Monster rustoration

[crust]

So back in 2014 I got back from a trip rode the Monster into the garage, parked it in a corner and put a cover over it.

Roll on to 2020 and the garage needs the roof replacing so I'm cleaning some of the crap usefull stuff out and generally tidying up :shocked:

I needed to get into the corner so tried to move the big green canvas lump, nope - not having it. Lift the cover and the tyres are flat. Fire up the compressor and add a dollop of air - tadaa it moves.

Still in the way, so into the back garden it goes.

Sitting having a break, hmmm, could do with a wash, so here we go.

[crust]

Pre-wash

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50084601196_5a35031bb8_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jiNF1Q)20200705_154146 (https://flic.kr/p/2jiNF1Q) by crust (https://www.flickr.com/photos/187928266@N02/), on Flickr

A good dosing of SDOC and Rhino goo and she's looking, well, a bit better. She's always been like her owner - a bit scruffy and held together by random bits of metal.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50084600926_16c733828a_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jiNEWb)20200705_170120 (https://flic.kr/p/2jiNEWb) by crust (https://www.flickr.com/photos/187928266@N02/), on Flickr

[crust]

Some bits came up quite well.

Before
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50084836302_1fb52e60b1_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jiPSUo)Swinging arm before (https://flic.kr/p/2jiPSUo) by crust (https://www.flickr.com/photos/187928266@N02/), on Flickr

After
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50084015423_d993d3e930_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jiKETi)Swinging arm clean (https://flic.kr/p/2jiKETi) by crust (https://www.flickr.com/photos/187928266@N02/), on Flickr

[crust]

Some bits were up to Ducati's usual paint standard

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50084017088_ab15eb6ae8_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jiKFo1)20200705_170211 (https://flic.kr/p/2jiKFo1) by crust (https://www.flickr.com/photos/187928266@N02/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50084600486_befe183072_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jiNENA)20200705_170221 (https://flic.kr/p/2jiNENA) by crust (https://www.flickr.com/photos/187928266@N02/), on Flickr

Frame's developed a decent red rash, now where'd I put the hammerite :mand:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50084016748_386c01269e_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jiKFh9)20200705_170235 (https://flic.kr/p/2jiKFh9) by crust (https://www.flickr.com/photos/187928266@N02/), on Flickr

[crust]

Giving her a wash, made me smile as I remembered places we'd been, fun we'd had. Didn't look too bad, so a bit of a plan was hatched.

A quick mechanical resto with maybe a more cosmetic job over the winter. The deal breaker would be the state of the carbs and how much de-gunging would be required. So back in the garage and a quick delve.


https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50084837222_c8aeac12db_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jiPTbf)20200705_180700 (https://flic.kr/p/2jiPTbf) by crust (https://www.flickr.com/photos/187928266@N02/), on Flickr

Carbs on bench.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50084016358_42e74f40c9_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jiKFaq)20200705_182131 (https://flic.kr/p/2jiKFaq) by crust (https://www.flickr.com/photos/187928266@N02/), on Flickr

[crust]

Float bowls off and wow, I mean wow. Spotless inside.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50084599636_07587a33f9_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jiNExW)20200705_182608 (https://flic.kr/p/2jiNExW) by crust (https://www.flickr.com/photos/187928266@N02/), on Flickr

[crust]

So impressed with the carbs I reached for the solvol.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50084599476_ba4b9a0c68_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jiNEvb)20200706_174031 (https://flic.kr/p/2jiNEvb) by crust (https://www.flickr.com/photos/187928266@N02/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50084836427_fb7cf1cd35_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2jiPSWx)20200706_182930 (https://flic.kr/p/2jiPSWx) by crust (https://www.flickr.com/photos/187928266@N02/), on Flickr

[crust]

Next steps.

Ordered some exactfit belts and tensioner bearings. Pick up battery, filter and oil locally.

Blow carbs through just in case, oil and filter change - see how she runs.

If that's successful, change brake fluid and chance an MOT.

I think the chain and sprockets may need a change or maybe just the chain (I know but dicking around with gearing has got them out of sequence).

When's the next WDW? :mand:

[Darren69]

That chrome came up better than it had any right to do. You may just have caught it in time?

[Mr Gazza]

Nice work... Lucky with the carbs.

Is it an S with cast iron discs? or have the stainless ones gone ochre over the time?
I notice that there is a brighter patch where the pads rested, they are going to need some long hard braking sessions before they pull evenly!

Be careful on those old tyres that have sat flat for X months. They will be hard and misshaped, they will not only feel awful but won't have the grip they once did. They would be the first thing I would bin.
Nice bike though, I bet its nice to get re-acquainted.

[Darren69]

The rotor pattern is wrong for the cast iron discs, I think sadly from the pattern they are the standard steel ones gone rusty, and I don't think it's an S but nice flatslide carbs though!

[utopia]

.... back in 2014 I got back from a trip .....

I'm guessing that was the WDW trip, where our paths crossed ?
I'm surprised to hear that you've not ridden it since then.
A fair few of the same group have repeated the trip in 2016 / 18 ..... but obviously not this year.
Maybe next time ?
Good to hear that you've dug the old girl out.

[Flip]

Blimey Mr Crust I don’t think I’ve ever seen it looking so clean ....... and that was before you err cleaned it :D

Anyone that’s ridden with the aforementioned Mr Crust can only wonder how much faster it might go if it was slippery clean.

Keep it dirty & give us a chance I say :D

[crust]

Thanks, guys.

It was a bog standard M900.

Chrome impressed me as well, that'll be the Germans for you.

The disks are standard rusty ones, I'll give them a quick rub down with some fine wet and dry then finish off the pads before fitting new ones.

I've got a set of scrubs coming from a mate so the current ones will be binned if they're no good. They've got to come off soon-ish for the wheels to be painted.

The carbs were an ebay bargain - I had a search saved and they popped up 'buy it now' at a cheap price. Great mod, really bring the engine alive and give better consumption.

Utopia - it probably was, good trip. I had two other bikes on the go that sucked up time and funds plus I got into mountain biking so the poor old Monster lost out.

Hi Flip, I'm sure it won't stay that clean for long :chuckle:
The layer of dirt and oil seems to have preserved it quite well. Pah, Mrs Filthy laughs in the face of your ACF50.

[Albie]

Silver foil brings chrome back. Chrome is just a fine layer and does not rust. Only metal beneath will rust but keep on top of it and will keep it down. Glad your bringing it back alive.

[crust]

So onto the engine, or so I thought, after a bit of reading I pressed the button on some exactfit belts and to be safe some moving tensioner bearings.

Whilst taking off the belt covers I noticed oil residue behind the rear cylinder.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50100702758_bacbfaf143_z.jpg


Now theres a dilema. It's not much but I don't like it. So head and barrel off to repalce base gasket?

Hmm, last time I did that I snapped a ring on the horizontal cylinder, then there's that set of 944 pistons and standard spare barrels on the shelf. Get the barrels rebored and plated to 944, not this month.

Ok, on to other parts then.

[crust]

Front wheel scrubbed within an inch of it's life - paint is blistering so that'll need a repaint at some time.

So disks then.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50100700268_ba7b1dfd0a_z.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50101281786_4bab482c27_z.jpg

[crust]

That went well so time for the calipers:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50101506517_41c2d91d1d_z.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50100696493_88978bfbf5_z.jpg

[crust]

Lesson learnt when blowing pistons out with compressed air

1. One will always come out like a rocket, the other wont. Luckily I had my palm over the pistons, good job I didn't have a piano recital that night :)

2. Wear glasses because when the rocket takes off the residual brake fluid sprays all over the place.

3. Wrapping the caliper in an old towel prevents all this.

All came up very well and looking very nice inside. One small 30mm piston has a slight nick in it so may need replacing.

Wheel and calipers back on, just need to bleed them.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50101277041_ca76ea6a89_z.jpg

[slob]

can you tell if the oil coming from the base gasket or the breather valve?
one might be a lot less work to fix than the other ;-)

[crust]

Oh, good question.

Hadn't thought of that, will investigate.

no thumbs up smiley or like button :(

[Darren69]

What did you use on the calipers, just brake cleaner? They've come really well.

BTW These are great for getting the breather valve out, dead easy: -

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Multitool-Black-Rubber-Strap-Universal-Wrench-1Pc-Modern-500-Adjustable-Spanner/193492615632?hash=item2d0d0f01d0:g:ATMAAOSwxR9d8ZG O

[utopia]

My memory's not always so good but this quote from 2011 stuck .....

" Fairy Liquid, very hot water and a stiff tooth brush.
Remove wheel, leave caliper dangling.
Fill bucket with hottest water you can stand, add plenty washing up liquid, scrub like buggery, keeping dunking in bucket. "

I'm guessing you used the same method this time.

It was the "scrub like buggery" which made me chuckle and set the memory tag.
I also remember being slightly miffed at the time because the forum censor allowed "buggery" but it wouldn't let me write "sn1gger".

[crust]

A slight variation on the theme this time as I knew I was going to properly flush the brake system and I wanted to split the calipers.

I took them off the bike, gave them an initial soak with SDOC and then attacked them with the hot soapy water and scrubbing brush. That got rid of the surface layer but not in the gap where the disk sits, so then I split the calipers, covered the halves in SDOC, scrubbed that off and left them to soak in very hot soapy water before giving them another good scrubbing with a stiff bristle brush.

Gave the pistons a polish with just a soft cloth until all the residue was gone, a thin coat of red rubber grease, pop them back in and re-assemble calipers.

But, yes, there was a lot of scrubbing like buggery to get all the baked on grime and brake dust off.

[Pedro]

Excellent work Simon! Nice to see the old girl out in daylight

If you’re painting the wheels, I found your cush drive rubbers puller in my tool box the other day, want me to post it back?

I still think chasing you up that italian pass on the way to WDW 2007 was the scariest ride of my life... lol!

[crust]

Cheers Pete

I'm definitely enjoying it and looking forward to getting out on it for a ride and catching up with folk.

The wheels will get repainted at some point, probably over the winter, along with a load of other parts.

Keep hold of the cush tool for the minute, it'll give me an excuse to meet up at some point :)

2007, wow, that long ago. Yup, the Migliatore is a phenominal road. :yoparty:

[Zimbo]

Nice to see it out Mr Crust, last saw it on a Mallory track day I think, enjoyed chasing it around the Scottish highlands as well 😄

[crust]

Next on the list - rust spots on the inside of the tank.

Brief sidetrack - I wanted to see more of the inside of the tank so spalshed out £9.99 on a Eurocarp parts endoscope. Don't, not sure you even get what you're paying for. The software supplied simply doesn't work. Tried a number of apps, a random USB camera one sort of did.

It showed a lot of the tank with these:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50093682876_385b13bc4c_o.jpg

Someone had recommended DEOX - https://www.bilthamber.com/

So I ordered some DEOX and some Surfit degreaser. Washed the tank out with degreaser and then mixed up the DEOX and poured it in. Through the filler cap you could see a patch of the tank with a light coating of surface rust, the DEOX got rid of that just pouring it in :)

Left it for a couple of hours, swilling it around every 15 mins or so. The results are pretty impressive where the metal was submerged, slightly less so where it was only getting wetted when swilled as you'd expect.

Submerged

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50129425763_6360335e74_o.jpg

Swilled

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50129425933_e11a632e17_o.jpg

Overall I'm happy there's no rust to wash off and block fuel filter or rust through the tank.

[crust]

Inside done I treated the tank to a new latch (the old one was held together with wire) even dug out some black bolts for the tank cap rather than the dog-eared chrome ones it had before.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50129981146_e02d667e53_z.jpg

Inside and top of tank done (some repainting to do on underside) it was back to the front end.
First up some shiny new Ti disk bolts – forgot to take picture – Doh!
Then on to replacing the horrible rusty bolts holding the caliper together:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50129409838_4d08016f85_z.jpg

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50130199182_2306df3ac4_z.jpg

Then an hour or so bleeding the brakes, from the top, bottom, pushing pistons in and out, still spongy but I got bored.

[crust]

A few little jobs like replacing the perished tank prop rubber:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50130198662_3d3c17e7c7.jpg

Then fit the new belts

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50100703298_32b6d11974.jpg

Refit belt covers. Smile and call it a day.

And yes, I've decided to 'forget' the oil weep for the time being as the motor may well be coming out in the near future for a refurb.

Next up - refit carbs, oil change and see if she runs. Work is going to get in the way for the next couple of weeks so it will be slow progress.

[walkingpictures]

Going well Simon,I meant to subscribe to this thread before but being old and senile forgot all about it...:chuckle:

Good luck with the rest of it

Kimbo

[crust]

Cheers, Kimbo.

Got a bit of time today so:

Working on the bike in the garage I noticed the first clean hadn’t got all the gunge off, so today it was back into the garden for a more in depth scrub and to try out a new cleaner.

First off was a good pre-wash soaking with SDOC, then a wash and hose down, wasn’t really getting the job done, so out with the new stuff -Surflex HD from Bilt Hamber.

Splashed some into a bowl added some water and scrubbed an oily area with it, bit of a hose down and WOW!!! All grease and oil gone. Right then, this stuff works, so out with a selection of brushes and away we go. That stuff rocks, got all the gunge off from behind the sprocket cover, sidestand bracket the lot. Very impressed.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50156214076_47949bce81_b.jpg

[crust]

Had to laugh when brushing down the patio afterwards, silver speckled patio.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50156208456_de123f10d2_c.jpg

Oh well, less to strip off come repaint time.

[crust]

Then back into the garage and on with it. Oil and filter done, airbox on, airbox off, fit starter solenoid back on base of airbox, airbox back on again. Coils and ignitions boxes back on.
A few other bits fitted, day done.

Next: Clean air filter and finish off airbox and electrics. Repaint underneath of tank, new fuel filter and refit tank.

After that its rear wheel off and clean out inside of swinging arm, shock off for clean and check, clean and re-grease suspension linkage.

[crust]

Had an evening free so did some more, unfortunately phone was flat so no pictures ☹

Stuck the airbox back on, coils and new motobatt battery. Hmmm, lets just spin it over and see if there’s a spark, yup, got sparks, let’s see if it runs.

Hold on, lets see if the oil’s getting through as it will be dry up top. So, off with the vertical exhaust valve cover, plugs out and spin it over, no oil, give it longer, still no oil, give it a lot longer, still no oil.

Ok, there’s a problem. Oil pressure out and a quick stab of the starter, great – oils flowing, not so great there’s now a small puddle on the floor. Stick in the oil pressure test gauge to see what pressure we’re getting. Pressure’s about right, steady and a few seconds later there’s oil in the vertical head. Must have been an airlock.

Petrol in, couple of twists of the flat slides and nothing. Try again – nothing. Lift tank, look down carb throats – no air filter fitted at moment. Twist throttle and no squirt from the accelerator pumps. Undo float bowl drain – nothing. Undo fuel pipe by petcock – nothing. Give the fuel pipe a good blow, ah – sound of bubbles in tank and we’ve got fuel. Another airlock.

Couple of twists of the throttle and we’re in business, good squirts of fuel from the accelerator pumps down the inlets. Ignition on and she’s away – vroom – well actually rattle, jangle, rattle, jangle etc. The clutch baskets been filed back a few times and the slides rattle, so it does sound like a proper bag of spanners.

Result – we have a runner, call it a night.

[crust]

Another stab at it today.
Front’s done, motor runs – time for the rear end.
So, wheel out and yup, it’s cruddy, even after two good washes. I want to check the shock and suspension bearings anyway.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50229641731_47fcb0fabc_b.jpg

Try to undo bottom shock bolt which is done through a hole in the side of the swinging arm, stick the allen key through and urrgggg, nope not undoing, double urrrggg and SNAP! Ouch, that’ll be the ball end of the allen key snapping off in the bolt head.

Bolt buried deep in swinging arm
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50228999753_effe4cfa17_c.jpg
Ball end nicely snapped in bolt head.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50229000398_3978a5725d_b.jpg
Exhaust is coming off anyway so I’ll tackle the shock bolt when the arm’s on the bench. To get the exhaust off it should be split, so, undo the clamp. Nope it’s not having that, bolt is rusted in and allen bolts rounds off

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50228999523_f955620e0f_c.jpg

Not exactly going to plan so far.

[Pedro]

Good luck sorting that out Simon, prob would have been easier if ya looked after it better!

Lol

[crust]

Out with the angle grinder, off with the bolts head, tap an old knife blade into the clamp to open it, bit of wiggling and a gentle lever with a long tyre lever and the exhaust is off.

Now for the swinging arm pivot, this’ll be a swine, it’s never been out before. Undo the pinch bolts, rubber bungs out, give the drift a gentle tap and IT MOVES!!! A few gentle taps and the pivot bolt is out.

Lift the arm and shock onto the work top. A touch with a strong magnet and the broken bit of allen key is out – too easy.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50229000883_eac01da3b1_c.jpg

Grind the remains of the key flat and try again, ooh, that’s in tight, going to need a longer lever. Give it a spray with penetrating oil and go for a coffee. Took a serious effort with an old fork stanchion on the allen key to get it to undo.

Hmm. Bolt is well corroded.
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50229001238_8c3b10469a_c.jpg

The bit of bent metal sits in a groove in the arm to make the nut captive, also means you can’t get a spanner on it to undo it.

[Pedro]

Nicely done!

[crust]

Pile of pieces to be cleaned, so out with the brushes and Bilt Hamber Surflex

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50229648161_7a1e5d1c25_c.jpg

Chain guide – dropped this in the degreaser bucket to marinade

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50229864352_4a7e0bf1b8_c.jpg

Suspension pivot before:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50229645331_8fb018b83d_c.jpg

After

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50229645656_3ae5ae96e7_c.jpg

Swinging arm

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50229002878_82cfc39c8c_c.jpg

Shiny arm

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50229004903_4ef4631550_c.jpg

:( lins

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50229003783_c6dc39b046_c.jpg

😊lins

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50229866737_1631c3b7ee_c.jpg

And the chain guide, a bit yellowed by time but at least now you can see it’s yellowed.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50229647626_022c933cc9_c.jpg

[crust]

Next…..

Clean up the back of engine and frame area. Re-assemble and MOT. Then, the open road.

And plan for the next stage….

There’s a pair 0f 944 pistons on a shelf in the garage with spare barrels that just need boring and plating. A 999 triangular oil cooler to go under the horizontal pot. The frame and wheels could do with a repaint, etc etc. Then there's my plans for a plating tank.

[Darren69]

Has the Ohlins been leaking? There was a lot of crud on it and they don't tend like neglect and are prone to leak if not rebuilt periodically. It's probably worth checking or get it serviced.

[crust]

I don't think it's leaked, it felt ok when I bounced up and down on the bike.

You're right though, it could do with a rebuild as it's done quite a few miles and is 20 years old or so.

It was a bit cruddier than normal as I've been spraying it with GT85 from time to time to make sure it didn't rust in the damp garage

[Darren69]

I don't think it's leaked, it felt ok when I bounced up and down on the bike.

You're right though, it could do with a rebuild as it's done quite a few miles and is 20 years old or so.

It was a bit cruddier than normal as I've been spraying it with GT85 from time to time to make sure it didn't rust in the damp garage

That's probably what it is then. I would say that its probably worth getting it re-sprung too for your weight at the same time. It looks like you have a lot of pre-load on that spring. They do seem to be soft as standard, mines the same. I think they're sprung for bantam weight racers not normal people! :)

[Mr Gazza]

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50229647626_022c933cc9_c.jpg

I sprayed mine black. It looks less like plastic and hides the chain goo.

[crust]

I sprayed mine black. It looks less like plastic and hides the chain goo.

Tbh, I was looking on Stein Dinse last night and they sell black ones, not unreasonable price too.

The yellowy one will do until I need enough parts to justify the postage cost. In the meantime I'll give the splendid chaps at Moto Rapido a ring and see whether they've got black ones.

[Albie]

Tbh, I was looking on Stein Dinse last night and they sell black ones, not unreasonable price too.

The yellowy one will do until I need enough parts to justify the postage cost. In the meantime I'll give the splendid chaps at Moto Rapido a ring and see whether they've got black ones.

Most are grey now even though they advertise them as another colour hence why I sold the new ones on when received I have kept the white one. I have a spare but not perfect. People want the white ones but they wont mould them in that colour for some strange reason.

[utopia]

Its only a footling little part but the yellowed white does look a bit grim.
I wonder whether it would respond to the fabric dye treatment that is said to work so well on belt covers and the like ?
Haven't tried it myself but others have reported great results.
Then again, years of soaking in chain grease might affect the results.

[Dukedesmo]

I sprayed mine black. It looks less like plastic and hides the chain goo.

I replaced the original yellow slide/guard with a dark grey unit, don't remember where it came from but I think it was a Ducati dealer so presumably they make them in that colour now?

Must say it does look better than the yellow.

[Albie]

Its only a footling little part but the yellowed white does look a bit grim.
I wonder whether it would respond to the fabric dye treatment that is said to work so well on belt covers and the like ?
Haven't tried it myself but others have reported great results.
Then again, years of soaking in chain grease might affect the results.

It's only the top sealing layer of plastic loses its colour. Like trials bikes mudguards and side panels whiten. Can be improved by scraping or sanding then reheating with a hair dryer. I removed most of the yellow with a scalpel. I get the colour change to black it makes sense. It's just a rub guide. I think the 888 boys want them as much because they restore them more than monsters.

[crust]

Sometimes I do things and almost instantly step back and think - why the f#@k did I do that.

Last episode I’d stripped and cleaned the swinging arm, shock and linkage, this one was supposed to be:
Strip and clean rear brake, back of engine, start re-assembly. Instead I picked up the rear part of the exhaust and gave it a gentle rub with a polishing block that was sat on the bench in a bowl of stuff to be put away.

“Ooh, that’s coming up OK”, before I knew it there was a shiny patch and the polishing mop was on the bench grinder and a bigger shiny patch.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50259185523_514d5ff518_z.jpg

Oh dear, a while later….

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50259843156_29292e4031_z.jpg

Why - "Oh dear" - well now I've got to do the rest of the system and its got 26 years of crud on it :(

[crust]

Having done the rear section of the pipe I had to do the front section which is a lot longer and has the cruciform bit on the end = aaargh.

Set up the grinder with a mop on it outside to avoid spraying polish snots everywhere, scruffy gear on and set to it.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50260032097_009aa9e6e2_z.jpg

That’s the easy bit done.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50259188513_b5f6489086_z.jpg

Not the best but near enough, the stainless is poor quality and I didn’t have the right bits to get in all the corners of the cross-over.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50259844886_68156d7734_z.jpg

[Darkness]

Nice. That’s how stainless should look!

[Darren69]

When I got my first Ducati I never even realised they were stainless because it looked like rusty old regular steel. I don't know what grade of stainless they use for those standard systems but it is not the best.

[walkingpictures]

Those pipes came up really well,good on ya :hail:

[crust]

A mixed couple of days on the Monster.
Some good progress on the exhaust flanges, started out rusty and caked in oil. After a quick scrub with a wire brush and some brake cleaner.

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Then into a Deox mix and left to bubble.

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After a few hours and the occasional scrub with a wire brush, that’s better.

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A couple of coats for VHT silver, looking good.

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[crust]

Swinging arm in, oh, whats that on the floor – that’ll be one of the shims that go between the arm and the frame, so out, then back in again. Linkage in and out a couple of times as I worked out which order to assemble things in.

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Next, the exhaust, complete with new shiny stainless clamp and nuts.

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[crust]

Now for the not so good bits. :(
Gave the rear wheel a wipe down with brake cleaner to get rid of the last of the grease residue, clean off the glue residue from balance weights, quick spray with some pledge.
Something didn’t look right about the rear disk, ok it needed a good clean and repainting but it didn’t look right. A quick check with a steel rule and oh. :( Took it off and yup, it’s well dished. That'll be my exhuberant right foot.

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Time for a new disk.

And some shiny Ti disk bolts :)

[crust]

While waiting for the new disk I looked at the silencers, yup, they didn’t look good against the headers :(

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So back out with the polishing gear. Halfway there.

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Sorted.

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That’s better.

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[crust]

Avoided the temptations of jaggedy death star Chinese disks on ebay and went for a straight replacement disk from the nice people at Bike Torque racing.

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Couldn’t resist the temptations of shiny loveliness from Race Ti though. Well, shiny new disk, be wrong to put the rusty originals back in.

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Sorted :)

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[crust]

When I took the rear caliper bolts out one of the helicoils came out with it, examining the bolt hole in the rear brake bracket, not good :(

Timesert or ebay bracket? £25 for bracket from ebay, result. Arrived quickly, bolt hole threads – all good. New pads in and bolted up, yup, happy with that.

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[slob]

Are you sure that’s the same bike Mr. Crust?