Friday, April 4, 2008

Powdercoating and exhaust

The trip back from Fort Frances was fruitful -- Kate and I full of Mom's food, a great visit with family, and a car full of parts... not just bike parts, but new tires for the Mini as well. I was able to haul back all of the TTR parts needed to rebuild the engine, plus a pile of Ducati stuff. Still waiting on a swingarm, sprocket, rear wheel, and a potential exhaust. Race tires were also sold locally, and new Pirelli street tires (super corsa III's) were acquired.


The remaining tabs were removed from the frame, and it, the swingarm, and the subframe were sent to Cypress Industries for powdercoating. Will be interesting to give them a try -- I hope the parts turn out OK. The quoted price is reasonable, and the frame will be finished in a proper red -- "Snoopy Red", with the swingarm and subframe going black -- "R" model style. Look forward to how everything turns out. Considering doing the wheels as well, but I'll wait until I see how the other parts turn out.


Lastly, the rearset plates are coming together -- the basic plates have been cut out, with offset spacers to set them out from the frame somewhat. Still need to finish them on the belt sanders at school. 99% of the shape is finished via angle grinder and bandsaw -- lotsa aluminum dust all over the garage!


The aforementioned exhaust was actually a Quat D I got for less than 1/2 price on ebay, new. Will require some work to fit, as the two other guys doing this conversion have run into some exhaust problems. I had some good luck with cycleboys regarding stainless steel (which is what this pipe is made out of), and all I can see needing done is a minor tweaking of the rear header pipe... I think. Have to be patient until I have the parts in front of me...