[BlankityBlank]

I've had the bike about six years and since it's seen some serious use and abuse I was starting to feel bad for the poor thing. I was just going to wash it (for about the fourth time ever) and touch up a few rust patches when I got a front puncture..



.. and one thing sort of led to another..





What a way to fix a puncture, eh



As you can see the various bits were in a right state of mank..



So they needed a bit of sprucing up..









Next up was the degreaser and toothbrush to tackle the absolutely filthy engine which was encrusted with dirt and grease, and dab of paint had it looking a wee bit better..



And it was like, Mr. Engine, please meet Mrs. Frame..



Things started getting a little chavtastic then











But finally it was beginning to look like a bike again..



And after lots of fiddling with electrics and very late nights trying to get all the bits and bobs back on to meet my original project end date (HU Enniskillen), I ended up with this, which is pretty much my dream bike

This post has been edited by BlankityBlank: 30 May 2011 - 12:40 PM

[delooney]

WOW. Super job.

Em, my bike has a puncture, do you think you could have a go at it?

[Shinwacker]

Cheque book and pen for you young man, fantastic job you done there. Loved all the snaps in one picture it looked like Johny 5 out of that movie. The black paint did you spray it or use a brush? Brilliant finish it has. How long did the work take from start to finish? Did you have to replace many of the bits, stuff being broken when you stripped it or being broken when taking it off wrong.

I love the finished article, you've made a great job of it, well done.Now tell us all about the why's and how's.

Shins

[fabio]

That just makes it look oh-so-easy hahaha! Lovely looking machine there, both at the beginning and at the end. I've always had a soft spot for those Honda's and if I were to go off around the world I don't think I'd bother with any other machine to be honest.

What's the story with the screen on the front and the pattern behind it and that?

[Kang]

u painted the wheels black because u dont wanna wash them again right? haha. great finish, now u can start charging people for work on their bike now.

love the colour.

[CBR 46]

Wow some way to fix a puncture

[Playtime]

wow wee what a fab job

now orf you go around the world and show it off

This post has been edited by Playtime : 30 May 2011 - 03:38 PM

[Mopped]

Wow,can i give you a buzz when i have a punture ,too?

[Tazzzie]

delooney, on 30 May 2011 - 01:49 PM, said:

Em, my bike has a puncture, do you think you could have a go at it?

ROFL !!!!

Mopped, on 30 May 2011 - 04:50 PM, said:

Wow,can i give you a buzz when i have a punture ,too?

Great job !

[KildareMan]

Nice, very nice. Bet the puncture was the last thing to get done

[BlankityBlank]

Some technical details so. It took just under three months to do the lot, but would have been faster had I not decided to go all out on it - e.g. once I'd said fluck it I'll go for the front end, the problem was that they're custom/individual orders and pretty much nothing went on for a month while waiting for those to be made up.

The powercoating of the frame and parts was done by Alan Smyth Gates in Galway who're just starting to do a bit of bike stuff. That only took a few days, their main problem was getting all the crap off it first

The wheels are the originals and were powercoated and rebuilt with stainless spokes by SFX Wheels in the UK with maybe 2-3 weeks turnaround if I remember right. Far and away the best price, a quality job and great service too.

Bodywork paint was by Ken in the Motorcycle Paintshop in Tallaght and I think it looks quite spiffy

I did the engine myself courtesy of Halfords degreaser and high-temp rattle cans. I only used two coats and no primer, but it took about a week to set properly.

Misc parts on it which I already had are the Touratech seat, pannier racks and crashbars, along with the braided lines and Acerbis handguards.

New are Renthal Fatbars and clamps, although it's been a bit of a faff getting new clamps for the actual handguards to fit the fatbars (that's still going on).

The fairing/screen are a actually a single piece of carbon-kevlar from Boano and necessitated dumping the old subframe, instruments and lights. The new instruments are Koso and fit on a carbon-kevlar dash supported by a t-piece off the new subframe. The subframe, dash and lights are also Boano.

Rear shock is an Ohlins (AT specific model).

The biggest and best bit is of course the front forks, also by Roberto Boano. A quick note about him - this guy was a factory Honda Dakar rider and is an Africa Twin fanatic. He custom builds all these parts mainly for his own bikes which he uses in the likes of the Sardinian and Tunisian rallys, Erzberg and so on. Luckily enough he's also willing to make a few for us lesser talented (if not equally nuts) enthusiasts.

I believe the forks are originally Sachs 48mm units akin to those on the F800GS. However Boano and Sachs have completely rebuilt them to be specific to the AT and have upgraded them to full race spec. So they have a ton of adjustment and also have some 310mm or just over 12 inches of travel, so they should be good for a few Irish potholes Complimenting them are the delicious new yokes along with a new mudguard and brake caliper mounts. I'm still running my old stainless lines but I'll be changing over to the new Boano ones during the next few days.

There's a few other new bits in there as well such as the exhaust heatshield, radiator guards, new alloy choke bits and stuff, but that's all the major bits covered.

This post has been edited by BlankityBlank: 30 May 2011 - 05:46 PM

[speedmaster]

FANTASTIC JOB !!!!

LOOKS FRICKEN FANTASTIC.

GREAT JOB what a beasutifull machine you should be very proud of it

[Dreamysleepy]

Looks fab

[Jarv]

What a transformation! Great job - and a good post too.
Nice colour scheme....
And I thought the same as Shins about johnny 5... ha ha ... must be an age thing!

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[Super10]

speedmaster, on 30 May 2011 - 07:42 PM, said:

... GREAT JOB what a beasutifull machine you should be very proud of it

have to say, the photos hardly even do the bike justice.

Its a deadly piece of a machine all right,
and these lads DO off-road these big yokes
...like they were 125's lol.

[delooney]

Just had a peak at Signor Boano's website and saw the price of the fork kit. Quality stuff.

You'll be keeping her for a while, then!


I wonder where my old RD04 is?

This post has been edited by delooney: 30 May 2011 - 09:35 PM

[cb1]

In a word, wow. Thats impressive and I`m in awe of the finished product.
I bow my hat sir.

[galwaygirl]

Great to meet ya today dude! The bike looks even better in real life! Well done!
See ya on the road!

[DECO2]

That fork kit a yokes are sexy as hell,lovely looking piece of kit,looks like a contender for the paris to dakar rally,