Looks like he forgot to put in one of the bushings.
I'm impressed that you saw that.. Also not too happy about that
I will send the seller a message.
I made a good amount of progress tonight and I am happy to say I think the frame is going to turn out well
I would like to share some pictures to better explain my "vision" for this bike. The elements I have in mind are contrast and grayscale with some small accents in red. The majority of the bike will be painted black, however the frame and gas tank will be bare steel. The sandblasted finish was to ordinary to me and would also look more like normal paint once powder coated. Brushing the steel does a much better job of highlighting the lack of paint on these surfaces, and it gives me a little more contrast to the black by reflecting more light than the sandblasted metal. The tank will have a thick red pinstripe down the left side, and several details on the engine and controls will be red as well. Other than that, it's all black
I began by brushing my frame with a wire wheel attached to a drill. The key here was going slowly, in terms of drill speed and my movement as well. This combination yielded a distinct brushed finish while preserving the texture. Spinning the wire wheel too fast brought the surface closer to a polished finish.
After experimenting with a few different grits of sandpaper, I found 150 grit to blend perfectly with the marks from the wire wheel. I used the sandpaper to reach smaller spaces the drill couldn't reach as well as to blend everything together. It also worked very well for removing minor blemishes in the metal.
For those who didn't know, my frame had a decent amount of standing water inside and no matter how much I tried, it was impossible to remove completely. Every time I flipped the frame upside down, I would get a series of drips of gross black water through several tiny pinholes in the metal. I realized a way to cure this once and for all would be with application of heat, however once I started I realized it could also play a role in the aesthetics of the frame itself. Here is the result: notice the opposite side of the frame got sprayed with volcanic-grade steam and gross water! It's mostly clean now.
I didn't finish the entire frame today but I would say I am ⅔ of the way there
But wait, there's more! Pulled the pistons to clean them and inspect the sidewalls and rings. Cal, you mentioned measuring the ring gap while installed. How does this one look?!
All the others were much better (i.e. not seized) and I will begin cleaning them tonight or tomorrow morning. My flex hone also came today, but I was wrong about having cutting oil in the garage. I will look for honing-specific oil tomorrow at the auto parts store
In the background of several pictures you can see my first motorcycle: a '97 Triumph Daytona. It taught me everything I know so far about motorcycle repair and it was a great thing to learn with. But this little Honda, I want people to look at it and say, "Wow. That is a work of art."
Spence
