Paint It Black

Now that the motor is running, it’s time to focus on getting the motorcycle looking like a motorcycle!

Off came both of the wheels (again) to enable me to prep and paint as much as I could over the weekend. Since the front-end of the R80 touches the ground when the motorcycle is placed on its centre-stand, I propped up the sump in front of the centre-stand to liberate the front wheel.

Front End Jacked Up

Front End Jacked Up

Six odd bolts out and the wheel was clear.

Front Wheel Removed

Front Wheel Removed

The forks were a little trickier as they didn’t want to leave the triple clamps. A bit of gentle convincing with a rubber hammer and some twisting and they came out.

Forks Removed

Forks Removed

The triple-clamp lowers that remained were a piece of cake to remove and before I knew it, I was ready to prepare and paint the parts that had been removed.

Front End

Front End

I started with the smaller stuff and worked my way up to the larger parts. Anything I could fit in the sand-blaster received that treatment, while the remaining parts were thoroughly de-greased and cleaned using Prepsol.

Triple Clamp Lowers Looking Scrappy

Triple Clamp Lowers Looking Scrappy

Triple Clamp Lowers Sand Blasted

Triple Clamp Lowers Sand Blasted

Triple Clamp Lowers Freshly Painted

Triple Clamp Lowers Freshly Painted

The forks juuuuust fit in the sand-blaster, so I got to clean them up super quickly.

Forks In Need Of Paint Preparation

Forks In Need Of Paint Preparation

The Fork Outsides Weren't As Terrible As The Insides

The Fork Outsides Weren’t As Terrible As The Insides

Forks Still Dusty Following Sand Blasting

Forks Still Dusty Following Sand Blasting

Forks Prepared For Paint

Forks Prepared For Paint

I removed the brake discs from the front wheel and gave them a sand-blast also:

Brake Disc Painted With Wrinkle Paint

Brake Disc Painted With Wrinkle Paint

With the smaller stuff out of the way, I started work on the bigger parts.

Dirty Front Wheel

Dirty Front Wheel

Paint Prepared Front Wheel

Paint Prepared Front Wheel (Almost)

Painted Front Wheel

Painted Front Wheel

The same process as above applied for the rear wheel. Once I had both wheels painted, I prepared the rear wheel mounting bolts (four of them) for re-installation.

Rear Wheel Bolt Before/After Wire Wheel

Rear Wheel Bolt Before/After Wire Wheel

Rear Wheel Mounting Bolts Cleaned [Side]

Rear Wheel Mounting Bolts Cleaned [Side]

Rear Wheel Mounting Bolts Cleaned [Tops]

Rear Wheel Mounting Bolts Cleaned [Tops]

I intend to replace the above bolts with stainless-steel equivalents as I don’t expect for them to maintain their luster for very long at all. I made use of some copper anti-seize to ensure that these bolts would come free with ease when replacing them at a date in the not-too-distant future.

Rear Wheel Mounting Bolt With Copper Anti-Seize

Rear Wheel Mounting Bolt With Copper Anti-Seize

With the rear wheel mounting bolts looking healthier, I re-fitted the rear wheel.

Rear Wheel Re-Fitted

Rear Wheel Re-Fitted

I was hoping to get the front end back before calling it a weekend, but didn’t want to stress the fresh paint too much. I figured best to let the parts stand for a day and approach the re-fitting at the next opportunity.

Front End Parts Ready

Front End Parts Ready

I was incredibly stoked with the results of the wrinkle paint that I’ve elected to use on the triple-clamps and front guard brace. The texture difference should look quite striking when surrounded by smooth flat/satin finishes. Full credit to Ren for the idea!

The logic for using the wrinkle paint on the rather thin looking triple-clamp top is that it will give the appearance of more weight/substance so that it doesn’t look as thin as it did previously.

Wrinkle Paint Looking Awesome

Wrinkle Paint Looking Awesome

It all might look a bit bleak at this point – everything seemingly getting painted black… But I can assure you that it isn’t going to be completely that way. I am incredibly excited to get to the final stages where I get to choose paint for the tank and guards. I hope to have quite a unique paint layout upon completion, rather than the dime-a-dozen black on black on black on chrome on black on grey on black motorcycles you see folks building.

A lot more to come soon as I re-assemble the front end and prepare a shopping list for the fun bits that are yet to be obtained. Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think of the wrinkle paint!

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