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I have acquired an in bits Paso 750 and am about to start to restore it. I will start by getting the frame soda blasted and then powder coated. If anybody has ever had a frame powder coated, which bits do I not want powder coat on ? Obviously I'm aware that anything that is threaded doesn't want to be powder coated, but just looking for general hints and tips to get the project moving,

Thanks,

Mark.

Mark try and keep any earthing points clean of powder coating, I would if possible thread a nut tight in place with a thick rubber washer beneath the size of your earthing ring. Spent ages on mine after powder coating trying to restore a good earth was a pig scratching the hard coating off. Using tap dies to cut the threads as was normal was totally ineffective. Learnt a lesson with that.

Great thanks stiv, that's just the sort of stuff I need to know about. Unfortunately I didn't take the bike apart and so have no idea where the earthing points are. Can you give me a pointer toward that please ?

Hopefully someone else will read this and guide you I have a 907ie so there may be some slight difference. I tried the search link but it's not really clear there. I know some of the 750 rebuilds on here have some photo's that my be of assistance. If all else fails just post a request to get somewhere to check there 750 and I am pretty sure you will have some clear photo's to follow.

Ok thanks.

I had my frame and other parts powder coated. That`s main frame, lower frame rails, the two front engine mounts, headlight frame, side and center stand, the part below the instrument panel, the small plate that holds the front side fairings together on the bottom and the two or three parts that hold the rubber dirt guard on the swingarm and inner fender. I had the clutch cover and calipers done, too.
You could do the support bracket of the throttle cable (the one mounted to the carb manifold) also if it`s rusty.

The ground points on the frame are in front of the upper shock mount and on the bottom side of the front frame triangle on the opposite side of the rubber block on which the tank sits. The fuel pump I think has its ground on the coil brackets.
My powdercoater plugged all threads. I had no problem removing the powdercoat from the earthing points. Can`t remember if I sanded or used a wire wheel. However it wouldn`t be a bad idea just to bolt a large washer on the ground points before powdercoating or even blasting. After everything is done you`d only need to remove the bolt and tap the washer off. The most important of course is that the headstock is protected and plugged to protect the bearing seats.

If I remember well the side stand has a plastic bush in it which you can`t remove. Also there`s a small plastic thing on it so metal doesn`t hit on metal. Not sure how to protect this when blasting the paint off.
If you have a center stand take a close look at it. Mine wouldn`t come up anymore after powdercoating. I removed the powdercoating on all moving parts but it still doesn`t flip up by itself. (Maybe one of the frame mounts is bent as the bike came w/o center stand)

Also if there are any stickers on the frame remove them or make pictures before you take it to blasting. I didn`t think that far and noticed only later that the VIN sticker was gone. (Now I have a riveted VIN plate)

Wonder how well soda blasting works.

G.

Ok G that's brilliant information thanks. This is going to take me a while as I'm renovating a house at the same time, and like most of us, I have limited spare time and funds.

Re the soda blasting, I'll keep this as updated as I can with pics etc, but I've chosen soda blasting as it seems to be quite a gentle process, as opposed to sand blasting etc.

the place I took my parts to use different grade corundum for blasting.
If you ever consider getting the paint removed from the fork legs use paint stripper. If soda blasting is gentle that might work to as might beadblasting. The fork legs aluminium is quite soft and blasting it with the wrong material will show in a rough surface.

Don't use long bolts if you would use them to protect threads. I thought that long bolts would be better for the coating to get around it. Afterwards the nuts welded in the subframes have broken off (duc851), because they had thrown the frame around while sandblasting.. offcourse full force on the long bolts

ouch!
I picked up my clutch covers from the powder coater this morning. They turned out good but it seems the rubber floam plugs he used to plug the clutch cylinders stuck to them when the parts were in the oven. The melted on material should come off by scratching with a small piece of wood. Still there`s always some additional work. The edge of the powder coat can easily be removed with a scalpel or carpet knife.

Have you already spoken to the Technical Control Board? Many of those organisations refuse powder-coated frames.

Norman38 wrote:Have you already spoken to the Technical Control Board? Many of those organisations refuse powder-coated frames.

Which organisations ? and who cares what they think ? I certainly don't. What are you talking about ?

never heard about this either. What the german TUV sometimes doesn`t like are polished swingarms but that is because some grind and polish the welds which could weaken the part.

Have you already spoken to the Technical Control Board? Many of those organisations refuse powder-coated frames.

Luckily us Brits don't have such strict reg's for our M.O.T (tests)....... YET ?????

I've decided to paint the frame now rather than soda blast and powder coat. Prep wise I'll leave the existing paint on and rub it down, and just do heavy prep to the rusted areas.

I'll still get the motor soda blasted though.

Thanks for all the little tidbits of information from you all.