painting frame

[tomkat]

i have a 1978 r100/7. i'm thinking of getting my bike in my basement. i do not have a heated garage and it gets cold in wisconsin.well anyhow i'm thinking of having my frame powder coated. i have never totally disassembled a bike i plan on taking pictures & taking notes i want to ride in spring not have a pile of parts in my basement .any advice would be appreciated.thank you tom

[dlearl476]

I don't know if this bit in all the "XXXX Restoration GUIDES" like it is in my Duc Resto guide by Mick Walker, but the first chapter is some excellent "should I, should I not, how do I....." type of information.
First you need to know that the reason there are so many "basket cases" for sale cheap is that a lot of these projects are never completed. If you're convinced you can, should, and will do the project, get one of these books. I don't know if Ian Fallon's (http://http://www.whitehorsepress.com/product_info.php?products_id=4567) book has this first chapter or not.

A couple of tips I'll add: Plenty of zip lock bags and a sharpie. LABEL EVERYTHING, pop it in a bag. A digicam or video recorder is brilliant, as is a voice recorder. When I stripped my Duc, I used a digi still cam and voice recorder:
"Pic one is the horn assembly and it's wiring harness. The blue wire goes to the positive terminal and and the brown wire goes across to the mounting bolt of the Voltage reguator".
"Pic 4 is the fender mount bolts. The top ones go with the nut on the topside and the bottom gets the longer bolts with the nut on the inside".

You get the idea. It helps a lot months later when you're looking at a bunch of bags o' parts and a beautiful powder-coated frame.

[riderR1150GSAdv]

What dlearl said.:thumb My dad and I tried a full restoration of a Fiat convertible once and talk about a basket case. We succeded in keeping all the parts labeled and cleaned/repaired etc but the body was so far gone that it would have taken too many $$ to finish the job. We ended up selling all the parts for good money.
A bike has fewer pieces so you ought to be ok.
Good luck and please post a few pics of the project. :)
I am sure there are a few people here who could :help if need be.

[James.A]

Be sure there is ABSOLUTELY NO GASOLINE in your basement. Fire and/or explosion hazard.

[CustomSarge]

There is NO substitute for documentation & no such thing as too much of it (ok, yes you Can go overboard, but it's rare). I must add emphasis on the video aspect: recruit a friend to run the camera while you disassemble & narrate(?) the process. Dlearl has it dead on, tape & markers are cheap, mistakes aren't. And to his other point, help is available. Good Hunting <<<)))

[tomkat]

I would like to say thanks for the help .I really like the video idea and zip lock Baggies. I also just bought a book an how to restore motorcycles I’m looking forward to this. I'll keep you posted thank Tom