My GSX1400 Restoration

[SA14]

You've got the wheel out and the mudguard removed to do what you're doing so it's nearly all dismantled now. Each fork leg will slide out once you loosen 4 socket screws. One minute with the Scotch Brite wheel and you have the same emery finish that took you two hours by hand. It's also a good time to service the forks.

Good to know, yeah I've used emery wheels when I was a welder, they're good I agree but if you knew me you'd know it was a major friggin victory to even remove the wheel in the first place. Worried about this, that the other and what not. I'm reasonably mechanically minded but also super nervous of doing something wrong or getting in over my head. Things are easy when you know how but I only removed the wheel after I stumbled across this video of a guy removing the wheel to change his wobbly front discs and I thought "well that doesn't look very hard at all!" so I gave it a go armed with everything I thought I'd need (had to buy tie down straps to suspend the bike). Here's an example of how ignorant I am. My first intention was to just remove the mudguard so I unbolted it and tried to take it off just to get better access to some of the tubes..."oh, got to take the wheel off to get the mudguard off - dowf". That's when I checked that video again which gave me a few good tips as well that I hadn't thought of.

As with the dremel I'd also be worried about marking the forks or leaving flat spots if I used a powered emery wheel, As it was I wasn't sure what damage the wire wheel would do but I carefully touched it a bit then proceeded when it was apparent it was fairly harmless. I wasn't complaining about it taking 2 hours trhough I can see how it would have appeared that way. Although it would have been nice to be done faster at the snap of my fingers I didn't mind taking my time, and by hand (even though my fingers do ache a little now) I'm sure no harm was done and I'm pretty happy with the results. I'd still have to get in with my fingers around the intricate bits anyway but it's nearly done now. Just going out to the shed after this post to finish with 2,000 then 3,000 trizact before the final polishing sequence.

I also rang my suspension guy and checked with him about the heat and he doubted I'd generate enough heat at 1,800 rpm and suggested the stuck fork seals were more likely a dry install than an overheat from polishing issue. Also good to know.

Should be finished and posting pics tonight. I'm on the home stretch now. I would love a pedestal buff like that though. I'm sure I'd find a use for it. I've already had PMs to do covers for someone but my method is (obviously) not commercially viable. That Pedestal (with enough practice) might make short work of my old covers though. I'd need to practice before taking anyone's money and this is my first major metal polishing experiment.

I do appreciate your input though and the dremel came in handy and worked beautifully for polishing in the nooks and crannies of the caliper mounts. Restoration's coming along nicely though, I don;t mind putting in the time and hard work. Gets me closer to the bike for whatever that's worth.

[SA14]

Done. First ceramic has flashed. Waiting 20-30 minutes between coats. I'll give them three heavy coats then re-assemble.

Last pic for comparison.

[SA14]

Done.

[Milts]

@SA14

Great work, excellent write up and photos that accompany a lot of your postsings  Very much appreciated 

[SA14]

@SA14

Great work, excellent write up and photos that accompany a lot of your postsings  Very much appreciated 

I'm just glad someone's interested in seeing my work and feeling the love I have for this amazing motorbike. When I got it it was a sorry piece of machinery, having been abandoned to sit and corrode outside in the open (near an ocean!) for years but I'm slowly getting there. I know I ask a lot of silly questions that must make a few people sigh and shake their head but I'm really passionate about this and love working it. I'm really grateful for all the help and support both out in the open and via private message. It's probably been the single most exciting mechanical adventure of my life.

Took it out into the sun today (finished up at 3am last night after struggling with mounting the front wheel for hours. Lots of rooky goodness but I nutted it out in the end. Torqued it all up. I do have questions about a couple of things but hopefully the wheel won't fall off or the brakes fail on me this afternoon while I go out for a ride. Might need extra string sunglasses with all the chromey shine though.

And now, more pics and a video!...

Next job, learn to video without my fat fingers covering the lens and think about restoring the headstem/dash alloys. After that I'm done...said no GSX1400 owner ever.

 

[SA14]

Quick reminder of the condition of the aluminium when I got the bike.

2 years of sitting by the ocean (1st owner) then 3 more years after that sitting in a shed unwashed after a road trip (2nd owner) will do this...

Credit to the 2nd owner though, it was a dry garage and he protected the fuel system with a full-to-the-brim tank and some fuel conditioner  at least. People have all sorts of reasons for doing things and motorcycles aren't the most important things in people's lives all the time. I get that but just saying...it wasn't in great condition when I bought it although mechanically it seems fine so far and the price reflected it's cosmetic condition. I'm not the mechanically minded dude but I do know how to clean stuff. The engine is quiet (except for a pesky ticking that develops after long ride) and with how it's looking now I know I got a screaming bargain.

[steve porter]

You've done well mate, but nobody would have wanted to steal it before you had at it

[grog]

SA, should be proud of what youve done. Looks good now👏

[SA14]

SA, should be proud of what youve done. Looks good now👏

Thanks, I am a bit chuffed truth be told. But it doesn't take too much make up to make a beautiful girl look even more beautifuller. Manuals and the proper tools help.

Took me a long time to re-fit the front wheel again though. Couldn't figure out why the axle was hard to push through the wheel. Had to wash up, come back inside and do some researching to figure out what I was doing wrong. In that video I linked to above he mentioned something I missed the first few times. If you don't tighten the hold down bolts on the nut it'll just spin and sure enough I'd left them loose. Moronic human. Tightened them up but still it was really hard to push through and again it wouldn't screw in, I stuck my finger into the nut hole (which sooo reminds me of a party I went to in the early 80s) and I could feel it was close but juggling the weight of the wheel and trying to push the axle through and trying to turn the axle - it was all just too tight (see previous party reference). Something was drastically wrong. What could it be? This is an axle two holes and a wheel for crying out loud! I was losing confidence. Had to borrow some imaginary cheering on from you guys to push on and push on I did.

I thought, maybe I have the wheel on backwards but nope, both the tyre and the wheel had arrows pointing in the correct direction. Out with the wheel again to test the axle in the hub and it glided through and spun beautifully, tried again but no way. It got tight near the end and just wouldn't spin. I remember the axle coming off pretty easily. It shouldn't be hard to slip through and turn. I had to stop and think. What was I doing wrong? Checked the manual, no clues there. It said "just shove it in and twist you moron, what's wrong with you?!". Came inside for more searching but came up blank again.

I was reminded of Occam's razor. Which states paraphrasically that when there are multiple explanations the simplest solution no matter how unlikely is probably correct. What was happening Things weren't lining up and there it was. The simplest solution. Line things up. Hmmm, line things up. What's not lining up? The axle with it's nut so I removed the wheel and tried to just install the axle without the wheel and sure enough they weren't lining up but why? Because (you moron!) I'd been twisting the forks while polishing and assumed (there's mother!) that things would just re-align themselves magically.

I had bolted up the mudguard and tightened the bolts (forgetting to slide the brake line clamps in as well - slap) but had assumed that that would also re-align the axles holes. It hadn't and they were twisted out of synch. I lossed everything up again. slipped the axle and axle nut into each fork and twisted the forks until the axle lined up and screwed itself nicely and smoothly into the axle nut and THEN bolted up the mudguard (not forgetting the brake line hose clamps this time. The axle then unscrewed just as easily because it was all lined up again this time in tune with the axle line. I bolted up and torqued the axle nut holding clamp and then unscrewed the axle, wiggled the wheel back in place (not forgetting to smear a bit of general purpose grease onto the axle and bearing seal surfaces like I'd forgotten to do the first time) and it all glided together and screwed in nicely. Phew.

Of course I forgot to check if I'd put the wheel on backwards and luckily I hadn't...lol

By now it's like 2am but I was so close I could taste the bugs so I brought out the big muther torque wrench hooked up the 17mm socket onto the multi step nut tool and heaved on it until I clicked at 74 ft/lbs, torqued the axle locking bolts and spun the wheel. It spun smooth and true. Time for the calipers. They slid on easily enough but I looked at the bolts and they had a bit of powder residue on them and I thought "mmm, could that be loctite?" Off with the bolts and caliper and into the vice with the bolts for a wire brush, brake cleaner spray and a dab of loctite 243 for good measure. Even though nowhere anyone mentions loctiteing the caliper bolts I figured that front brakes are reasonably important and it would be undesirable if they fell off.

Around 3am I was finished and had learned a LOT about a procedure I had incorrectly assumed (hi mother!) would go fairly simply. Today I rode around for a few hours and didn't die of brakes or wheels falling off so I'd call that a result.

Each fork took about 10 hours + screw ups and research (carry the four) = about a 24 hour job...lol Still, lotta fun and the bike looks amazing and I have more confidence in my mechabilities.

The End. Yip!

[SA14]

You've done well mate, but nobody would have wanted to steal it before you had at it

Haha, good point and thanks. Went for a ride today and it's a slightly different feeling. Weird, I know but having a presentable bike makes a difference to me...even if no one else cares. Plus I really like rescuing things. Only a few small things to do now such as clean the calipers and that pesky steering stem upper bracket has evidence of it's oceanic past but they're not as "urgent" as these items were. Side covers, forks and engine were really unsightly. Now not.

God I love the sound of that Scorpion exhaust though. I could listen to that growl all day.

[Snapey]

The way you're going with the detailing of this bike you'll end up in a situation similar to mine. I love riding in all conditions but because detailing my bike is a two day job I refuse to take it out if there's the slightest chance of rain. ATM it's covered in dust and that's the way I like it.

BTW, that two days to detail & polish is done on a bike lift. If I had to work on the ground like you it would take a week.

[SA14]

The way you're going with the detailing of this bike you'll end up in a situation similar to mine. I love riding in all conditions but because detailing my bike is a two day job I refuse to take it out if there's the slightest chance of rain. ATM it's covered in dust and that's the way I like it.

BTW, that two days to detail & polish is done on a bike lift. If I had to work on the ground like you it would take a week.

Yeah, that can be a problem with raw polished aluminium for sure which is why I've applied a triple ceramic coating to all the freshly polished metal and all my paint work One quick wipe with a moist microfibre cloth and I'm done in 5 minutes.

If for some reason I've been caught (say) on a dirt road or unsealed section of roadworks a quick squirt with the hose to move all the dirt and a quick wipe and I'm done. I won't have to re-polish this metal or paint for many years. It really is the ultimate solution to the headache of having to constantly polish raw aluminium over and over and over again.

Plus this isn't a commuter or show bike for me but if I was to ever get caught in the rain it's not a worry at all because the ceramic's super-hydrophobic, anti-acid anti-chemical qualities means for at least the next 7-10 years the water beads and dirt repelling features will mean it'll actually be easier to maintain its finish than a normal factory bike.

The metal and paint will retain this incredible shine plus will be much easier to maintain. It's a win win. No more 2-7 day details for me it really is amazing stuff. You should look into it. It'll totally change your whole cleaning routine and give you your life back. I even coated my chrome headlight and gauge backs too so keeping it looking like this won't ever be a problem again.

I've never heard of anyone else ever using it on polished raw aluminium before. It's a major (perhaps even revolutionary) step forward in detailing.

By the way, I sit on a milk crate. No floor sitting for me.

[Snapey]

By the way, I sit on a milk crate. No floor sitting for me.

Your knees must be better than mine.

[SA14]

By the way, I sit on a milk crate. No floor sitting for me.

Your knees must be better than mine.

Well, that's why I sit on a comfy milk crate, to save my sore old knees back and feet. It's super comfortable and puts me at the perfect comfortable level for working down low on the bike.

[SA14]

Just going through my post-fork-polish photos and liked this one a lot. Just want to put it here.