[Lord Flashheart]

I thought that if I started a thread about it, I might be motivated to actually work on my long-planned upgrade project. I've had a long, hard year on a high-pressure product launch at work so I haven't been able to spend nearly enough time on the S3. In fact, I'd be embarrassed to tell you how many miles I've done on her in 2011. Given that I change the oil every spring regardless of mileage, let's just say that at this rate the thread on the oil drain plug will wear out long before the cylinder bores.

Anyway, I've been collecting parts for this project for a long time. So long, in fact, that my garage looks like an episode of 'Hoarders'.

The object of this thread, then, is to serve as a nagging reminder, document my progress, share how I'm going about this, and to give - and hopefully receive - hints and advice along the way.


There have been three primary sources of inspiration for all this hoarding:

Bohdan's Gixxer Brake Upgrade,
DieselGeek's Blackout thread, and
Deathace's de-bling thread.

My main source for all this stuff is eBay, but there's a pretty good mix of parts from Craigslist, Bike Bandit and Pro Bolt in there, too.

So here's a rough list of what's in the queue to be fitted to the bike:

Brakes
Gixxer front brakes - calipers & master cylinder
Custom brake line
Pazzo Levers
Galfer wave rotors - front and rear
new brake pads - front and rear
New reservoirs - front and rear (remember my cry for help thread?)

Blackup
Pretty much anything on the bike that's not black
Top yoke
Bar risers
Footrests & hangers
Side stand
Suspension linkage
Headlight bowls

Weight reduction
BST Carbon wheels
A feather-light box of titanium fasteners from pro-bolt

Plus some more stuff besides.

So sit back, buckle up, and watch while I work at an infuriatingly slow pace.

Cheers!

 

[Lord Flashheart]

Here's a bunch of the parts (minus the headlights and wheels) taken last summer:

 

[Ironshoe]

by the look's of your'e hoarding's colletion the product launch must have went very well!

 

[Lord Flashheart]

I thought I'd mention that I made a decision on an earlier dilemma. I was holding back from a major powder coating binge because I was worried about not being able to ever get the bike back to its original condition.

I decided to buy all the parts I wanted to powder coat on eBay. That way, I can revert back to original if needed. Also, it wouldn't have mattered if I had permanently screwed something up during the coating process.

Once I'd got the last part on my list, I masked the threads etc. and took everything to my local powder coating place. I'm pretty happy with the results.

 

[Lord Flashheart]

Here's the top yoke, cable guide, bar risers, reservoir bracket, front fender/mudguard brackets, and tank washer.

 

[Lord Flashheart]

Here are the footrest hangars, side stand, LH engine mount, brake lever, gear lever, and assorted cable guides. That shorter gear lever/arm was a bitch to mask, but I really didn't want to get powder coating in the splines.

 

[Lord Flashheart]

And here's the rear suspension linkage. This stuff almost never gets damaged in a crash, so if you look around you can find them at giveaway prices. Note how I masked off the ends so I could coat the exposed center part of the swingarm attachment spindle....

 

[Lord Flashheart]

Finally for tonight, here's all the masking stuff. I blocked off all the threaded holes and faces I didn't want coated with a mixture of old bolts, washers and special heat-resistant masking tape. I'm pretty happy with the results.

 

[Lord Flashheart]

by the look's of your'e hoarding's colletion the product launch must have went very well!

If were to accumulate much more I'd need to rent a storage unit!

 

[DieselGeek]

Hey .. Where are the headlights ?
Man I'm gonna have to send my suspension parts along with my sump to be powder coated when I get my new rear shock . This is a competition right ?
You spent a lot of time preparing all that stuff , wow.
Do you have any " before " pics to share ?
I just re read the first post. You sprung for BST wheels ? Whoo !


Sent from my Motorcycle iPhone app

 

[Stoltec Moto]

Nice looking powder quality. Nice color with good application. What powder did you use? How does it match the other blacks on the bike?

This is on my short list for this winter. Aside from hating 'shine', the stock handlebars and headlight buckets can be downright blinding at right angle.

 

[Lord Flashheart]

Hey .. Where are the headlights ?
Man I'm gonna have to send my suspension parts along with my sump to be powder coated when I get my new rear shock . This is a competition right ?
You spent a lot of time preparing all that stuff , wow.
Do you have any " before " pics to share ?
I just re read the first post. You sprung for BST wheels ? Whoo !

The headlights are there, don't worry...

Sorry about making you pull the rear suspension apart!

I'll see if I took any 'before' pics of the powder coating. I'd be happy to walk you (or anyone else) through how I masked any of the parts.

See the Christmas present thread for the story of the BST wheels.

>> This is a competition right ?

It is now!

Nice looking powder quality. Nice color with good application. What powder did you use? How does it match the other blacks on the bike?

This is on my short list for this winter. Aside from hating 'shine', the stock handlebars and headlight buckets can be downright blinding at right angle.

Thanks! I figured someone would ask, so I wrote it down. It's 'Cardinal 20% Black', Ref. T002-BK08.

It was applied by Powder Coating Inc in Mukilteo, WA. They're really helpful & enthusiastic.... most of the guys that work there are gearheads. When I first went there on the S3 they took a swatch of postcard-sized plates out into the parking lot. The colour I picked was the closest match to the engine casings in terms of both shade and sheen.

They made me promise to give them a photo of the completed bike.

 

[oldndumb]

Effective planning, preparation, and attention to detail can always be expected to produce excellent results. Those wheels will be the icing on the cake. :thumbsup

FlashyHeart is going to end up having a show stopper! Can't wait to see the final pics.....even though I know I will be extremely jealous.

 

[Lord Flashheart]

Today's task was to remove the exhaust system so I can get it ceramic coated. I read up on the subject on here, then set about it. I took it easy, it took me about an hour including a coffee break.

Order of removal:
Removed belly pan
Took oil cooler off, bagged exposed hose ends
Removed top radiator brackets, pulled radiator forward (without disturbing coolant)
Removed 6 x header nuts
Removed 2 x mufflers
Separated and removed mid-pipe
Removed rear muffler bolt
Dropped headers to the ground
Unscrewed O2 sensor
Removed headers
Done

 

[Lord Flashheart]

Here's what's going to get ceramic coated....

 

[DieselGeek]

What cans are you running?

 

[Dankarnov]

Watching this thread with interest.

If at all possible please try a ride after the mods with the stock wheels before throwing on the BSTs. I'm curious how noticeable an improvement they are for non-track riding.

 

[DieselGeek]

Front tyre wear will be reduced from 2 rear tyres -> 1 front
to 3 to 1:motorbike2

 

[DarlingRat]

What cans are you running?

I believe that looks like the CRM midpipe, which would suggest CRM cans

 

[Lord Flashheart]

They are indeed Chain Reaction cans. They're already anodized a pleasing shade of black, so they're staying at home.