Author Topic: My XBR project  (Read 6894 times)

iansoady

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He thinks it's all over.....
« Reply #195 on: February 05, 2023, 11:37:03 AM »
... well it is now (sort of).

I was sitting in the garage admiring my handiwork when I noticed the state of the exhaust front pipes. They're stainless and quite badly disoloured (see pic 1). Some years ago I had the stainless pipes on my Guzzi V50 professionally polished and it cost nearly as much as chroming!

So I decided to see what could be done with elbow grease and carefully selected materials. I started with 1200 grit wet & dry lubricated with T-cut then moved on to wire wool then sctotchbrite. I finally finished off with chrome polish applied and buffed up with a soft cotton cloth.

Now while not up to professional standards it was well worth a couple of hours work.

Original:



After polishing:









Ian.
1952 Norton ES2
1986 Honda XBR500
1958(ish) Grumph.....

xbally

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Re: My XBR project
« Reply #196 on: February 05, 2023, 11:48:46 AM »
A great result Ian and money saved-well done.
HONDA CB250RSA ROYAL ENFIELD CONTINENTAL GT535

kevberlin

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Re: My XBR project
« Reply #197 on: February 05, 2023, 04:43:11 PM »
Nothing more satisfying than a good result after a bit of elbow grease. Look great.
 I’ve found crunched up silver foil to be a good addition to the polishing armoury.
1983 Honda CB250RS
2023 BMW G310GS

Moto63

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Re: My XBR project
« Reply #198 on: February 05, 2023, 06:18:46 PM »
Good result Ian 👍..... just one more thing now to put that elbow to good use. Pour yourself a nice single malt and use ones elbow to sip it and savour it. 🥃
Cheers, Michael

iansoady

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Re: My XBR project
« Reply #199 on: February 06, 2023, 10:00:44 AM »
Already done Michael. Cheers!
Ian.
1952 Norton ES2
1986 Honda XBR500
1958(ish) Grumph.....

iansoady

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Does the team think....
« Reply #200 on: February 06, 2023, 11:06:26 AM »
... that adding pinstripes to the tank would be a good idea? It looks a bit blank without. Ideally I'd like something like a Manx Norton pattern but getting curvature on wider tape is tricky. A couple of mock-ups:

I think further down the shoulder looks better.





This would be my ideal (in gold) but too hard:



Ian.
1952 Norton ES2
1986 Honda XBR500
1958(ish) Grumph.....

deleted

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Re: My XBR project
« Reply #201 on: February 06, 2023, 12:03:32 PM »
I'd think the Norton stripes would be paint?
Pin striping... try keep it warm so it's pliable

iansoady

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Re: My XBR project
« Reply #202 on: February 06, 2023, 01:31:15 PM »
Yes indeed they would have been, and hand applied to boot. My attempts on my ES2:



Done with One-Shot signwiriter's enamel brush applied between 3mm 3M tape. It works well but gold paint is a different matter. Here is the same technique I used on a Sunbeam I restored some years ago:



Unfortunately the gold lacquer I used was far from petrol resistant even with halford's allegedly petrol proof lacquer.

With the XBR I have spent much time and effort on the red finish so want to use a simpler method hence using pinstripe tape. I did use the tape for a restoration of a Francis Barnett a couple of years ago but only 3mm narrow stuff so the bends worked fairly well. However you can see an imperfection in the tight curve behind and below the knee pad. I wouldn't get away with that using the 6mm wider tape hence my thoughts of keeping it simple.

Ian.
1952 Norton ES2
1986 Honda XBR500
1958(ish) Grumph.....

mthee

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Re: My XBR project
« Reply #203 on: February 06, 2023, 01:33:41 PM »
Pinstriping mockup looks really good! With your previous  results painting the Norton,  everyone will be expecting another first class job. No pressure.  8)
Fear of the unknown does not mean the unknown needs to be feared

iansoady

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Re: My XBR project
« Reply #204 on: February 11, 2023, 11:28:49 AM »
I always like to have a clock on my bikes so I don't miss closing time! I'd forgotten that I'd ordered this one from ebay. It comes with a handlebar attachment which is obviously no use for the XBR so 40mm of aluminium alloy from Rapid Metals and an hour or so on the lathe produced a nice little mounting to fit between the speedo and rev counter. Looks quite good I think. About £6.50 for the clock (it comes from China so takes a long time t arrive hence my forgetting it) and a couple of quid for the alloy.

Components - the supplied clip is to the right, my manufactured mount to the left:



In place matching up quite nicely:



I can fit the original mount to the Norton and swap the clock back & forth.
Ian.
1952 Norton ES2
1986 Honda XBR500
1958(ish) Grumph.....

Moto63

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Re: My XBR project
« Reply #205 on: February 11, 2023, 01:21:27 PM »
Yet another good result Ian.... but don’t look now but I think you’ve missed closing time ?😉
Cheers, Michael

xbally

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Re: My XBR project
« Reply #206 on: February 11, 2023, 03:11:19 PM »
Neat job as always Ian.

I could do with a clock like this for some of my bikes. Could you provide a link please?
HONDA CB250RSA ROYAL ENFIELD CONTINENTAL GT535

iansoady

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Re: My XBR project
« Reply #207 on: February 11, 2023, 03:18:32 PM »
This is it Martin: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/195144145547

Can't guarantee how long it will last. It looks exactly the same as ones sold for £30+ by various dealers.
Ian.
1952 Norton ES2
1986 Honda XBR500
1958(ish) Grumph.....

xbally

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Re: My XBR project
« Reply #208 on: February 11, 2023, 07:53:07 PM »
Thanks Ian.

I bought one of the £30 ish ones for my RE Interceptor 650 , it lasted around 12 moths and cost a small fortune for a new battery so I agree it's worth a risk at that price.
HONDA CB250RSA ROYAL ENFIELD CONTINENTAL GT535

tommy

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Re: My XBR project
« Reply #209 on: February 11, 2023, 11:17:04 PM »
the bike looks well ian .tommy