Ok, got a nice big fat blue spark back. It was powdercoat on the frame where the coil bolts on.
The project is nearly finished. The tank is ready to get painted. I have also removed a side cover as that is going with the tank so the colour can get matched up better.
As you can see from the pics below..the muffler was in a bit of disrepair. I baked it for a few hours to get all the moisture out and to help prevent future rust. Then i buffed it all back and applied some industrial Devcon. The hard part was smoothing it ready for painting. I used 280C case paint in several layers of paint and sanding to get an acceptable finish. Came up OK considering.
I have assembled the bike as far as i can go until the tank is done. I am quite happy with the results so far. It should start and run nicely when the tank is on and it has some fuel.
OK, details.... as i was putting it all together i measured and checked the piston. It is still the original and compression is very good. I have reconditioned the original chain, sprockets, hand grips, tyres, seat cover, tubes, levers, spokes, nipples, cables etc... as it came with off the show room floor in 1977. Even the original handlebars were restraightened and painted. What i have replaced is the paint and decals, swingarm bushes, 4 x exhaust springs, half a dozen nuts and bolts, front number plate, spark plug, airfilter and rim tapes. I still have the original 4 exhaust springs and may put those back on but i have to blast and paint them. The only part i was undecided about was the hand grips. They are the original ones but were a bit shabby. I used a black rubber repair kit to repair the cracks and have put them back on. It doesnt give the bike the "new" look but it adds to it originality. Below is the bike as of 9th October 2014, 37 years after it was made and still running strong.
Cheers,
Alex
