Getting parts ready for powder coating

I have prepped and sorted out all the parts I want to send out for powder coating.  I sent a request for price to 2 local companies who do motorcycle frames.

The first reponse came within 24 hour and was quite detailed.

Here is the response:

"Hello and thank you for your email.
The cost below would include the following.

Stripping, bead blasting, phosphate coating, masking all bearing and critical areas, and plugging all threaded holes. Capping all studs, coating any solid color, plus curing and wrapping. The turn around time would be 2 weeks or less.

Frame. 275.00
Swing arm. 80.00
Center stand. 30.00
Please let me know if you have any other questions and I hope to be able to help you with your project. "

The 2nd response came a couple days later:

"Thanks for your E-Mail. You are looking at approx. $325 to blast and powder-coat (Black ?) your frame and parts."

Who would you use?
....Yeah me too!  I'll call the first guy when I am ready.

Lastly we got our first NOS item today.  The one on the bike was broken and really rusty.

Here is the pic

NOS Suzuki luggage rack.

That's it for today.  I'll update again as stuff gets done!

Step 10 - Disassembly complete

Well the easy part is done,  The rest of the engine is off, the frame is bare. 

We can rebuild her, we have the technology...

The frame; this and and all the ancillary stuff like the center stand and swing arm will be first to be reworked. They will get a good cleaning and then powder coating.  I understand this can take up to 2 weeks.  I will need to find a reputable company to do the restoration.

The engine;  I will start cleaning and polishing while the frame is being done.  These are the tip of the iceberg.  I have a whole bunch of parts that all need to be gone over and then put back on.  I think this will take quite a while.

Well that's it for today.  laterz!

Step 9 - Alternator rotor is off!

After a lot of running around, I finally got all the stuff I needed to remove the rotor.

Bolt from a specialty fastener store.
Morgan Knocker (slide hammer) from a friend.
Chain from Home Depot.

Total spent $7; not counting gas.

The stuff

Bolt through chain and into rotor.

Slide hammer chain through other chain like so...

Couple of whacks, with my lovely wife holding the frame so I don't pull the whole thing over, and BAM! rotor is off!

Left case and oil  tank off.  That's it for today.  Cya tomorrow!

Step 8 - Removed some engine parts.

Another day, more parts removed.  Its a bit slower going now but progress is progress.

Here is the left side where chain sprocket lives the rust is from the chain and the gunk is just oil from the engine leaks. The whole underside of the bike is covered with oily gunk. I see a lot of cleaning in my future.

At a temporary impass on the left side while I figure out how to remove the alternator rotor.  The offical tool is a slide hammer type puller.  Once I find the right bolt I will borrow the large slide hammer from work. 

Here is the right side I have the top engine case off.  It is really amazing how clean the clutch and other parts look.  It really looks like new under there.  I am debating whether or not to go farther.  I will have to see where the oil leaks are, then make a decision.  I wonder ...how hard is it to remove this stuff and even more important; how hard will it be to put it back together right?

One last shot for the day.

Step 7 - Carburetor

Hello Internets!

What was Suzuki thinking when they set up the throttle system for this thing?  It looks funny right from the start.  There are 2 throttle cables at the handle.

Then the cables are split into 5 separate connections.  Yep, that's right, 5!  I know this is going to give me grief when it's time to put this back together...

The splitters.

Another view of the 5 cables.

The carb is off, but what the heck is that other box the cables run into?  I can't seem to find it in any of the references that I have.  Does anyone know what it is called?

Here is the box opened. It looks like it will be a pain in the butt at reassembly due to the 2 separate springs and 2 cable connections. Why does this thing need 2 cables ???

Here is the choke looking thing in the engine block that it actually operates.  I will have to find out what its called and what it does.  Yeah, I'm no expert, that is why it's called a hobby!

Getting there bit by bit....

Step 6 - Removed the front brakes, handlebars and controls, and instrument cluster

Spent a bunch of time today removing more parts.  I hope to be done with dissassembly soon, so the real work can start.  Fortunately I haven't run into many issues with this phase. 

Handlebars and controls have been removed. 

Front brake calipers are off.

Headlamp case and all associated wiring removed.

Left side of the engine dissassembly begun.

The motor is going to be a bear.  Alot of the bolts are rusty and stuck, and the engine leaks oil.  I hope I can find gaskets for the old girl.

That is it for today.

Step 5 - Rear tire and swingarm

Not much time today, so this will be short.

Removed the swingarm and rear tire.....hey!  Who stole the front fender!

Nothing to see here...

My supervisor

Step 4 - More stuff removed.

I removed the battery box, air filter housing, and the rear wiring harness, as well as a few other little things.  I took a lot of pics to document where the wiring ran and labeled all the connectors with little numbers to make reassembly easier later.  Don't worry, I am not going to post them all!

Here are the update photos. (click to enlarge)

The motor is a lot larger than I realized, now that I can see it all.

I hope I can get the wankel out of the frame! Heh, heh, heh, he said wankel!!

Step 3 - Exhaust and radiator

The exhaust was easy, the radiator... not so much. 
Here are the shots. (click on pics to enlarge)

No exhaust.

Radiator started.

There are 2 parts to this radiator, the bottom is actually an oil cooler.  Wankels run hot and this was Suzuki's attempt to keep the motor cool.  Massive radiator, check.  Large oil cooler, check.  Extra oil tank, yes it has that too. Its that plastic container in front of the shock.

To fill said massive radiator the filler cap is located under the gas tank cover.  It went up through the frame, thereby making it more difficult to remove.  Look closely and you can see hose clamps and wires attached to the fill down pipe.

Here she is at the end of the day; getting there bit by bit.

Step 2 - Off with the fairing!

Under the fairing I found the headlight bowls from the stock headlight.  They left it there, probably due to the large amount of wiring that resides there.  There was a black rubber boot over the bowl that was held in place with black electrical tape.

Here are a few shots. (click on pics to enlarge)

Step 1 - The work is begun.

First day of actual work.

Removed the bags, gastank and seat.  Took a ton of pictures to document the condition

The bags and fairing appear to be dealer installed options.  The fairing has the Suzuki S on the compartments, so I'm pretty confident about this.

My before pics. (click on pics to enlarge)

The cool "Rotary" badge. The aluminium is a all scaled like this but it should clean up nice.

Rust never sleeps.  The chrome bits, like the chain guard, are in need of re-chroming or replacement.  Most of the rust is just on the surface. 

  

This is where the blinkers were spliced in when they were moved to the bag rack.  The rest of the wiring harness is in really good shape.

Dig the bicentenial eagle circa 1976.