TANK:OK, after much deliberation on whether to keep the tank original or recondition it, i decided to recondition it. Take a look at the pics below and you will see why. I don't think the original paint jobs from Suzuki were very good quality so over the years, the rust gets in and attacks the tank from under the paint. Anyway, as the tank had all the original decals in place, i took measurements and have posted them up for future reference. I also managed to save the decals onto a contact sheet and will store them away. I used paint stripper to strip the paint off, then blasted the surface rust off and sanded it back. It is still in really good nick and like new inside but the surface rust was terrible under the paint. Anyway, i left a small patch of good paint on top that was under a decal and use that to get a perfect match. It is going to get a new paint job with original Suzuki decals and aftermarket identical warning decals. Then hope to clear coat it. That should give it the protection it needs for the next 40 years.
Below is the tank decal measurements...
More measurements for the warning decals
Original warning decals saved to a contact sheet including the 650cc oil decal thats below the oil filler cap on the sidecover...
Below is the surface rust that was under the paint...
And finally, the tank stripped of paint using paint stripper, then blasted and sanded. A small good patch of paint has been left on top to get a perfect paint match.
Cheers,
Alex
