How to re-finish the choke lever
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Please can you post items for sale or wanted in the correct For Sale section. Items / bikes for sale here will be removed without warning. Reasons for this are in the FAQ. Thanks
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tygapaul
- Settled in member
- Posts: 114
- Joined: Fri May 02, 2008 7:09 am
Re: How to re-finish the choke lever
I always borrow (steal) Matt's chinagraph pencil and he is very understanding because he knows when I am using it I am not bothering him on the rebuild (think kid with crayons and you get the general picture). I reckon we could stretch to pencil with every order if it is a deal breaker...
Ok on the frame repair, as taught to me about ten years ago by Tomi San, dear friend and boss of Endurance Racing here in Thailand. Assuming there is a ding in the frame or swing arm (such as the ones made when the swing arm has hit the deck or the footpeg hanger/heelguard has contacted, you need to flatten it out first either by cutting/filing back if it is not too bad or I guess you could put a little weld in after first disconnecting the CDI. Then using wet and dry paper, smooth the localised area to the same level or so it appears the same level as the surrounding casting.
So far all pretty conventional. Then you get some really coarse paper (80 grit on fabric backing is good) and place it over the offending area which will look wrong because it is smooth unlike the rest of the casting. You then tap it with the hammer (not too hard to put hammer head dings in the part being repaired but hard enough to leave a very visible imprint of the sand particles so don't be shy. The backing fabric will disintegrate from the impact so you need to keep changing area of the paper the same way as those white out sheets for going over typing mistakes in the 1980s for the old people out there...
You can periodically inspect the area and through trial and error should get a pretty good match for a rough casting. Because the resulting finish is cast in appearance, if there is a slight indent compared to the surrounding area, it will not reflect light and look factory in any case. Can only use this method on cast finish parts and remember that most are actually anodised so it is not a perfect repair, just another useful tool to get your pride and joy presentable.
I recommend practicing on someone elses bike first!
Ok on the frame repair, as taught to me about ten years ago by Tomi San, dear friend and boss of Endurance Racing here in Thailand. Assuming there is a ding in the frame or swing arm (such as the ones made when the swing arm has hit the deck or the footpeg hanger/heelguard has contacted, you need to flatten it out first either by cutting/filing back if it is not too bad or I guess you could put a little weld in after first disconnecting the CDI. Then using wet and dry paper, smooth the localised area to the same level or so it appears the same level as the surrounding casting.
So far all pretty conventional. Then you get some really coarse paper (80 grit on fabric backing is good) and place it over the offending area which will look wrong because it is smooth unlike the rest of the casting. You then tap it with the hammer (not too hard to put hammer head dings in the part being repaired but hard enough to leave a very visible imprint of the sand particles so don't be shy. The backing fabric will disintegrate from the impact so you need to keep changing area of the paper the same way as those white out sheets for going over typing mistakes in the 1980s for the old people out there...
You can periodically inspect the area and through trial and error should get a pretty good match for a rough casting. Because the resulting finish is cast in appearance, if there is a slight indent compared to the surrounding area, it will not reflect light and look factory in any case. Can only use this method on cast finish parts and remember that most are actually anodised so it is not a perfect repair, just another useful tool to get your pride and joy presentable.
I recommend practicing on someone elses bike first!