Fraternal Twin Twins

[BaltimoreGS]

Got 2 Honda 500 twins I'm working on at the moment.  The one on the left is a 1983 VT500C Shadow and the other is a 1984 VT500FT Ascot.  Both bikes have the same engine and share a lot of other components.  Liquid cooled but still pretty easy to work on.  Hopefully I'll have the Shadow back on the road next week.  The Ascot still has a ways to go.  I always forget to take before pics when I pic up project bikes, here's how they sit at the moment.

-Jessie

[ver4]

I like how the exhaust wraps around the bike.  The headlights are fugly.

[tt_four]

man those bikes are skinny! You doing anything special with them, or just cleaning them up and leaving them they way they came?

[Adfalchius]

We've already painted the tank and plastics for the Shadow- that was an interesting project (pics to come!).  I'm cleaning up a run on the fender then Jessie will buff it all down.  The tank for the ascot isn't in great shape- it's just spray bombed black and we had a heck of a time opening it up.  We'll be painting that one too, I'm sure. 

[The Buddha]

Oh yea, ascot and shadow. Very nice. I have been talk this one local fool into selling/parting his 650 maxim that he bought for 500 bucks with 44K miles, and leaking air, gas and oil out of a dozen places and the fool thinks its a great deal and he wants to build a cafe racer out of it ... I have been pushing him towards the ascot that showed up locally that while isn't in the best shape, the fool be replacing most of the stuff, like dinged up tank and cracked guages are getting tossed, on the maxim that and the side covers are all that is nice, the rest is all crap, worse yet, the pre 84 maxims ate their trannies. So I'd love to see the fool sink several 1000 into the swap, have a 4 cyl cafe (an oxymoron if there ever was one) and then have its tranny die.

BTW, I hate the fools who put up pics of their bikes from the side and side only. The fat ass motor, the ugly ass wide tail etc etc are entirely lost till you make the swap. The fool showed me pics of a 100 cafe's all of which were 2 cyls brit twins and xs4/5/650 and gs450's kz450's and a couple KZ650's which were side only. You could cafe a goldwing and have it look fine side view.

Sadly being broke means having to work on this garbage albeit carbs only basis ... and I really should stop ranting long enough to get the fools $ cos he paid me for 1/2, left the bike @ my house saying he'd be back monday, well, its thursday and the fool is no where to be found.
Yea hitachi carbs ... easy enough to work on, but you dont want to have to find parts for it.

Monday of what year is what I should have make clear.

Cool.
Buddha.

[ohgood]

if the painted parts were on i'm confident Prince (or the artist formerly known as Prince that now uses some wierd symbol as his name) would show up and toss doves in the air while he slammed some hoe on da flo.

Purrrrrple Rain Purple Rain

[The Buddha]

if the painted parts were on i'm confident Prince (or the artist formerly known as Prince that now uses some wierd symbol as his name) would show up and toss doves in the air while he slammed some hoe on da flo.

Purrrrrple Rain Purple Rain

And with prince you cant even be sure it was a chick ...

I tell my fool friend that being bi = being ghey, cos no one wouldn't bang a chick ... so price is ghey.

BTW I gave him a beautiful LP of purple rain ... knowing the fool got nothign but an Ipod. Vinyl rules ... welcome to 1977.

Cool.
Buddha.

[yamahonkawazuki]

somewhere ive got a usb turntable laying ar0ound. ( was a gift ) i want to convert my old beatles lp's to mp3. including hte rare ones. will wait until ive got enough money to build another PC , after sunday im computerless

[BaltimoreGS]

if the painted parts were on i'm confident Prince (or the artist formerly known as Prince that now uses some wierd symbol as his name) would show up and toss doves in the air while he slammed some hoe on da flo.

Purrrrrple Rain Purple Rain

Funny you say that...  I REALLY don't need another project but I saw an old bike on CL with a Vetter fairing and Purple Rain just popped into my head!  I was a kid when that movie came out so I didn't see it but I remember the movie posters/album cover.  The bike in the movie was a Honda (CM400 I think) but this would be close enough for me to do another paint project   

-Jessie


http://baltimore.craigslist.org/mcy/1733388930.html

[BaltimoreGS]

Kay and I got the Shadow assembled yesterday.  Still has a few bugs/details to work out but it is rideable at this point.  I'll update my old "Killing Time" post with pictures and details of the paint job when I get a chance.  One VT500 down, one to go!  

-Jessie


Ready to assemble



Old dented and rusty front fender



Old rear fender with the new for comparison



All together




Better shot of Kay's cool stencil work

[ver4]

Wow, that looks way better than before.

[Porkchop]

That looks great.  Can't wait to see the other one put together.

- Porkchop

[utgunslinger13]

Not my cup of tea on the paint, but from before to after it looks awesome!

[Homer]

bleh.
Lost the link.