Update on vulcanman500's '87 cbr600 hurricane project
Posted: Fri May 20, 2005 6:44 am
Well, it's been some time, due to his work schedule. The cosmetic work is progressing very well. A new bridgestone and rotor are on the back wheel, with fork seals next. Mechanically, that's about it. Oh, I had to put the gas cap notch in a different spot and fill the old one with epoxy. The tank is from a differnt year bike. Chris is a real artist, and much of the delay has been the creative process. As I look at the painted tank, nearly buffed out, The end result is breathtaking. It's going to be well worth the work he is putting into it.
No picks yet, but I'll tease with some details...Gold and gunmetal gray metallic basecoats in a subtle, but obvious fade pattern that carries on from the front fender stripes through various shades to the tailpiece. The tank is a real work of art, including a custom graphic of his initials on the top near the cap. All this is topcoated in candy apple red, followed with three coats of clear. After fixing a number of cracks and other defects, the parts were all surfaced with progressively finer grits and primer surfacer, most of which was removed (duh). We wet sanded with 1000 grit between the final basecoats(two each color) and the candy. Also between the second candy and the first of three clear coats( the basecoat wasn't really basecoat specific paint, so we can use it elsewhere as a topcoat with lower gloss, for wheels or frame maybe), and the surface is like glass. With seven coats of paint, wet-sanded between, it should be! You look down into the paint to see every detail of your own face staring back at you, even from a few feet away. The glare is unbelieveable in the sunlight, but you can see the clouds in the sky in the paint! The front fairing has been extensively smoothed and shaped to fit cbr 954 mirrors with a carbon fiber pattern. Unknown if that will stay that way after paint is on the fairing. The original clear windscreen is replaced with a smoke tinted lockhart phillips item.
At the moment, the rear wheel is painted red candy apple over aluminum in the three center spokes and the center of the rim only. The outer rim is polished. Chris will decide if he likes it or not when the bike is back together (this one was my experiment, so he's humouring me at the moment).
Yet to do are the final shaping/priming/painting/sanding/buffing of the front fairing, smoothing/repaint of the frame, and the final verdict on the wheels.
I'm sure he'll continue to come up with new ideas, and we'llget some pics in pretty soon.
I'm thrilled with the results so far. He probably is, too. He's a little more low key than me about stuff like this, and it's his first project. That's what is really blowing me away about it, I guess...proud dad
No picks yet, but I'll tease with some details...Gold and gunmetal gray metallic basecoats in a subtle, but obvious fade pattern that carries on from the front fender stripes through various shades to the tailpiece. The tank is a real work of art, including a custom graphic of his initials on the top near the cap. All this is topcoated in candy apple red, followed with three coats of clear. After fixing a number of cracks and other defects, the parts were all surfaced with progressively finer grits and primer surfacer, most of which was removed (duh). We wet sanded with 1000 grit between the final basecoats(two each color) and the candy. Also between the second candy and the first of three clear coats( the basecoat wasn't really basecoat specific paint, so we can use it elsewhere as a topcoat with lower gloss, for wheels or frame maybe), and the surface is like glass. With seven coats of paint, wet-sanded between, it should be! You look down into the paint to see every detail of your own face staring back at you, even from a few feet away. The glare is unbelieveable in the sunlight, but you can see the clouds in the sky in the paint! The front fairing has been extensively smoothed and shaped to fit cbr 954 mirrors with a carbon fiber pattern. Unknown if that will stay that way after paint is on the fairing. The original clear windscreen is replaced with a smoke tinted lockhart phillips item.
At the moment, the rear wheel is painted red candy apple over aluminum in the three center spokes and the center of the rim only. The outer rim is polished. Chris will decide if he likes it or not when the bike is back together (this one was my experiment, so he's humouring me at the moment).
Yet to do are the final shaping/priming/painting/sanding/buffing of the front fairing, smoothing/repaint of the frame, and the final verdict on the wheels.
I'm sure he'll continue to come up with new ideas, and we'llget some pics in pretty soon.
I'm thrilled with the results so far. He probably is, too. He's a little more low key than me about stuff like this, and it's his first project. That's what is really blowing me away about it, I guess...proud dad