What I did yesterday

[JB1290]

I tore most of the NH down yesterday so I can get started with the paintand powrdercoat. My goal is to have it done and back on the road by the end of February.
What it looked like yesterday morning


After a couple of hours



The tank, fenders and side panels ready to be sanded and painted.


A box of miscellaneous parts and the lower fork legs going to powdercoat today.




Tires are coming off today so the wheels can be powdrecoated too.



Took the seat cover off and am waiting to order a new one. Im just glad the foam is still intact

[LOKi]

 

[6pkrunner]

Busy day, huh? 

[JordanA]

I am insanely interested in this.

[hppants]

Making serious progress, you must have a lot of bike mechanic experience.  Have you picked out a powder coat color yet?  Going for the blacked out look?

insanely interested

Now Jordan, you haven't gone and lost your mind again, have you? 

[staylor200]

 

[JB1290]

I just finished getting all of the parts prepped, sanded and smoothed out and any holes that I don't want powdercoat in them plugged up. The miscellaneous parts ie, grab rail, triple trees, shifter lever, brake lever etc...are going to be shiney black. The wheels are going to be chrome silver or at least, thats what Im thinking at this point. It may be a game time decision on the color. The wheels aren't quite ready yet. I still need to get the tires off (Im hoping I can get that done today), degreased and prepped. There was some minor road rash on some of the parts. Thank God they are aluminum and are fairly easy to sand down and smooth out. I definately think the Dremel tool and all of its accessories are the greatest invention of all time.

I do have quite a bit of experience working on bikes. I never went to school for it but, me and my brother have been building custom bikes for 10 years in our collective garages so, I just do it and if I screw it up, I either fix the part or God forbid, replace it. Sink or swim, I guess.

So far, I have somewhat decided on a color for the tank, fenders and side covers. I found a really bright metallic almost lime green for it. If I can load up a pic of what it looks like, I will later. Well, time to get back to work. Since I've pulled the bike apart, I found quite a bit of alluminum that is going to need some attention with some hand polishing.

Ill post more pics as the bike progresses.   

[JordanA]

Making serious progress, you must have a lot of bike mechanic experience.  Have you picked out a powder coat color yet?  Going for the blacked out look?

insanely interested

Now Jordan, you haven't gone and lost your mind again, have you? 

Sometimes I wonder if it was ever found to begin with.


JB, we're all looking forward to your progress.  Are you going to have the engine painted as well?

[fishball]

Very cool JB, it will be very interesting watching your progress.  Have you thought about lining the tank since you have it removed?  Not too tough a project and probably a good idea for a bike of this age.  Good luck!

[JB1290]

Jordan, at this point, it looks like Im not going to have to paint the engine. The original paint looks like its intact and in great shape. I'll know more when I get it cleaned up.

Fishball, i looked inside the take with a light and surprisingly, it looks as good as it did when it rolled out of the factory.

I got all the parts out to the powdercoater this evening. I didn't get the tires off of the rims yet. Having to run to the optomatrist and pick my daughter up from her moms house cost me too much time.

Its ok though, after talking with him, I'm re thinking the color choice for the wheels. I was going to go with the chrome powdercoating but, I may go with either "sparkly silver" or black. Im having the triple trees done in the sparkly silver so, if I like it, I'll do the wheels that color too. I don't want to have too much black on it. Don't get me wrong, black is my favorite by far but. I want to make this bike look different and stand out. Anyways, my day is done for now.

 Its Miller time.   

[luckylindy]

  Looking forward to this.

[Rusty B]

You have me interested too.   
I'll just keep watching, and   
And a little           Too.

Rusty     

[JB1290]

Well, I spent most of the day helping my brother in law move into his new house so, didn't really get anything done...yet. Heading down to the basement to start sanding the tank, fenders and side panels. Hoping to have them in primer by the end pf the week. I hope.  Thank God I have an understanding wife.  The parts I sent to powdercoat will be ready for me to pick up by Thursday at the latest.

This is the color I am leaning towards. Im still searching for the perfect color though.

[JB1290]

By the way, does anyone know who makes a 4 into 1 exhaust for this bike? I found a MAC exhaust but was wondering if maybe Vance and Hines or Yosh made a set up for it. I've been searching the internet but haven't found much out there. Im starting to think I'll end up making a custom exhaust for it. Any input would be appreciated.

[fishball]

By the way, does anyone know who makes a 4 into 1 exhaust for this bike? I found a MAC exhaust but was wondering if maybe Vance and Hines or Yosh made a set up for it. I've been searching the internet but haven't found much out there. Im starting to think I'll end up making a custom exhaust for it. Any input would be appreciated.

Am I the only one who loves the look of the stock exhaust on this bike?

[JB1290]

I actually like the looks of the stock exhaust. I would just like it to be louder. If I could find slip ons, I would use those. 

[Brittles]

Should be nice when finished.

Your going with a green color? You must not be superstitious. 

[jerjohn]

Should be nice when finished.

Your going with a green color? You must not be superstitious. 

Wow I just looked that up. I have never heard green was unlucky...my Ranger is jalapeno green. Maybe thats why I have had bad luck with it

[chromy]

JB,
  Looks and sound like you are taking the time to do it right and NOT half way.  Please post pics as parts return from powder coat.  Please give us an idea of cost (if you don't mind).
Again, nice to see you are doing it right.
Eric

[niteman]

Ooh, I'm going to follow this one for sure. Can't wait to see more pics.   

[jerjohn]

Cant wait to see the results.

[Laminar]

I actually like the looks of the stock exhaust. I would just like it to be louder. If I could find slip ons, I would use those. 

Here you go.

The PO of my Nighthawk 550 did a similar thing.

[JB1290]

Should be nice when finished.

Your going with a green color? You must not be superstitious. 

Ive heard about green being an unlucky color but, Im not a supersticious person. I'm a firm believer that we make our own luck most of the time. The rest of the time, things just happen. Sometimes good, sometimes bad.

Laminar, thanks for that link. I'll give that a try.

The box of parts I sent out to powdercoat will be ready for me by Thursday or Friday. Ill post pics of all of it when I get them back. With my schedule, I just got the tires off of the wheels yesterday so, I will drop them off when I pick up the other stuff. Im hoping to order my new tires within the next couple of weeks. Then, other than the paint, the only other thing I need to buy is a new headlight. I've found a few different assemblies I like on Ebay and some mail order companies but, I'm going to the Chicago cycle show/swap meet on Feb 6th so, I'm hoping I may find something I like there for less money.

I managed to go to a paint shop yesterday to pick out the color. Its called LimeGold by House of Kolor. Its a candy color that I will have to spray over silver. Not sure how much a pint of it will cost but, seeing that its "House of Kolor", I'm sure it won't be cheap. I may be able to get the paint through a friend at a discount though.

While I'm posting, I want to replace the stock footpegs with something different. I'm looking at a sportbike style of peg but, I don't know if pegs for like a CBR600 would fit the NH's stock mounts. Anyone ever try this? Thanks everyone for your input and suggestions. I am so glad I found this forum. Its nice to find a group of like minded enthusiasts that are willing to help out and answer questions.   

[JB1290]

Just a quick update...I'm so stoked because, I want to give this bike a "streetfighter" look and have had my eye on the Renthal motocross style bars. Well, I just scored a set of new Renthal 7/8 bars with a gunmetal finish for $13.49. They retail for $80.00 so, I'm a happy guy. I most likely won't be needing the stock bars. They will be powdercoated black so, if I don't end up using them and if anyone here needs them, let me know. I would let them go for nothing. 

[staylor200]

I want to replace the stock footpegs with something different.
[/quote]

Sweet! I've been interested for a while about replacing the pegs on my 700s. I'll let you know know if I figure something out. Hopefully someone has some intel about this.