LC2 restoration - Work In Progress

[element137]

Hi all - though I chuck up some pics of my LC2 project - got it this time last year and working my way through bringing it back to life - so start with couple of pics from day one - and will post up in rough time sequence the work so far - also have to say many thanks to all the advice and help received so far - especially on my battles with bearings/bush removals - its been great fun so far - Mac. 

[element137]

State of the wheels to begin with

[element137]

hand painted frame, and engine covered in grime

[element137]

Started with an initial clean up/vapour blast/rebuild on the carbs to see if it would start - not full balls out clean up - just enough to get it going - 3rd kick and started - carbs come up nice from vapour blasting - see before and after -

[evochris]

Looks like a great project, the carbs come up nice good job and looking forward to seeing more progress. At least the grime on the frame has protected the undercroft areas, I reckon there was a small exhaust leak lol.

[lcmarky]

Lovely starting point by the looks of the bike.

[JonW]

Jun 8, 2022 11:23:18 GMT 1 element137 said:

hand painted frame, and engine covered in grime

Totally Rad gromets!

Carbs look good. Defo do the balls out work, it will pay dividends and save you a job later.

[element137]

Initial strip down went relatively easy-

[element137]

and then the fun started trying to get all bushes out of the swingarm - lots of help on here reference suggestions, was a running battle for a long time - finally managed to extract them all - only then to find that once the swingarm was blasted / cleaned before powder coat - completely rotted through and was scrap - was the first real set back so far - was lucky enough to find a better one on ebay - second pic is the replacement swingarm back from the painter

[element137]

Jun 8, 2022 15:55:21 GMT 1 evochris said:

Looks like a great project, the carbs come up nice good job and looking forward to seeing more progress. At least the grime on the frame has protected the undercroft areas, I reckon there was a small exhaust leak lol.

You are right about the protective element of all that gloop - the whole underside of the bike was covered in it front to back - and its preserved a lot of stuff underneath- the bike had stood 8-9 years - 

[element137]

Jun 9, 2022 1:16:51 GMT 1 JonW said:

Jun 8, 2022 11:23:18 GMT 1 element137 said:

hand painted frame, and engine covered in grime

Totally Rad gromets!

Carbs look good. Defo do the balls out work, it will pay dividends and save you a job later.

lol- yeah, like totally Rad ! - agree on the balls out clean - carbs are currently with Dave at Muttsnuts (with the engine) so will get a more complete clean/service - I just needed enough to see if it would run - 

[element137]

Then moved onto what was the least enjoyable part so far - wheels - decided to hand polish the wheels - and wrecked my back in the process - spent an entire Sunday hunched over the wheels- rubbing them down with finer grades of paper - and polishing with a Dremel - spent next few weeks in agony with my back - I didn't want to remove the all the milling marks from the original machining- just wanted the rims cleaner/brighter - can honestly say it was not fun - but I though at least that's the hardest part done on the wheels...
Pics below before and after - I don't claim to be a polisher- but happy with where they got to -

[element137]

On the wheels, after a battle to remove the original bearings and replacing with new, which had its moments reference finding the right tool for the job, I thought the polishing was the hard bit - if you ever want to punish someone, with hard labour, in a word .....MASKING before paint - what an utter, kick in the balls, tedious, job-

[LC_BOTT]

They are a bit of a pain, but it gets easier the more you do

Are you not painting the inner 'hub' mine usually look a bit worn and tired compared to the newly painted parts, and there's not a lot of paint in there to start with.

[element137]

First a coat of etch primer - then painted in satin black - was lucky enough to use facility at work to do the painting - again- I am no painter, but happy with the results -

[dusty350]

They look great🙂
As always, you reap what you sow, so all the prep gives you a mint looking set of wheels🙂

Dusty🙂

[midlifecrisisrd]

Brilliant work on the wheels 👏

Steve

[JonW]

I'll echo what the others said. Good work and yes it takes time, but the more you do the better you get at it. I can mask a wheel and have paint on in 20mins now... 6mm line tape helps a lot as does having or making a balancer to spin the wheels when polishing

[element137]

Jun 9, 2022 8:14:28 GMT 1 LC_BOTT said:

They are a bit of a pain, but it gets easier the more you do

Are you not painting the inner 'hub' mine usually look a bit worn and tired compared to the newly painted parts, and there's not a lot of paint in there to start with.

I did look at that - after the event - trouble is I only really noticed after I had removed all the masking - once all the discs, sprocket hub etc on was not so noticeable - next time though - I think I would paint the inner part for completeness

[element137]

Jun 9, 2022 8:43:52 GMT 1 JonW said:

I'll echo what the others said. Good work and yes it takes time, but the more you do the better you get at it. I can mask a wheel and have paint on in 20mins now... 6mm line tape helps a lot as does having or making a balancer to spin the wheels when polishing

I used two types of tape - blue was normal 3M masking tape - the green is a flexible vinyl tape - and this was much better for masking into the fine lipped edge between polished edge and black part of the wheel - that lip is something I had never noticed until trying polish, then mask up the wheel  - its only when you do a job like this do you see the real detail in the wheel design - I made a lot of mistakes polishing the wheels- not least the rookie mistake of bending over them and lying them flat on a bench - lesson learned though !  

[element137]

Also had to very reluctantly junk the OEM discs off - they all on/below service limit - couldn't find anything original to use - so decided to go for new - I like them - but I still prefer the original slotted discs - but - didn't want to compromise on safety - the bike wont be for rivet counters anyway - I want to ride it - so I think the right call in the end

[element137]

Bit of an in-between job tidy up on the foot rest hangers - vapour blasted and I asked the guy to see if could get a satin/brushed finish - I didn't want to go too bling on these - so happy with these at the moment - but still a bit undecided as to whether to polish them a bit brighter ?

[element137]

Also - decide to hand polish the fork lowers - all done with various grade of scotchbrite - compared to doing the wheels - this was enjoyable and quite a nice way to spend a Sunday morning in the man cave - again I didn't want to go too bling - just wanted to get to a clean/satin type finish - I am pleased with these -

[element137]

[evochris]

Forks, wheels and hangers all look great, personal preference on polishing the hangers further, I always go to far and mirror polish, then spend the rest of my life keeping them bright, I need to learn when to stop. Fit them and see if it suits, remember the wheels are not mirror polished so they will go nicely I reckon.

[element137]

Frame when it came back from the painters - RAL3020 - much nicer finish than the hand/brush painted original -

[element137]

had to junk the main stand that came with it - looked like a one-off fabricated stand - was functional but ugly - found an OEM stand on ebay - was expensive but not stupid money - glad i got it early as the prices of main stands now are just crazy -

[element137]

the shock/linkages as they came off - decided to replace the shock rather than try and refurb - dog bone pivot shafts were very badly corroded/worn - -so splashed an some nice billet ones from Norbo

[element137]

turned teh corner a few weeks ago from stripping/cleaning/accumulating parts and started to rebuild towards rolling chassis - swing arm in and rear shock /linkages all rebuilt - went for a Hagon rear shock -

[lcmarky]

Looking really good & I agree with the satin finish and upgrading discs & shock, but I'd definitely be upgrading the motor, pipes & ignition.