Can we talk bikes in here?

Cars, Autos, Horseless Carriage, Wheeled Buggy -- whatever you want to call them. Talk about them here!
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Neost
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Can we talk bikes in here?

Post by Neost »

I got a 1985 Yamaha Virago 1100 for little of nothing. Huge dent in the tank, was dropped on a trailer hitch. Small start problem that I took care of (replaced idler gear) but otherwise it runs nice. I'm getting almost 40mpg out of it.

I bought an old tank off ebay, from a 96 Virago. It's got a couple of small dings in it that I'm going to try to get out with the blow dryer/compressed air method. If that doesn't work I'll skin it with putty before it goes to paint.

Here's the fun part. The inside is of course a bit rusty, no telling how long it has been sitting since it was last used. I checked out several possibilities for removing as much rust as possible before I seal the inside. I found some environmentally friendly stuff that will eat all the rust off, I've seen a demo of it used on an old rusty tank. Problem is, that stuff is like 100 bucks a gallon (rusteco if anyone is interested, http://www.rusteco.com).

I found a clip from the show Trucks the other day of them "de-rusting" an old piece of frame. They did it by submerging the piece of frame in a baking soda/water solution and hooking a 12 volt battery charger up on a 2 amp trickle with the ground on the piece to have rust removed and the hot on a piece of rebar (acting as the anode). 24 hours later, there was no rust left on the frame piece. This actually converts the rust back to viable metal, as opposed to removing it.

I've got my tank going now. I'm going to let it set for 24 hours and check it and decide if it needs another 24 hours. I've got a couple of pictures down the neck of the tank prior to and will take some more after i'm done with it. If anyone is interested in seeing the results, I'll post a before and after sometime this week.
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Re: Can we talk bikes in here?

Post by Fash »

sounds interesting... i'd like to see the pics of the process!
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Re: Can we talk bikes in here?

Post by Neost »

Various pictures up at http://picasaweb.google.com/neost01/TankReplacement

I got a better look down in the tank and didn't like what I saw, so I'm not done with the electro shock therapy yet. I put the petcock and sensing unit back on the tank to seal it and put baking soda/water in the tank and clamped the cold chisel I'm using down so it dangles into the tank. Water leaks slightly around the sensing unit so I'm going to have to do something to better seal those off.

I set it up last night and let it set for a couple of hours and it looks like this is going to do the trick as far as the interior of the tank goes. The exterior is pretty much ready to skin at this point, but I'm going to pick up a heat gun today and try the hot/cold ding removal process on a couple of the shallow dings. Still going to have to skin it and might have to get the flange mashed a bit. It looked like a bit of water leaked through at the very end of the tank near the mount bracket.

So, next step is ding removal, another 12-14 hours on the battery charger for the interior and seal the interior with redkote. Once that's done it'll be body putty time then a bit of sanding and off to paint. Going single color (chevy red) to match my truck and MIGHT put some vinyl graphics on that I found for motorcycle tanks. I'm thinking "Cleared for Takeoff" at http://www.cyclegraphics.net/emblemcovers.shtml.
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Re: Can we talk bikes in here?

Post by Winnow »

That's the most pictures I've ever seen of a gas tank! :)

If i saw pictures 11 and 12 randomly with no reference, I'd be wondering what kind of sick shit were you up to.

Good luck with the project!
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Re: Can we talk bikes in here?

Post by Tegellan »

Looks like you have some seriously cool ideas there, looking forward to seeing how it progresses.

I ride bikes myself, I am a superbike fanatic though (have a GSX-R 600 K7), but that doesn't mean we can't get along. We should be allowed to talk about bikes in ehre anyway, so let us start talking. Show of hands, how many here rides motorcycles?
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Re: Can we talk bikes in here?

Post by Neost »

I wasn't really planning on becoming a biker until i could get what i wanted. I bought this one because my daughter and son-in-law needed the cash to fix their AC, so i took it with all its blemishes. I'm just hoping I can make it better than it was when i got it:)

I was hoping to get further with the tank rebuild this weekend but work has interfered. Plus, my paint guy is getting 3 bikes ready to go to Sturgis so he won't have time to shoot it for me until he gets back. I'm not pushing since he's doing it for nothing. Hopefully I'll be able to put the tank on the bike in about 3 weeks. I'll have to wait a bit for the paint to completely cure before I can wax it and apply the graphics.

I'm a cruiser kind of guy, not big on the speed bikes these days. I've about got my truck paid off so I'm thinking it'll be time to get what I want once that guy is done. Don't know if I'll put this one up for sale or not.
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Re: Can we talk bikes in here?

Post by Deward »

Not a paint expert but if you have the graphics already have your paint guy apply them before he clear coats. That will seal them in and you won't have an "edge" to worry about later. That edge will become frayed and chipped with time otherwise. A naked sticker type graphic breaks down under sunlight pretty easily. The clear coat will protect it a bit longer. I have personally not done this but I have been told about by a guy that painted my tanks.

Good idea with the tank. The process you are using is called electroplating I believe. They use the same process to create chrome. What is happening is that iron particles are being drawn off the chisel and they are coating the tank. I think chrome uses nickel or tin to coat teh other metal. I am interested to see how it turns out when you are done. I would have figured you would need to put the chisel inside the tank to get the full effect in there.

I personally have owned 6 motorcycles so far and am currently working on a 1968 Suzuki TC200 basket case (i.e. came to me in parts). If your method works then I might give it a try with the tank I have.
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Re: Can we talk bikes in here?

Post by Neziroth »

got an 05 zx-6r and love it to death.

Good luck with the project, I'm on a slow connection right now so I can't check out your pics out.

h8 rust :(
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Re: Can we talk bikes in here?

Post by Neost »

Electric shock therapy worked very well on the inside of the tank (yeah, I know it is akin to electroplating but electric shock therapy sounds better!).

I got my snake cam in but haven't had the opportunity to check out the interior very well but from what I can see the only rust is residual staining from not getting it dried out very well. My bike guy says it is as clean as he's seen a 20 year old tank:).

I'm going to use redkote on it the next day or so then start working on the dings. I tried the heat/cold trick to pop the shallow dings out but I think I maybe got it too hot and couldn't freeze it quick enough with a can of compressed air to make a difference. I probably should've used a blow-dryer instead of a heat gun;).

I've got the rest of this week and next week to get it ready for paint. JH is going to Sturgis and wants to paint the pieces I need painted pretty quick after he gets back, which is fine by me. I'm going to "Blues, Bikes and BBQ" up in NW Arkansas first weekend in October and my goal was to have the paint done before that.

As for the graphics, we talked about putting them on and then clear-coating and may still do that. Depends on how much time JH thinks it will add to the process. The biggest reason for not clear coating is I can change the vinyl graphics out if I want. From what I've read, its possible the vinyl won't react well to clear coat and the recommended application is over a nice wax job. I've been told that I need to wait 30 days after paint before applying wax so I may be riding around for a while with plain Chevy red.

Nice thing about this old Virago is the fenders are chrome so the only other thing needing paint are 2 small plastic covers that fit on the sides of the bike. I still need to post some pics of the way it looks now but I'll probably procrastinate and not take any until I'm ready to change the tank out.
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Re: Can we talk bikes in here?

Post by Neost »

I added a couple of pictures I took with a web cam inside the tank. Hard to do without a good steady light source and getting a focus that would work. The webcam I used is 640x480.

I think it came out real well. Doesn't appear to be any rust, but some pitting. I've sealed the inside with redkote and it is curing. I'll start on the body work the next day or two. Hopefully next week I'll be picking up the paint and will soon have it painted. When my buddy gets back from Sturgis I'm going to check with him on the clear coating over the graphics. I'm ordering a set and will probably test a piece of it on a piece of sheet metal before i try it on the tank.

link to the pictures again: http://picasaweb.google.com/neost01/TankReplacement
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Re: Can we talk bikes in here?

Post by Neost »

Added pictures of the tank primed and ready for paint.

Going to turn it over to my paint guy tomorrow, hopefully I'll have the new tank on next week. Will post final pictures when that happens.
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Re: Can we talk bikes in here?

Post by Neost »

Update for anyone interested.

There are pictures of the tank with the base coat at http://picasaweb.google.com/neost01/TankReplacement

We got the graphics in and tested it with the clear coat to make sure it wouldn't eat the vinyl. It passed with flying colors. After some back and forth debate we decided the best methodology was to set the base coat, clear coatx2, apply graphics then clear coat again. Jason says he can make it look like the graphics are painted on with no detectable edge.

Hoping its all done here in the next week so I can put everything on next weekend. I'll take before and after so you can see what I'm replacing.
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Re: Can we talk bikes in here?

Post by Neost »

Finally got the tank on.

Vinyl graphics didn't work out with the clear coat method, pretty much ruined them and the clear coat. They bubbled after they got hot...must've been a couple of small air pockets.

Anyway, I went ahead and put the tank on the bike and ordered a new set of graphics. Thought I'd have them by today but it didn't work out.

Pictures at picasa: http://picasaweb.google.com/neost01/TankReplacement
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Re: Can we talk bikes in here?

Post by Tegellan »

Looks much better than when you got it, it's a nice looking bike in my book. Some of those old bikes do have class, can't deny that.
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Re: Can we talk bikes in here?

Post by Neost »

Finally got off my ass and got the graphics put on the paint. My excuse is I was waiting for the new paint to cure, yeah..that's the ticket....

Anyway, link: http://picasaweb.google.com/neost01/TankReplacement/

edit: I call the twins Lilah and Lulu.
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