2002 zx6r build thread

[anjos]

So I've begun tearing into my bike, and thought I'd put up a build thread. Partly to show you guys and gals what I'm up to, but mostly to keep track of my progress, and for someone to give me hell if I'm doing something obviously wrong.

That being said, if you see something that I'm doing wrong, let me know. I've never worked on stuff like this before, so I'm fully aware that I'm probably going to screw up along the way. That's where you guys come in! If you see something I can be doing differently or better, please let me know.

Aaaannnnddddddd.... onto the build stuff.


When I bought the bike, I didn't care for the windscreen the previous owner had on it. IMO, it was too high, and made the bike look a lot older. Lucky for me, he gave me another windscreen he had for it, and it was the first thing I changed on my new toy.

First day home with her:



Swapped the screens. The plan is to tint/paint it black, but this is how it is for now:




A simple change, but enough to get me hooked. I was set on making this thing my own. I went online and started looking up parts for it, and found some levers that I liked. Price was right, so I picked a set up.

Before:




I wanted a shorty for the brake side because I usually brake with 2 or 3 fingers anyway. After:





The more I looked at her in the garage, the more I realized how much I hated the idea of another silver vehicle in my garage. The previous owner had lowsided it, and there were some scratches/scrapes on the fairings, so I thought... perfect excuse to take the plastics off, fix them up, and do a color change.

I put her up on her stands and started taking the plastics off.



As I got into it, I quickly realized that it had been repainted before, and was put back together in a very crappy way. Mis-matched fasteners all over the place, stripped screws, chewed up grommets... not much care was put into it. After an hour or 2 of getting frustrated, I got the fairings off and she looked like this: (still need to swap the clutch lever)




The next day, I ordered a complete set of fairing fasteners from sportbikebolts.com. She's going to be put back together properly this time. I want to end up with a bike that I can be proud to take out and show off.

Now that the fairings were off, I read up on painting. From what I've been able to find on here, I felt comfortable enough to start getting into it. First thing's first, I got to taking off all the decals. I didn't have a heat gun, but I had a pack of razor blades, a lot of patience, and a cold beer or 2, so I got to it. They actually came off a lot easier than I expected. Once I got the decals off, I washed them and then hit them with some goo gone to get rid of the sticky residue, and they looked like they were ready for sanding.



I started off with some 80 grit and stripped the clear coat.



Then I hit it with some 320 and 600 to smooth out some of the deep scratches



And that's pretty much how she sits right now. More to come...

[anjos]

My question for the guys who know paint/paint prep... from what you can see, am I sanding too much? Not enough?

[awolo]

I think your sanding is fine.

I'm sure your going to follow the simple steps of:
-Prep
-Prime
-Paint
-Clear/Finish

I actually read an article somewhere, that stated something about painting already painted panels. It gave a pretty good technical reason as to why the stock paint on your fairings is actually the best base for the paint job. Same went for vehicles. Ill see if I can find it. Was a good read for those DIY painters.

[Aeon87]

Originally Posted by anjos

My question for the guys who know paint/paint prep... from what you can see, am I sanding too much? Not enough?

Your sanding looks better than mine!! Haha. I'm gonna go over the fairings again today with a sander and some 600 grit paper.

[mark72]

Originally Posted by anjos

My question for the guys who know paint/paint prep... from what you can see, am I sanding too much? Not enough?

firstly .....bring it on !!!!!
love the build threads
and secondly .......J models are my favourite ......great bike for modding there mate

from what i can see .....i agree with the others .....you are doing a great job
its better to go that extra mile when doing the bodywork as the outcome will look that much better.....
best tip i can give you .....just take your time .....dont rush it ......if the prep work isnt right it will show in the end result .....take you time
easiest way to find whether you have all the scratches out is to go over the panal with say 1200 to 1500 wet n dry ....flatten the panal wet .....(keeps the heat down and cuts betters)once its dried hit it with some high build primer and then you will see when that has dried whether there is any bits that needs your attention if you are happy .....1500 wet n dry (panal wet warm soapy water .....washing up fluid usually does good but take the dishes out first .....hehehehe)
top coat isnt an issue .....once you are happy with the panal just lay the shit on
as for clear coat laquar......use the best you can afford as this will make or break the look of your bike ......thats the key the better the gear the better the quality and depth of shine
but yeah you are doing a good job mate .........

[NuggetNik]

Looks good to see another J Series on here :-)

I have read it it but did I miss the bit where you said what color you are going to?

[anjos]

Originally Posted by NuggetNik

Looks good to see another J Series on here :-)

I have read it it but did I miss the bit where you said what color you are going to?

I've decided on white. It was my original idea, so I'm going to stick with it




I sanded the tail piece and took the decals off the rest of the plastics today. The left fairing was a pain because that's the side it was dropped on, so one of the decals was pretty chewed up and came off in tiny chunks. Frustrating to say the least, but nothing some good music and my dog keeping me company didn't take care of.

I needed a break from the fairings after that, so I tackled the windscreen. I've heard good things about people using this stuff for tinting screens, so I gave it a try rather than painting it.



Here's a before pic of the screen. It's a little hard to see in the picture, but it's got a blue gradient to it, which doesn't go with what I have in mind for the bike (that's the main reason I'm tinting it)



I started off by washing it with warm soapy water, and scuffing up the underside with some 600 grit sandpaper, to give the spray something to adhere to. This is what it looked like after 1 coat



Another coat:



Third coat. At this point, it looks good from a few feet away, but once you get closer, it's still pretty spotty. The directions on the can say to not to more than 3 coats, but that's meant for tail lights so that the light can still shine through. I want it pretty dark, and I'm not worried about the light shining through, so a couple more coats are needed.



Fourth coat... getting pretty close, but when it's held up to the light, it's still slightly spotty.



After the 5th coat, it looked pretty good. Held it up to the light and I'm pretty happy with the results. I need to wash it once the spray has had time to fully dry, but here's what it looks like from the top (the side that people will see)



The Nite Shades spray worked pretty well. If you plan on using it, use multiple, light coats or it will get pretty blotchy. Also, use in a well ventilated area. I did it in my basement, and I had to crank open all the windows because the fumes are pretty bad.

This weekend will be some more time to work on the fairings. I hope to get all the sanding done and start filling some of the gouges on the left side. If I'm feeling super ambitious, maybe even get a coat of primer on them

[arron]

NIce build going on there. Did you paint the frame or was it done? I wanna do mine but its all too hard

[anjos]

Originally Posted by arron

NIce build going on there. Did you paint the frame or was it done? I wanna do mine but its all too hard

The frame was painted when I got it. Doesn't seem like it would be too much work to do it though. Just take your time and mask it off well, and then go to town.

[arron]

Nar too much work.. You gotta tape up the shock and all the other stuff and then spray the swinger.. frame would be a sinch tho..when winter comes i might tear her down and powder coat the stuff i want/need

[anjos]

Just a small update. Been busy with, well... life.

I had all the plastics ready for primer, and the more I looked at it, the more I wanted to clean up the rear section. I decided to shave/plug the grab bar mounting holes, and I don't have the handles and I don't plan on getting any.

Cut off the plastic from the rear holes, and did a bit of fiberglassing on the inside of the tail piece


Little bit of body filler to test it out



I have the tank off, just have to drain it and sand it down. Hoping to start picking up the paint and start spraying sometime next week.

[NuggetNik]

how is the tail going to bolt down now you are removing the handles?

[anjos]

The handles have never been there.

The tail snaps into place pretty nicely, and has the bolt holes shown in this pic, and a few screw holes on the underside that hold it to the undertail

[KiaraIsMyBab]

Originally Posted by arron

Nar too much work.. You gotta tape up the shock and all the other stuff and then spray the swinger.. frame would be a sinch tho..when winter comes i might tear her down and powder coat the stuff i want/need

Mine wasnt too bad...




It IS time consuming... but WAY worth it...

[NuggetNik]

Originally Posted by anjos

The handles have never been there.

The tail snaps into place pretty nicely, and has the bolt holes shown in this pic, and a few screw holes on the underside that hold it to the undertail

You mean the small black plastic screws? I wouldnt trust them to hold it on lol