GB's Snotter! Oh Why, Oh Why? It's all over now..... Sort of

[ztig]

That is looking excellent

You say you got the graphics from 'sunrise' Have you got a link or a phone number for them ?

[martinz1b]

That is looking excellent

You say you got the graphics from 'sunrise' Have you got a link or a phone number for them ?

http://www.sunrisegraphics.co.uk/

[Ginger Bear]

You can learn a lot from this site. Shortly after posting the bit about Sunrise graphics, I was pointed in the direction of;
www.the-image-works.co.uk
Description
Classic and modern repro bike graphics. TEL:0115 944 3111 and speak to Graham. Tell him Jack sent you....
I copied this from the links section, but it was Jack, Aka London Calling that tipped me off. Jack told me I'd cry when I found out the difference in price.

[ztig]

thanks guys
Image works aren't that far from me either

[dixiethedog]

The image works stuff looks quality,i may pay them an on line visit myself,a good link.

[Ginger Bear]

Right then, time i think to share the 'tank saga' with you all!

The red tank fitted to this bike up until now, seemed it too good condition to strip back & start again, so I actually used the green one you can see at the begining of this thread.
First job was to get it stripped back, the underside had been covered with hammerite I took it to Nick, who now runs Griff's, where it was blasted clean. This revealed some of the bodges by one of the 12 previous owners

Some sort of rubber sealer had been daubed around the rear bracket & the outlet for the fuel tap. After stripping this, I discovered the rear bracket was Donald Ducked, I was also worried that the thing had been leaking at some point, so I put a bit of fuel in to check.

It was clear that I had a bit of a problem!!

[Ginger Bear]

I removed the rubber mess, then carefully ground off the rear bracket, which in the earlier pic, you can see it's just about fractured right through.

Next I cut off a replacement from a scrap tank.

The Dremell was ok, but used a lot of disc's, I resorted to a 4" grinder in the end.
Here is the Bracket all ready to be fitted.

Took the lot back to Griff's where Nick brazed it on. He also brazed up some of the perforations at the same time.

[Ginger Bear]

Next job was to get a bit of etch primer on it, before it all went rusty.
Once I'd sealed the outside, it was time to sort the inside.
I filled it with Bio-Rust & left it for 24 hours, I wish I'd done it for 48 now, as the results weren't as good as I've experienced with a longer soak. But they weren't that bad. After thoroughly drying it out I tipped in the 'Flowliner' & started performing acrobatics with the tank as the instructions suggested.
I wouldn't have used a liner through choice, but with all the perforations & the possibility of previous leaks around the sender & fuel tap, I thought it might be wise........ Good job too, as there was a couple of missed pin holes, that the sealer came through!

[Ginger Bear]

After filling a small dent, it was time to start painting. There were some scratch marks in the metal, so I applied three or four coats of 'high build' primer, then rubbed it back. Three coats of base coat were applied & once dried I applied the graphics. 24 hours later I applied & light coat of clearcoat, followed by two wet coats. I left that for a couple of days, then flatted it back with some 1200 Grit wet & dry & applied another coat of clearcoat. This is the end result, not quite up to profesional standards, but quite passable & the best thing is........... I did it myself




Just need to clean up the inside of my shed now............ It looks as if there has been some sort of massacre in there!!

[brian 450]

very nice mate

[Ginger Bear]

Right then, three months on from my last update & some pretty bad weather behind us, this is just about done.
There were a couple of teething problems..... The clutch being a bit of a sod to ajust..... Sorted now.
One of the cam end rubbers hadn't sealed properly, so had to re-do that. re-torqued the head & fitted freshly painted tank & panels at the same time.
I managed to spill some nice fresh V-Power fuel on to the tank & it attacked the clearcoat I had to gob on it, as I had nothing to hand, but have since managed to polish most of it out. Hopefully with a bit of exposure to the sun, this will harden off a bit more.
Took it out for a few miles this afternoon & all seems well. It revs really cleanly & still amazes me how pokey it is.

[mikey]

Well done steve very nice indeed top job

[coldsummer]

Looks great Steve. Are you planning on selling it to make way for your next project?

[Ginger Bear]

Looks great Steve. Are you planning on selling it to make way for your next project?

I would like to 'ride' it for now, but could always be 'tempted' by the right offer. I can only realistically get three bikes in my garage & still be able to move about.
The wife keeps looking at moving & to be fair, one of the things on the wish list is either a large garage, or space to build a large workshop. I could be up to six bikes too

[steve.w]

very very nice gpz steve.....