Cosmetics

Happy New Year Everyone! Lots more happening on the bike with all my time off this week. Now it's time to make it look nice!

This bike sat in a covered garage for the last 27 years, but that didn't spare it from the effects of corrosion. Unfortunately, the salt air in areas near the coast (like Torrance, where it lived) tends to attack exposed metal and make it get dull and rusty. All the chrome parts had a thick coating of rust on them when I brought the bike home, and all the alloy was dull. I'm not doing a full, show-style restoration here, but I am trying to make the bike look like the clean survivor that it is. The goal is to have a bike that looks really good, even up close, but still shows the character that only age and careful use can bring.

Some parts, like the gauge pods, mirrors and controls, I was able to clean up with some fine steel wool and chrome polish (and a lot of scrubbing). The chrome on these parts is nice enough for a rider, but not perfect. The alloy engine cases look better after a good bit of scrubbing and polishing, but they will have to come off to become perfect, and the starter cover is beyond salvage. None of this stuff will hold me back from getting the bike on the road, but I hope to have them fixed in the future.

A few other parts were too rusty to use, including the fork tubes (since their surface is not just cosmetic), the front fender, rear turn signals and rear grab handle. The front turn signals, passenger handle and headlight rim are marginal - I'd like to fix them if I find some reasonably priced replacements. The cleaned and polished exhaust will work for now, but ideally I will replace it with an aftermarket pipe for that "superbike" vibe.

I managed to score a nice center stand grab handle, rear turn signals and handlebar pad (the original turned up missing when the bike got home) from Kurt on The GS Resources. These parts really helped out the cosmetics.





The front fender I painted black, which will look nice with the rest of the bike. I sanded the bad chrome with 180 and 320 grit paper and then gave it a quick hit with etching primer in the can. I laid down two coats of black paint and three of clear over that. I like Duplicolor lacquer for this because it's easy to sand between coats and it dries pretty hard.





As for the paint on the tank and seat panel, I got out my favorite Meguire's products - Scratch-X, polish and wax. I gave each panel a thorough polish and wax, finishing off with a microfiber cloth. No, they're not perfect but they are much better than they were, and plenty good enough for a "rider" like this bike. The side panels are nice, though the emblems don't match, and they cleaned up very nicely with soap and water. I bought new screws from Suzuki, as well as new rubber pads for the mounting brackets on the frame.

The seat upholstery looks almost new after a thorough cleaning.

I replaced a couple of chrome dome nuts on the upper triple clamp because they were rusty - I ordered them through Suzuki, and though they aren't exactly the same as stock (go figure!), they will work in a pinch.