Bimota Forum

[PaulDB2]

Blimey, at this rate, the resto will be complete by the weekend !
You are putting me to shame, if you have a spare week I might bring my DB1 over for you to fettle !
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Bimota DB1, Bimota YB5, Bimota YB6 Exup, Bimota YB9 SR, Ducati NCR Replica, Moto Guzzi 750 S3, Honda CR750 race replica, Seeley-Suzuki TR500

[waggy]

Looking great 2bims, your flying along at great pace. I had a similar ohlins shock were the gold finish had all but gone. My cheat was to key the old surface, give it a coat of etch primer, then a coat of silver, then follow several coats of tamiya translucent gold, cant recall its exact name, but its not a solid colour, hence the silver undercoat. Just slowly build up the coats of gold to get a near perfect match. Then finish with lacquer. Simples

[ladolcevita7]

Wow now thats how you do a proper restoration.
I hold my hands up and applaud you for your methodical planning.
I also hold my head in shame for not getting stuck into doing mine 😕
I need a bigger garage

[wallaman]

2bims,
Just a thought on prep for powdercoating your frame. I'd have the coaters blast it first, them take it back for inspection. You can "fix" any minor blems with a dab of JB Weld, then sand smooth just like the plastic bondo used for regular paint prep. The JB Weld powdercoats over just like metal and holds up well in their oven. Perfect for fixing spots like the worn area on your swingarm. If your concerned, ask your powdercoater, but I've been using JB Weld for years for that purpose - got that tip from my powdercoater.

Thanks for the great write up. Giving me motivation to do my DB2. It needs a good refresh!

Thanks.
Chuck S.

[Bud977]

Awesome work so far 2bims. And I can't wait to see it go back together.

Seeing the breakdown of the DB2 and seeing the individual components makes you appreciate the skills of Bimota even more.

[2bims]

[2bims]

First up was the Exhaust front and rear headers.which have stood up well from their last polish some 6 years ago....Was thinking about ceram coating them...but I still prefer polished SS look....and despite what ceramcoat say...their coating does need polishing from time to time...albeit less work than what I'm about to undertake....

Old headers prior to any work:-





Bimota welds numbered tags onto each header so that they match with the follow on link pipes...evidently showing each one was hand made...and lengths/bends may vary otherwise....the top of the tabs indicates where the next piece pushes down to....so you dont need to polish this part as its not seen...

First and 2nd pass of the process...evidently one on the left is "after"...RHS not touched yet



Both sets part way through



getting closer...just one step left



and heres the final items after being hand finished with fine wire wool...



You can also use powdered lime (the white limestone stuff..not the stuff that grows on trees) to clean off any burnt on wax...and it cleans good also...just dont get it in your eyes...or mouth or up your nose...so protection always....



Its these puppies or GUARANTEED conjuctivitus before the morning comes...or worse still....

Also polished up the Front mudguard mounts...but only the last 2 steps are needed with ally....the first 2 steps are too aggressive

one part way through and other untouched





and now both fully done...and after solvol and fine wire wool again...





Wouldnt mind getting some more made up for Napkin rings....but then I'd need to clear the dining table of bikes and bits if I was entertaining such...

[2bims]

Thats the shiney stuff out of the way for now...so its onto solid steel/cast iron humdrum rusty stuff...

Exhaust header collars and half moon collats that hold them in place...

As straight off the bike:-



first stage of clean up..one done



Mini dremel again for inside collar



then its rust treatment time...turns rust back to metal (but grind off loose stuff first)





and then its high temp engine coat paint





Then its repeat the process for the collats





And then same again for the battery box that had some light flaking to a couple of edge and at the fixing points....







Battery box will be primed, top coated and lacquered by rattle can when the daytime temperature crawls above 10 degrees at least...I have done some before in the dining room but its amazing how much airbourne powder comes out...takes forever to clean...so I use a sheltered draft free space outside for painting with rattle can...

Sidestand same treatment...And I know I'll get slated here...as Bimota sidestands are notoriously heavier than the Titanic....and can often help a bike go down like the very same ship due to wrong lengths/angles etc etc....but the finish and depth of the chroming on the sidestands is beyond reproach.....This things 22 years old and taken the weight of my bike and kicks from my boots over many periods....and really all it needs is a wipedown with a wet rag....Perhaps Bimotas knew that their bikes would still be around in 20/30/40 years time...so at least built the sidestands to last that long...afterll it is the only thing that (most of the time0 keeps your bike off the ground





When I was removing the 3 No rubber plugs that the petrol tank sits on ...pushed into the frame....the first one I pulled out I was a little "brutal" and the plug part snapped off and stayed in the frame....I used a small pick to prise the other 2 out...fortunately the one that snapped off was the middle rail where the shock top mount bolts on...and there is a hole in that tube (the other tube for the 2 other mounts is flush welded at both ends)....Fortunately I managed to rattle it out...and superglue works wonders with rubber....





Now just some shiney bits to close for today......













Thats all Folks!....until the next episode that is...Hhmmm....what could that be.....

[2bims]

[2bims]

[2bims]

[2bims]

[waggy]

I thought my OCD was bad....but I'm always happy to meet others more affected....that does sound plausible....but it would give me 3 attempts to mess the paint up...What bike did you do that on? Would love to see an "after" picture...but then I may be tempted to give it a go.... [/quote]

My OCD knows no limits sadly have no pics as l have now sold that ducati. The new owner did comment if l had fitted a new shock though, also had spring powdercoated. If you try it just be patient, lots of light coats. Ok its not annodizing but most people wont know the difference, might last longer too.

[2bims]

Did you spray the locking ring threads also or did you mask that part off?

[waggy]