It begins! '90 KDX200 rebuild

[rbates9]

Try a different cleaner. I use Zep Dynamo. So far I can't find a better cleaner. It won't hurt paint and cleans great! It is meant to be a circuit board and contact cleaner but cuts grease and oil VERY well.

[SS109]

Try a different cleaner. I use Zep Dynamo. So far I can't find a better cleaner. It won't hurt paint and cleans great! It is meant to be a circuit board and contact cleaner but cuts grease and oil VERY well.

Huh? You have lost me.

[rbates9]

Sorry, I was talking about the problem with the cleaners taking off different types of paint.

Have you considered cleaning the engine and leaving it bare? If so the baking soda blasting works great on aluminum.

[SS109]

Soda blasting would be cool but, unfortunately, no one around here does it that I have found. I have been thinking about picking up one of the cheap soda units that Harbor Freight sells and doing it myself. It would be great for getting the carb, triple clamps, hubs, and engine cases looking new again.

The only thing that worries me about not painting the engine is that it will stain again. Of course, considering it doesn't look that bad after 20 years unpainted I just might leave it bare if I soda blast it.

[rbates9]

I use a "Spot Blast" gun that is meant for sand blasting and it works great. You don't even need gloves, But you do need a dust mask.
If you shop around for the cheapest baking soda you can find it is pretty cheap also.

I looked at the real soda guns and they seemed way to expensive for me to try it and the sand blaster I had worked great.

http://www.harborfreight.com/21-oz-hopp ... 95793.html
Not the same one but the same idea.

[SS109]

I use a "Spot Blast" gun that is meant for sand blasting and it works great. You don't even need gloves, But you do need a dust mask.
If you shop around for the cheapest baking soda you can find it is pretty cheap also.

I looked at the real soda guns and they seemed way to expensive for me to try it and the sand blaster I had worked great.

http://www.harborfreight.com/21-oz-hopp ... 95793.html
Not the same one but the same idea.

Very interesting and a lot cheaper than their cheapest soda blaster at $99. What size compressor were you running it with? How often did you need to refill it when blasting? I wonder how it would do with this unit: http://www.harborfreight.com/portable-a ... 37025.html Sure wouldn't have to fill it as often!

[scheckaet]

i did the engine, swing arm and some other odd parts and a year later it's holding pretty well. There are a few spots where it chipped but nothing too bad.
I used the recommended cleaner, primer/adhesive and then 3 coats of paint.
Here it is when new.

[rbates9]

quote]
Very interesting and a lot cheaper than their cheapest soda blaster at $99. What size compressor were you running it with? How often did you need to refill it when blasting? I wonder how it would do with this unit: http://www.harborfreight.com/portable-a ... 37025.html Sure wouldn't have to fill it as often![/quote]

I am using a very old and tired craftsman oil less air compressor and it keeps up ok. 20? gallon.

I only filled it about 1/3 full and did a rear hub and a half the first time I tried it, it works a lot faster than you would think.

I'm not sure how the other one would work without using some sort of valve to slow the feed down or I think you would waste a lot of soda. If you try that one let me know how it works for you. When I have done the blasting it has been mostly small jobs so refilling the spot blaster was not an issue at all. Ask around, I bet you know some one that has one already you could try.

BTW, it is a very dusty job so you will want to be outside and away from things but the next day the dust will pretty much be blown away.

[rbates9]

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i did the engine, swing arm and some other odd parts and a year later it's holding pretty well. There are a few spots where it chipped but nothing too bad.
I used the recommended cleaner, primer/adhesive and then 3 coats of paint.
Here it is when new.

Looks good

[SS109]

Looks nice scheckaet!

OK, on an awesome note, I have to give out some much deserved kudos to Kevin and Warp 9 Racing.

You guys remember my fiasco with getting two matching blue rims. I talked with Kevin of Warp 9 about it back in late March/early April. Even though I bought one of the rims from RMATV he said just send them in and he would make sure I got a matched set. Between the financial crunch of my car dying and buying a new truck, work, family, and being sick, I just totally forgot to send the rims to Warp 9. Fast forward to last week. June 16th to be exact. I finally managed to ship my rims. I told them that I hoped they could still take care of me and to contact me and I will pay for the shipping. Today, the 23rd, a box from Warp 9 arrives at my door. Inside were two perfectly matched blue rims!

Guys, I can't say enough good things about Kevin and Warp 9. This is customer service above and beyond. They didn't even ask me to pay for shipping! From now on when I want one of their products (seriously considering their radiators now!) I will be buying it directly from them. If I had just done that to begin with I wouldn't have went through this whole mess. So, I strongly encourage anyone looking for rims, wheels, etc. to give Warp 9 a good look. Kevin and Warp 9 Racing rock!

BTW, here is a pic of the new beauties!

[Fletch]

Man those look great, I wish every company operated like that.
it's gunna be one sweet ride

[SS109]

My Tusk case splitter, flywheel puller, and flywheel holder arrived today so I got busy! Now my engine is disassembled and ready to begin ordering bearings.

BTW, all three Tusk tools worked great. The only thing I would like to have been better was the flywheel holder tool. What I would like to see different would be about 1/8" longer pins on them. It didn't cause a problem but I would have felt better about how well it engaged the flywheel.

Oh, yeah, here is a pic! The outer cases are still dirty but I will get them spotless before starting to reassemble it.

[dfeckel]

Your cases are cleaner than the ones I just reassembled!

[SS109]

Got my steering damper bracket welded on finally. Now it is time to strip the frame and repaint it! Haven't decided on the blue to use just yet. Most blue accessories today are made to match up with Yamaha blue so that is probably close to the color I will go on the frame.

Also, should be getting the bearings off the crank and shipping it along with my Hot Rods rod kit to RB here soon.

[SS109]

Just a quick pic of my rewound stator. It's not completely done yet as I need to get a new terminal for the grounded end but I think it came out well. I used 18ga like Nick did. I don't know how many feet of wire I used but I managed 5 complete layers so I hope that is close! Question, is there anyways to test it at this stage to see if it shorted it?



I'm going to pick me up one of those cheap sand blasters like rbates suggested from Harbor Freight and a bag of soda media. BTW, which media did you use rbates, the medium or XL? Then I'm going to get to cleaning my wheel hubs so that I can assemble my wheels.

[rbates9]

I just used cheap grocery store baking soda like arm and hammer or what ever store brand cleaning grade baking soda I could find. So I don't have a clue as to the media grade. I have never seen the baking soda intended for blasting so I can't compare. Generic brand cost about 50 cents a pound.

[Slick_Nick]

To test that stator you just need a multimeter and you'll check for how many OHMs of resistance there are. Should be a greater number with the thicker coil. I forget the spec on stock, but it's in the manual. Looks like you did a GREAT job! Don't forget to scrape the coating off the ends before soldering (sure you already knew trhat, just a friendly reminder!)

[SS109]

Did some "test" painting today to see if the colors are what I expect them to be.

I used VHT Silver brake caliper paint on the chain adjuster. It has to be baked for 1 hour at 200 degrees for durability and chemical resistance. This stuff looks very close to the factory silver and went on really nice. After baking it looks like a factory paint finish. Pics don't do it justice.

I cheaped out on the frame paint due to logistical issues (was going to use an HVLP gun and industrial paint) and went rattle can. I used that new Krylon Fusion paint in Navy blue. Followed proper paint prep and it came out better than expected. The color matches my other blue components very well and should look great once every thing is assembled.

[rbates9]

Looks good!

[dgraver]

id be interested to see an update of how the frame holds up after a few rides/months.. looks great though! good work!