TT250 restoration - double the fun

**deanohit** · 8th December 2007, 13:37

Looking good mate!
What a cool pair of projects.

**Dak** · 8th December 2007, 16:38

Aahhh, brings back memories, the very first bike I ever owned was a road legal one of these.

**Wired1** · 8th December 2007, 16:43

Originally Posted by Dak

Aahhh, brings back memories, the very first bike I ever owned was a road legal one of these.

Yeah, in those days you could register them even with knobblies, enduro headlight and no indicators. Thank the lord we're all protected from ourselves now by Helen.

**Damz** · 8th December 2007, 16:56

Haha small world. Bummer the bits dont fit!

You wouldnt believe it, but my TT doesnt have the plastics on it...!! I could have sworn it did, but obviously my memory is fading..

Sorry dude!

**Wired1** · 8th December 2007, 17:14

Originally Posted by Damz

Haha small world. Bummer the bits dont fit!

You wouldnt believe it, but my TT doesnt have the plastics on it...!! I could have sworn it did, but obviously my memory is fading..

Sorry dude!

I would believe it, neither of my TT's or my XT have them either. There must be a pile of them out there somewhere...

**Damz** · 8th December 2007, 17:18

Ill say. Would hate to imagine what theyd be worth on trademe! Probably worth making a mould and popping one out every couple days, nice bit of pocket money!

Hey could you please do me a favour, and have a look at this, from what your video showed, your a little more experienced than myself!

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...ad.php?t=62635

**psyguy** · 8th December 2007, 19:13

Originally Posted by Wired1

I put together a set of cases and covers earlier this week and took it along to the sandblaster to see what they could do with it. The result is below, they reckon it's called "bead blasting" which is a bit milder than sand. It looks brand new but is a bit dull. It was an interesting experiment but I think I will end up painting it black again, just looks too raw.

bead blasting process parameters can actually be manipulated to achieve quite shiny satin finish
however, if you want to paint it anyway, this doesn't matter - you got a good clean surfaces for the paint to stick well
have you considered powdercoating? - should give a fantastic result on such well prepared surface

good luck with your project, looking very cool

**Wired1** · 8th December 2007, 22:24

I was hoping for a satin kind of finish but this is more like raw aluminium. I will have to either polish it or paint it. The powder coating idea sounds like a goody but the last lot of bits I had done cost me $250 for the swingarm, trees and a few engine clamps so I imagine the cases would be more than that. I think I will paint it black with engine enamel, maybe do the barrel a different colour.

**psyguy** · 9th December 2007, 06:55

have a look here for powdercoating prices:
http://www.hpcoatings.co.nz/prices1.htm

my engine is clearcoated and although it was done within only a few days from when it was bead blasted it shows signs of oxidation underneath the coat

- i guess this is not too good for the longevity of the paint - so my suggestion is to use a treatment for any already formed oxide on the surface just prior to painting, especially if you're intending to use only the rattle-can engine enamel
i was told the appropriate way to paint an engine is to use the etch-primer, two coats of paint and two-pot clearcoat on top - but that gives a finish that's too thick (imho)

**Wired1** · 9th December 2007, 11:43

Here's the latest update - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRJKBayopXE

**motorbyclist** · 9th December 2007, 13:07

Originally Posted by psyguy

i was told the appropriate way to paint an engine is to use the etch-primer, two coats of paint and two-pot clearcoat on top - but that gives a finish that's too thick (imho)

i find the heat resistant paints usually hold on their own, but i prefer not to paint anyway unless there's something to hide

**motorbyclist** · 9th December 2007, 13:17

great video's man! i wish i could make it look that easy

(hehe, i bet you cut out all the "where did i put the pliers? why don't i have and metric bolts? why won't this fit? who the hell designed this and what were they thinking? oh shit i broke it!" and the classic "oh fuckit i put the piston in the wrong way around! why do i have a washer left over?" moments

)

**Wired1** · 9th December 2007, 14:37

Originally Posted by motorbyclist

great video's man! i wish i could make it look that easy

(hehe, i bet you cut out all the "where did i put the pliers? why don't i have and metric bolts? why won't this fit? who the hell designed this and what were they thinking? oh shit i broke it!" and the classic "oh fuckit i put the piston in the wrong way around! why do i have a washer left over?" moments

)

Yeah there were a few out takes like when I put the barrel and head on then realised I forgot the other cam tensioner. I had two goes at assembling the rear mono shock in the second video and had a dry run of some bits so that it would look more professional and smooth in the real run. I also cut out the bits where I was reading the manual! All up it took me about 6 hours to assemble the engine which I'm guessing is pretty slow compared to the pros, but the next one I do should be 2-3 hours all up. It's good fun anyway.

**Damz** · 9th December 2007, 19:01

Bloody good effort bud, gonna be a nice bike when its done!!

**Wired1** · 12th December 2007, 20:27

Well here's the next episode - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k16syr6W3z0
You're probably thinking I don't sleep but in fact a lot of this video was shot before the previous part but I've only just got around to putting the brakes back together - I was waiting for new shoes from the states.
I've also put a still picture below for those too cheap to get broadband - I don't know how you can live without it, I'll be running a cable it to the shed next time I'm in the mood for wiring at home (which is like never).