the engine covers. Not probably what I should be working on, the frame needs some attention, but given I didn't feel like working on it anyway I did something that didn't take too much effort. Here is a pic of the before and the after. It still needs a little attention in the area where the shift numbers are but it's pretty much ready to bolt back on, even though the engine is still sitting on the floor, untouched.

Yep, as soon as I read your post on the issue, I did a search and came across the same thread. Thanks for posting! I might do mine a little different, but it will have the same affect. I will post a pic or two when I get it done. Thanks again!

Flyinfool, mraf - I wasn't planning on adding any extra braces, but you both make good points, so I will add it to the list. Thanks for the suggestion!

The time line on the project is about a year if possible, but it may take a little longer. I have another major project I am working on right now, so time may be limited. I have had some time to work on it, mainly because I wanted to get started on disassembly and as of tonight we are down to the bare frame. The frame looks good, no cracks, which is a possible problem with the 83 model year, at least from what I have read. I am going to have this sand blasted and then either powder coated or epoxy painted, not sure which yet. The deciding factor will be the cost of the work. This is a project with a small budget so we will try to save some money when possible. I am not on here everyday, but I will check back at least weekly, maybe a little more if time permits. Stay tuned, more to come later.

I already started a list of goals for the project, beside the normal things, these are more of upgrades to the bike. Fuse block upgrade Front brake upgrade - RS1/RS6 Delink brakes 4 brush starter Battery cable upgrade Battery ground Relocate ignition box YICS delete 2nd gear? - previous owner said there wasn't any issues with second gear, but we will open it up and take a look. Add braces to frame where cracks typically happen. Progressive front springs If you can think of anything else to the list that should be addressed please let me know. Of course we will be doing all of the normal rebuild stuff, like fork seals, wheel bearings, steering head bearings, carb rebuild, valve adjustments, brakes, etc.

I picked up a project bike this fall, some of you have already seen it in another post. I thought I would start a thread and show my progress on the rebuild as I go. Here is a pic of what I started with. The bike was disassembled to replace some sensors and to put in an updated stator. The owner ran out of interest in putting it back together. It's missing some parts, but parts are pretty cheap to buy so I've already started buying what I am missing for the project. It looks pretty good in the picture, but it's pretty rough and will take a lot of work to bring it back to like new condition. Sounds like fun to me!

Marcarl - no plans on making any money, I'm in it for the fun of working on it. I consider myself a non profit organization. Haha!

ZAG - definitely going to address the second gear issue, even if it doesn't have an issue now, I don't want one in the future. Thanks for the tip and it's on the list of work that needs to be done.

Sounds good, I will go ahead and start a thread for the build when I get started.

My vote is to rebuild, and I guess that's why I ended up bringing it home. It's more like therapy for me to have a project like this to work on. There's something about taking each part and working on it to bring it back to like new condition. Then to assemble all of the parts, make it run for the first time again, and get it out into the wind is a great experience. Right now it's in storage, but shortly I will be starting on the project. We will be going right down to the frame and working our way back to a complete bike again. My goal is to have it back on the road by this time next year. We will see how it goes and I will post a pic of the finished project when done. I may even start a thread to show the progress over the winter and summer.