Motorcycle Painting Tips

     Painting a motorcycle can be a time-consuming undertaking requiring careful preparation followed by hours or even days of waiting between steps. Making a mistake during the process can be easily done and may cause you to have to start over. The key to doing the job well lies in paying attention to the details during each step. By following a few painting tips, you can remove the uncertainty and finish with a paint job that you'll be more than happy with.

Preparation
To get a quality paint job on your motorcycle, you'll have to do quite a bit of preparation work. Sanding before painting is critical, and the method used will determine the paint surface you have to work with. Use wet or dry sandpaper in a number of grits including 220, 400 and 600. You'll want to work with the rougher grades of sandpaper first, beginning with the 220 to remove scratches or gouges then work your way up to the 400 or 600 to create a smooth surface to begin painting on. Take special care when working on contoured areas as it can be difficult to sand evenly there.
Primer
When you've completed the sanding, you'll need to apply primer to your motorcycle. The primer has two purposes: to provide a surface for the enamel color coats to adhere to and to hide imperfections left over after the sanding process. Sand the primer surfaces slightly between each layer to increase the smoothness. Apply primer layers until there are no imperfections left in the surface from the metal, about three to four coats. Do not sand the final layer of primer before applying your first layer of paint. An unsanded primer coat will help your first enamel paint layer stick.

Enamel Colors
Apply your enamel color coats to the motorcycle a layer at a time using smooth strokes of the paint can. Begin each paint color pass slightly before the start of your target surface and end slightly after so that you won't have heavy paint accumulation at starting and ending points. As with your primer layers, you'll want each layer to dry completely before sanding and applying the next layer. Drying time between layers can be anywhere from a few hours to several days, depending on the paint you're using. For sanding between color layers, use fine-grit wet sandpaper such as 1000 or 1500 and 2000 on the layer before the final coating, leaving the final layer unsanded. Expect to apply about three to five coats of enamel color for a complete paint job.
Finishing
To protect your paint job, apply a clear coat over the final layer of paint. As with the other paint layers, you'll need to use multiple clear coat layers, three to five in total. For sanding between layers of clear coat, use a 1500-grit sandpaper, but take extra care not to sand through to a lower layer as this will cause a cloudiness in the coating, which will ruin its look.
After clear coating, use a finishing compound to buff to a glossy shine with a lamb's wool pad. Go over the painted bike with a terry cloth to complete the buff.
painted bikes

12 Simple but effective tweaks.....that'll improve your streetbike

Inflate/check tires
We know. Like several of the following items, this one seems too obvious. And for riders who keep a close eye on such things, it is. But proper tire inflation--along with routine tread-wear check--is key to a fine-handling motorcycle. It's also cheap insurance that can keep you from stepping off your bike in an unplanned way. Always be sure your bike's tires are inflated to the correct pressure(s). That doesn't mean the max pressure number listed on the tire's sidewall; that number is reserved for heavy-duty riding (two-up, loaded with luggage, etc.). We've always found the mid-30s (34-38 psi) to be a good overall pressure range. Slightly lower pressures (low 30s) typically result in more grip (and more wear), while higher pressures equal less wear and firmer ride qualities. Also, check the tread for wear, especially the uneven sort. Cupping around the edges or a flat-spotted tread crown can adversely affect handling. If you find these conditions, replace the tire.

Lube cables and control pivots
Again, a simple-but-important tweak. A small cable oiler will help you shoot proper lube deep into the cable sheath, which will vastly improve lever/pedal/throttle feel and make cables last longer. Lubing control pivots can take more time, but the improvement in feel and bike control will be significant. A rider can't make the sort of delicate, precise inputs sometimes necessary if the controls feel like the rider is trying to break a chicken's neck. Use a light oil such as Bel-Ray 6-in-1. WD40 is a water displacer and not an ideal lubricant, though it will work in a pinch. Worn cables should be replaced.

Adjust throttle cable
Carefully adjust the amount of slack in your throttle cable. Trying to feed in just the right amount of throttle when accelerating from a corner or maneuvering between cars in a parking lot is difficult if you have to wind in a yard of slack before the carburetor/fuel-injection butterflys open. Likewise, not enough slack can make throttle response hard to control. Just a slight amount of slack will do. As always, check your bike's owner's or service manual for correct settings.

Adjust controls to fit
Position your bike's various controls where they fit you, the rider. Just because the levers and pedal(s) are where the dimwitted set-up kid (that would've been most of us in our early years) put them doesn't mean that's where they ought to be for you. If you have physical issues and subsequent pains after a ride, change the bike by putting on new handlebars/clip-ons of a different bend or reach.

Lube and adjust chain
Again, an obvious one. A dry, rusty or dirty chain sucks up and wastes well-earned horsepower. And an improperly adjusted chain complicates things by adding driveline lash and imprecision to the whole throttle-on, throttle-off experience. Loose and dirty chains are also noisy, prone to breakage and ugly. Who wants that?

Change oil and filter
Be sure to use a high-quality, motorcycle-specific synthetic (or semi-synthetic) oil along with a quality filter. Do not use common motor oil from the local hardware store; it contains low-friction additives that don't agree with your bike's clutch. If you haven't done this in a lot of miles, you will be able to feel and hear a difference.

Set suspension sag
We showed you how to do this in our August '05 issue, so you have no excuse. Once your bike's front and rear suspension systems are balanced (which setting sag will accomplish), your bike will handle better and feel more precise and balanced--provided the rest of the suspension adjustments and tire pressures aren't out of whack. Also set damping (explored in our September '05 issue). If components are worn out, replace or rebuild them. Shocks and fork assemblies with 40,000 miles on them don't play well with other children.
Install headlight modulator and/or high-wattage bulb
These are some of the most effective safety/conspicuity mods you can make. Higher-wattage bulbs are available through a number of aftermarket outlets and push your nighttime see-clearly zone significantly forward.

Adding a headlight modulator is similarly helpful. Such devices vary the intensity of the headlight at a high rate of speed to catch the attention of oncoming drivers. Riders who've tried modulators swear by them. Kisan Technologies (www.kisantech.com) is a leading supplier of such devices, and has an excellent reputation.
Fit a loud horn
Today's stock bike horns are louder than ever, but if you really want motorists to hear you (or know where you are), upgrading to an aftermarket unit is a good idea. Fiamm makes a wide range of louder-than-stock horns that are available through a wide range of outlets.

Change your seat
With all the improvements we've seen in the two-wheeled world over the last couple of decades, you'd think seat-comfort issues would have been banished by now. But no.

Some bike saddles--especially those fitted to certain cruisers--remain significantly comfort-challenged, so the aftermarket remains a hot spot for modifications. Corbin (www.corbin.com) and Mustang (www.mustangseats.com) are two names to look for, but try to test the seat you're looking for before you buy; a custom seat that's comfy for another rider may not work for you.
Dyno tune
Have a reputable shop dyno your bike and check its tailpipe emissions with an exhaust-gas analyzer. Depending on the results (too lean, too rich), you might want to either rejet your bike's carbs or fit a fuel-injection module such as the venerable Dynojet Power Commander to achieve a proper air/fuel ratio. Also, treat your bike to a full tune and service, which will handle many of the above service-oriented checks (oil change, chain lube and adjustment, etc.) and ensure its valves are set correctly and its carbs are synched.
Clean and detail
Set aside a few hours one weekend afternoon and thoroughly clean and detail your bike. It's not that hard, especially if you have our November '98 issue handy to guide you through the process. Think how good you'll feel afterward--and how jealous your riding buddies will be! A good cleaning will also force you to look closely at your motorcycle so you can, hopefully, spot little problems before they become big ones. Plus, it's a real bonding experience. Now let's all play drums, hold hands and sing "Kumbaya.

Motorcycle Engine Rebuilds & Transmission Work

Motorcycle Head

Standard

• New valve covers
• All new studs
• New 34mm Mikuni conversion is CNW standard carburetion
• Head and cylinder barrel surfaced to insure flatness
• Combustion chamber volumes are equalized
• Precision 3 angle cut on valve seats
• New bronze valve guides
• New Black Diamond valves
• New valve springs and insulators
• New mushroom head tappet adjusters
• Rockers and rocker spindles replaced as required
• New rocker thrust washers and locating springs
• New cast stainless steel exhaust nuts
• New cast stainless steel rocker spindle covers
• New stainless steel head fasteners, complete set
• Glass bead blasting
• "Show" polished rocker covers with stainless steel nuts
• Braided stainless steel overhead oil lines with chrome banjos
• Improved intake valve seals

Extras

• Exhaust port thread repair
• Fin repair as required
• Spark plug helicoils

Motorcycle Cylinder Barrel and Pistons

Standard

• Pistons, pins and rings are weighted to match within 0.0 (tenth) grams
• Barrel is surfaced for flatness
• Barrel is shot peened, pressure washed and durable high gloss finish applied
• Barrel is precision bored and honed to correct tolerance
• Cam followers/lifters are surface ground
• New pistons and rings
• New stainless steel fasteners
• Barrel base studs are replaced

Extras

• Fin repair as required
• Lifter replacement as required, pairs only
• Barrel re-sleeving

Motorcycle Bottom End

Standard

• New camshaft (several grinds available)
• New oilpump
• New pointscover
• All new crankshaft hardware
• Rods are weighted to match within 0.0 (tenth) grams
• All crankcase hardware is replaced with new stainless steel
• Crankshaft is magnafluxed, then ground and polished as required
• Rods inspected, appropriate repair of nicks, etc.
• New big end bearings installed
• Crankcase timing side modified for improved breathing as required
• New cam bushings as required
• Crankcase is glass bead blasted and pressure washed
• Crank breather check valve installed
• Anti wet sump check valve installed
• Magnet added to sump strainer
• New main bearings installed
• All crankshaft keys are replaced
• Cam chain and adjuster replaced as required
• Upgraded tachometer drive seal installed
• Covers are polished to "show" standard
• Rods cut down and resized to ensure roundness

Extras

• Crankshaft or crankcase replaced if required

Motorcycle Primary Case and Drive

Standard

• New belt drive
• New outer primary cover
• New Barnett steel and friction plates installed
• New hardened clutch center installed as required
• New clutch basket bearing installed as required
• Clutch pushrod seal by Dave Comeau installed
• New stainless steel fasteners and replated studs throughout
• New inspection caps

Motorcycle Transmission

Standard

• New inner mainshaft bearing installed
• Transmission case bead blasted and pressure washed
• Gear bushings replaced as required
• Upgraded layshaft roller bearing installed
• New mainshaft bearing and seal installed
• New countershaft sprocket, specific to 520 "O" ring chain
• Outer cover machined to accept MKIII kickstart shaft seal upgrade
• New "quad" rings replace all "O" rings throughout
• New shift linkage springs installed
• New MKIII kickstarter arm assembly
• Covers polished to "show" standard
• All new stainless steel hardware
• New inspection cover

Extras

• Gear sets as required or requested
• Layshaft or mainshaft replacement if required

Teflon Coating For Your Bike

Washing

This is the first step, the painted areas and the plastic parts like mudguards, speedometer etc are washed with a mild shampoo to make them free of dirt and dust, the surfaces are then wiped and dried. This is done so that the paint remains free of dust particles once the coating is applied. A soft cloth is used to make sure no unwanted scratches are also caused so as to ensure maximum quality.

Polishing

This step involves the application of polish on the painted surfaces. Typical car waxes and polishes are used in this step and in this case, 3M Car Wax. This is done so that once the paint has maximum possible shine and gloss before it is coated with Teflon.

This process can make dull paints look significantly brighter. Older bikes would have a much better appearance once this step is done. Differences are noticeable on shades like black which visibly fade easily and are the hardest to maintain.

Teflon Coating

This is the final step in the process, this was when I finally got to see the tiny bottle of prized liquid, Teflon. It has a particularly pungent smell to it when it is applied onto the paint. This smell however, disappears once it has dried. A soft cotton cloth is used to apply this liquid onto all the painted areas over the bike. It is then left to dry for a few minutes.

When the drops of Teflon dry up, it bonds to the surface, this is when the people start to use another piece of dry cotton to massage it onto the surface and turn It into another layer of a transparent, shiny coating. This can be quite laborious as a lot of effort is required; which is why at some centers polishing equipment is used. Once signs of the drops have disappeared, it is wiped once again with a clean cloth to make it free of any residue or dust.

The polishing of other plastic parts is done using a typical liquid car-dashboard polish. This brings out the shine in the non shiny parts and can leave the bike looking better than what it was when it came out of the showroom.

Differences:

Even though the bike was brand new, just having run 1,200Km, the paint became much more glossy and shiny. It actually looked better than what it was like in the showroom.

The new coating is claimed to offer minor scratch resistance, one hard swipe of the finger-nails across the surface can prove that. The paint surface seems to have become a little bit more slippery and tough.

Things to remember:

Once the coating is done, it is advised by the centers not to use soap or other detergents on the paint as this can reduce the thickness of the coating. They recommend the use of Ph-neutral shampoo which is essentially car-shampoo that you can buy from any car-accessories stores.

Teflon coating can recover faded paints but it has its limits. It cannot completely remove scratches, the swirl marks on the surface is reduced considerably after the entire process. If you simply want to recover faded paint, just use car waxes made by 3M, Formula1, Prestone, or any other major brand. Scratches can also be taken care of by using Scratch Out, from Formula 1 which is a liquid rubbing compound.

The whole process takes just around 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on the bike.

Be sure to bargain with the dealer as they can be quite inconsiderate. The dealer initially quoted 750 Rupees for the job, which I promptly refused, a few minutes of bargaining and the price was brought down to just 550.

The dealer has also given us a guarantee of one year that the paint would not fade as long as the instructions are followed.

     ALLOY wheel rims are a mixture or content of Aluminum, carbon and other alloys. Earlier the Alloy rims were made of a mixture or Magnesium, but mag-alloy rims were flammable, so in UK they had banned Mag-Alloy rims for racing. Well I don’t know about Indian Rims and their content. I’ll get the information soon.
     Now a days in our motorcycles we generally getting alloy wheel rims. Known for less weight, accuracy and efficiency. The charm of spoke wheel is only you can see in Royal Enfield Products. Alloy wheels are very good for tubeless tyres because of sitting position of tyre on the rim. The tyre fits perfectly and accurately on the rim in the periphery which is very much important, improper fitting may cause the bike to start wobbling at the time of riding.

     When a tubeless tyre gets punctured you don’t need to remove the tyre from the rim and hence there would be no damage to the rim. I would suggest to never put tyre with tubes on alloy wheels, unless you take care while maintain the tire because otherwise you could be damaging the edges of the rim every time you remove and refit the tire. Those rims are relatively softer than other metals because as we know aluminum is very soft and light material. So on the road if you have flat tyre then the regular puncture fellow would use his screw driver or some sort of Tommy bar which would always damage the rim. Try to only make use of tyre removing machines for removing or changing the tyre.
     Alloy rims have got proper seat and edge to fix the tyre rather than conventional spoke wheel rim. And on conventional wheel rims you can’t put tubeless due to spoke holes which will leak all the air.
     For alloy rims there is a special tool which is available in the market. Well not in India for sure. I ordered it from USA because I do care and respect BIKES whether it belongs to me or my customer. The tools is costing hardly few $…(If any one want I can get it). It saves the rim edge for sure.

Alloy rims always need special attention:

• Keep your tyre air pressure as per company recommendation to avoid damage. (Whether it is Nitrogen or Regular Air)
• Use always proper tool for removing and changing the tyre.
• Alloy rims on two wheeler also need dynamic balancing.
• Do not use hammer to remove tyre.
• Do not use “under diameter” tyre on the rim.
• Try not to remove tyre from rim when it is puncture.
• Try to buy branded alloy rims, rather than any local rims. The mixture of alloy is a complicated subject which in most cases the manufactures takes care of. Byt if you are planning to manufacture alloys on your own, and if the mixture is wrong or the casting is wrong then you might endanger the lives of yours and others.
• The subject “Wheel Rim” is vast though the spares looks very much simple.
• Do not buy mag-alloy rims.
• Try avoiding pot holes.
• Do not ride your bike on off road. That may damage the rim fast.
• When you are buying motorcycle with alloy wheels. Always go for disc brake system. In alloys if you take drum brake system then remember the drum is itself is a rim there is no separate drum. So when the drum will get damage or if the wear tear is high then you will have to buy full alloy rim. (I know yet disc brake for rear is only in RTR,R15 & in 220)
• Try not to repair wheels at home if you are unknown to any auto parts.

     Tubeless Tyre Puncture Removing Kit is available in the market. Always keep it with you. You can visit my workshop, and I could teach you how to remove a tubeless tyre Puncture.
     Yes, Alloy wheels can be repaired. But I suspect we have any one who can repair it in India. If it’s a total loss then don’t try to repair it, because Rims are a matter of life or death, so don’t play with it.

Tips on Maintaining Your Bike at its Best

1. Tyre Air Pressure:

      Ensure tyre pressures are maintained at manufacturer recommended levels. Different pressures are recommended for single seat and pillion riding, observe them to squeeze out the optimum mileage. Over-inflated tyres do result in better mileage but play havoc with the ride, handling and stability, so don’t get desperate.

2. Brakes:

      Both the brakes should have the right amount of free play. To check that brakes are not binding, put the bike on the main stand and ensure that both the wheels turn freely.

3. Chain:

      The chain should be well lubricated and have the right amount of slack. You can read more about Motorcycle Chain Maintenance.

4. Air filter:

      Keep the air filter clean as dusty conditions in India tend to clog up the filter in no time. Change the air filter at recommended intervals and increase the cleaning frequency in particularly dusty climes. Clutch: Should be properly adjusted and have the right amount of free play. An over tightened clutch will cause it to slip unnoticeably and increase the fuel consumption while also burning it out quickly.

5. Engine:

      Again regular servicing and tune-ups will keep the engine running like clockwork and reduce your petrol bills. Pay special attention to cleaning the carburettor and maintaining valve clearences. Don’t neglect the spark plug, ensure it is clean, the gap is set correctly or replace it if past its prime as it’s the most crucial link in proper combustion. Most modern bikes require the choke to be used on cold starts as they run lean to meet emission norms as well as fuel efficiency requirements.

6. Engine Oil: 

     Engine oil should be changed religiously. The oil thickens due to carbon deposits creating drag in the movement of engine internals. Running the bike on dirty oil will not only increase fuel consumption but also reduce the life of the engine.

Chopper Bikes

     The OCC fabricators and mechanics such as Paul Teutul, Jr., "Slick" Rick Petko, Nick Hansford, Christian Welter, and former employees Vincent DiMartino (who left OCC to start V-Force Customs in 2007), and Cody Connelly (a BOCES student intern who has since joined DiMartino's business), create dozens of custom motorbikes. Michael Teutul, usually referred to as "Mikey", serves as the shop's custodian and webmaster, and provides comic relief to the show. He has been seen doing metal work occasionally, as one of his early jobs was working at Orange County Ironworks. Also featured occasionally is Danny Teutul, the second oldest child, who succeeded Paul Sr. as the owner of Orange County Ironworks. Danny visits to do contracted work for the OCC facilities. The show also documents their personal and promotional activities ranging from magazine photo shoots to family holidays and custom bike shows.