Rebuild Complete! No more Purple!

[gsmetal]

Just finished putting the last few pieces together on my wife's GS.

Picked it up on ebay for $1000.00 with 9000 miles. Extremly dirty bike - hadn't been ridden in years.  After 4 months in the basement workshop it's all complete.

Rebuilt the front and rear brake calipers, added new pads, added front braided brake line and tire, new progressive suspension, new fork seals and of course, repainted it.

It was that horrid purple   and now it sports Ducati yelllow  All I need now is for the weather to warm up.

Still haven't decided if I'm going to put on a SV650 headlight or go with the streetfighter dual headlights. I still have to put some black racing stripes on it but here's a sneak peek:

[starwalt]

Nice sneek peak! 

Though Pandy will probably not sleep tonight knowing that under all the Duc Yellow, beats a heart of Purple. 

[Egaeus]

And just think that I just bought a yellow bike that I'm going to paint to get rid of that horrid yellow.

[pandy]

It was that horrid purple   and now it sports Ducati yelllow All I need now is for the weather to warm up.

Blasphemy!!! starwalt is right; I'm going to need sleeping pills to be able to sleep tonight   You did a wonderful job, though. The bike looks VERY sharp, even if it is duc yellow! 

And just think that I just bought a yellow bike that I'm going to paint to get rid of that horrid yellow.

Might I suggest a lovely GS purple!?   

[GeeP]

You know you want dual headlights.   

Looks very nice!

[annguyen1981]

That is one clean GS!  Kudos to you!

[Egaeus]

Might I suggest a lovely GS purple!?   

Yes, you may, but I can't guarantee I'll take it. 

Actually, I bought an absolutely beautiful red tank.  Not even any surface rust inside.  The pictures in the link below don't do it justice.  I was going to paint it, but not after I saw the paint job.  It's going to be red. 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=4610868149&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT

[starwalt]

...Actually, I bought an absolutely beautiful red tank.  Not even any surface rust inside.  The pictures in the link below don't do it justice.  I was going to paint it, but not after I saw the paint job.

I was watching that tank. The seller had a project GS in really rough shape, but the auction ended early. Glad you got a good find.

I'm going to need sleeping pills to be able to sleep tonight

It's a shame the Purple Pill is for acid reflux! Maybe they make Ambien in designer colors? Worst case would be to soak it in Welchs.

[Bluebellylint]

Extremly dirty bike - hadn't been ridden in years. 

If it was dirty you cant tell now. Looks really clean, good job.

[tussey]

dude how DO you do it? I got an old 89 for $1100 and it needs to be cleaned badly. Any help?

[gsmetal]

I've been doing it for many years so it's been trial & error.

First off, I nice workshop is key - you don't need a lot of space just something where you can be organized. I'm fortunate enough to have a drive in basement so everything comes in for the winter - all 6 bikes are cozy and warm. As you can see by the photo, the workshop area is pretty plush - we don't have a big house but I have a nice workshop 

As far as cleaning goes, I really like Armor All (the Ultra Shine) stuff - great for black hoses and black engine parts. For the wax and cleaners, I really like Meguiairs wax products - the NXT Tech wax is amazing and you really get a 'wet' look to your paint. The NXT wax is expensive but worth it - you can get it at most Target stores or on line here:

http://www.meguiars.com/?liquid-car-waxes/NXT-Generation-Tech-Wax

Meguirars makes some first rate cleaning and waxing supplies. For REALLY faded paint you can go to your local automotive paint supply house and tell them you want some 3M liquid rubbing compound (SUPER fine) and use that, followed up with a Maquirars cleaner (2 applications, then Maguirars Polish followed by the carnuba wax and finish off with the NXT Tech Wax.

If you have never used a 3M liquid rubbing compound you should probably have someone with experience help you - you can really ruin a paint job quickly. When you first get done with it, it leaves a haze and your mission is to get rid of the haze using the cleaner, polish and the carnuba wax. The first time I used it years ago I thought I ruin a gas tank but if you follow it up with the other cleaners and wax it does a nice job. You may have to use the cleaners 4 or 5 times to get the results you want. Practice on a old painted piece first.

For bringing brushed metal back (like the frame and lower fork tubes) I like to use a steel wool pad -type 000 or 0000 and Flitz Polish along with a old toothbrush. If you are using the steel wool, be careful so you don't over do it. DON"T ever use steel wool on anything painted. That orange spray cleaner that you use in the kitchen is a great degreaser - or Simple Green is good too.

I'm totally anal when it comes to cleaning - for the engine cooling fins I like to use Simple Green with Q-Tips and do each fin indiviually then follow it up with Armor All if the engine is 'black'.

Otherwise it's just elbow grease and time.

[Egaeus]

I was watching that tank. The seller had a project GS in really rough shape, but the auction ended early. Glad you got a good find.

It was a great find.  Now comes the challenge of identifying the paint color!  The tank has a stamp on the botom that says 2001, but as far as I can tell, 2001's aren't that color. 

[starwalt]

There are no paint codes on the individual parts. You could check my paint documents to save some time. The initial page is HERE. It is for sure a 90 to 93. My guess is 91. Tape set 68110-01D20-3VT. I could be wrong though.

Scroll down the page for several examples of tanks from GSTwin members, eBay, etc. I have tried to sync up tape sets and colors with representative part numbers. The parts, tanks, side panels, etc. seem to have been painted after the part numbers were stamped into them.  The tanks had two tape sets. One for the graphics, another for the Suzuki brand emblem.

Branched off that page others with the Color Rite codes and others with examples.

Let me know if it helps. I want to tune that document up when I get more web space. I imagine an identifier page where you can enter the year, then representative bike color schemes show. Then if you click on a part, the part number and color code show up.

Take that to the online fiches and order away.

Now all I got to do is get more web space, code it, post it, and keep my day job. Wait. I've got to finish my GS project first. And then the Ezuki. And then...

[Egaeus]

Well, from looking at your page and the model history on suzukicycles.org, I come up with 1994 Candy Antares Red as the most likely color.  It has a black emblem, not silver, so it's not 1991.  It might be the 1998 orange, because without the clearcoat on the bottom it looks orange, but I'm thinking it's red.  I'd need to compare them IRL to be sure though.

[RVertigo]

Nice job!  I really like the yellow... Looks super clean.  I like the SV mirrors too.

Now... Those white wheels gotta go!

[Derec]

It would appear there was a few of us watching that tank.  I had my eye on it as well.

gsmetal
I really like the mirrors you went with.
I am currently eyeing a pair on Ebay and am curious what I will need to put them on my bike.

Derec

[Egaeus]

It would appear there was a few of us watching that tank.  I had my eye on it as well.

I lucked out on the tank.  I decided to bite the bullet and bid, and ebay was all but down.  I couldn't bid.  I finally was able to get one in with like 13 seconds left.  I guess you can say I sniped it.  It was more that I could have hoped for.