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Fresh Paint – Ready for Summer

Although it’s been a fabulous spring with lots of sun, there has never been enough sunny days in a row for the outdoor track to open. This is Oregon, and it does rain 9 or 10 months a year. So, while we’re waiting – what to do? How’s about some spring-cleaning?

Even though the bike saw little action in just three race events, it still got a bit banged up, and there were some things I wanted to change – so off to work we go. First thing was the wheels. I never did like that fact that we didn’t clean up the spokes after spray painting them, so I took an abrasive wheel and cleaned the paint away from the spoke ridges and rims, then top-coated them with a very hard two-part clear.

The thick black paint on the frame was starting to come off in big dime-sized chunks so I stripped all the parts off the bike down to the frame – which surprised me that it only took 40 minutes – such a simple little thing! Once all the parts were off, I de-greased and washed it, smoothed out the rough areas and painted it with my favorite – Rustoleum Hammered Silver. This too was top-coated with the very hard two-part clear.

Putting it back together was a breeze as well, and while I was at it, I learned a good deal about the inner workings.

Here’s the results – My 1973 Yamaha 250 Flat Track Racer – circa May 2013

73 Yamaha Flat Track Racer

 

Here we are again, at the Oregon Vintage Motorcycle show in Corvallis Oregon

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