[the_bot]

Been lurking the site for awhile, been lots of help while rebuilding my 450. Name is Al and I picked up my 450 at the beginning of last summer and spent the majority of it getting it back on the road.

This is what it looked like when I picked it up. Missing some stuff, but it had a clean title and the price was really right, and I wanted a project.

Chased down some side covers and a tank, stripped them to bare steel and polished them. Found a front fender, headlight bucket, and got a new chain and rubber all around.

Made a new gauge bracket, side mount taillight and plate bracket, put clubmans on, made the fiberglass bump stop and upholstered the seat pad. Tore out the old wiring harness and re-wired the whole thing, that was a learning experience.

And this is how she sits now. I've had a blast building it up and enjoy riding it. Just working on getting it to run like a top now. Always has been easy to start (kick only now) but still working on tuning.

Again, I appreciate all the wisdom and inspiration on the board, keep up the good work.

-Al.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

Cool bike! I like the polished tank! I'd thought about that at one time but I got this little tiny dent on top that would bug the hell out of me..

Welcome aboard! Got anymore shots of her??

EDIT: Did you clearcoat the tins?

GB :mrgreen:

 

[the_bot]

Cool bike! I like the polished tank! I'd thought about that at one time but I got this little tiny dent on top that would bug the hell out of me..

Welcome aboard! Got anymore shots of her??

EDIT: Did you clearcoat the tins?

GB :mrgreen:

No clear coat on it, I thought about it, but wasn't sure if it would stick to the polished surface. I just left it bare and it hasn't rusted yet. Been like that for 9 months or so. It gets stored inside and hasn't seen rain yet, so we will see if it lasts.

The weather is just starting to get nice here again so I will take a bunch more photos when I get a chance.

 

[leethal]

I love the look of bare polished metal. I hope it stays that way for ya.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

I hear that some people were using gun oil on theirs.

GB :mrgreen:

 

[the_bot]

I hear that some people were using gun oil on theirs.

GB :mrgreen:

Sounds like it would work.

I'm just going to keep an eye on mine and every so often hit it with some real fine steel wool and then a little polish. It's by no means perfect, there are a couple small dents on the top of the tank, but they just add some character right?

 

[Bird76Mojo]

If you put them there then it's not adding character, it's adding lots of curse words.

I don't see any reason why several coats of a good hard carnuba wax would'nt seal it well enough...


GB :mrgreen:

 

[Brown Bomber]

Sharp! Looking forward to some more pics.

 

[leethal]

Is the underside of the tank painted? Seems like it would be a pain in the @$$ to remove it for periodic polishing....

 

[the_bot]

Is the underside of the tank painted? Seems like it would be a pain in the @$$ to remove it for periodic polishing....

Underside is still painted, didn't bother stripping and polishing it, the top and sides were enough work.

 

[krukster86]

+1 on the polished tank, it looks amazing.