Author Topic: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.  (Read 8797 times)

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Offline narcoticrex

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I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« on: March 27, 2008, 09:14:56 PM »
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=31844.0

 :-\

I bought this bike here in lynchburg locally, before I joined these forums, and before knowing that the bike was the laughingstock of the online CB community.  I originally bought it to ride/light project, but it is a major project, so I got a nice 550 and just took some of the 750 parts to fix her up - now I have a 550 daily rider, and a junk Smurf.  I was thinking of making the 750 into a cafe project, or like the Mad Max bike I am attaching (thanks whoever posted that pic, I love that bike!) - however the first thing to do is strip the paint.  Yes, I am going to do this.  I was thinking of just removing dumping a crapload of brake fluid all over the engine to strip the paint, leave it to sit overnight, then try and blow it off with an air compressor.  Does anyone have a better method, or see any problems with my method, for removing paint from an engine? 

"i love the smell of cooked beaver in the morning...it smells like....victory."

Offline mkramer1121

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #1 on: March 27, 2008, 09:43:48 PM »
Aircraft Paint Stripper, sold at Walmart, blue, red and white can w/ a plane on it.  Stuff is toxic but does its job.

Offline neil young

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #2 on: March 27, 2008, 10:28:07 PM »
The laughing stock of the on-line CB community ::)
perfect.....i love it ;D
Try Simple Green!   it will leave a white substance (almost powder like) on the aluminum.but that's easily washed off.
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Offline heffay

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #3 on: March 27, 2008, 11:45:16 PM »
honestly dude... i like loud bikes!  ask anyone behind me  ;D

secondly, one of my best buds has those same "saddlebags" on his harley!  they really do play a big role in making the bike take on a whole different personality. 

so, let's get this over with... does it run...   ;D ??? ;D
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Offline narcoticrex

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #4 on: March 28, 2008, 11:04:27 AM »
The pic I posted is not the bike, it is something I might like out of my 750.  Yes, the 750 runs, but it fouls spark plugs - however, I am more concerned about the painted engine.
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Offline mystic_1

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #5 on: March 28, 2008, 11:41:30 AM »
Aircraft Paint Stripper, sold at Walmart, blue, red and white can w/ a plane on it.  Stuff is toxic but does its job.


+1 on the Aircraft Stripper, that stuff will eat all the way down to the base metal finish.  Should work better than the brake fluid thing.

You are pulling the engine from the bike in order to strip it?  If so, make sure to cover all hose connections etc when stripping and also make sure to clean away all of the paint stripper when you're done.

I've never stripped a motor without completely disassembling it, but others do so a lot so it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

What sort of shape is the bike in, mechanically?  Are the frame, brakes, etc in good or at least usable shape?  Much rust anywhere?

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Offline rachet

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #6 on: March 28, 2008, 11:44:32 AM »
You also need to take and post some pics of this "bad beast" before, during, and after the stripping process so we can all laugh... er... "enjoy" your hard work.  the link to Craig's List is no longer available and I'm sure there are others out there that would love to see it!

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Offline Cvillechopper

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #7 on: March 28, 2008, 12:03:04 PM »
I'm glad you're not too offended by my posting that link immediately after heaving my lunch all over my desk ;D

I'm glad someone had the stomach to buy it and get it back into a reasonable representation of a Honda.  +1 on the before, during, and after pics. 

As for the paint stripper, just make sure you don't get it on anything you don't want gone.  The aircraft stuff is great but it is not forgiving.  Also, taking that paint off might uncover some oil leaks, holes in the cases, Jimmy Hoffa, etc.  Might be worth it to just go ahead and pull the engine to clean and assess it's shape then. 

Good luck.  You've got a serious project ahead of you!
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Offline narcoticrex

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #8 on: March 28, 2008, 04:08:36 PM »
Thanks for the laughs i mean love guys : )

mechanically, its not in horrific shape.  The brakes are completely shot and i took the master cylinder and put it on my 550.  The caliper piston looks like it got thrown down a cliff. Twice.

the rust is probably covered by the paint. the kerker 4 into 1 exhast has some muffler cloth wrapped around it, i dont know if thats because the pipe was rotted or what, and im not going to unwrap it to find out, at least not yet.  If it is, +1 for the Mad Max chopper.

the clutch gives clunk and sounds like it grinds going into first gear. just a linkage adjustment hopefully?

the carbs are dirty and need to be adjusted, but they also have to be completely torn down so i can strip that horrid blue paint off.

all instrumentation and lights have been removed except the rear turns and brake light, and the headlight.  the right tail light is out.  despite all this, it will fire up with clean plugs and a juiced battery, but idles a little rough.

There is a major oil leak somewhere up top - when i remove the engine, i will probably do a top end rebuild, just because i never have.  in fact, before I bought this bike,  i had never so much as laid a socket on a motorcycle, but with the help of sohc4 im quickly beginning to et my bearings. I <3 you guys, now you guys must <3 the smurf.

"i love the smell of cooked beaver in the morning...it smells like....victory."

Offline narcoticrex

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #9 on: March 29, 2008, 07:58:01 PM »
Hey guys, I have actually posted this bike up in the lynchburg craigslist.  I am probably still going to work on it until i sell it, just for the experience, as mechanically there is actually little keeping her from being roadworthy.  But as promised, here are some pics of the Smurf, or "Lady Blue" as I like to call her.  I had recently had daydreams of getting her up and running and painting a poster girl on her like the old WWII bombers - maybe if i did that, i could keep all the blue paint on her and it wouldnt be completely idiotic ;D

Check out the sweet "barbeque black" engine paint job that started flaking off. 

"i love the smell of cooked beaver in the morning...it smells like....victory."

Offline kghost

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #10 on: March 29, 2008, 08:35:20 PM »
Good for you....paint a smurf pinup now.... ;D

Nice to see it went to a good home.
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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #11 on: March 29, 2008, 08:47:55 PM »
a pinup on a smurf would have to be smurfette ;D ;D
these look like what you want lol






cheers
troppo

Offline narcoticrex

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #12 on: March 29, 2008, 09:14:51 PM »




This needs to be on this bike, now.  LOL!!
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Offline narcoticrex

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #13 on: April 10, 2008, 12:44:01 AM »
Allright, actually did some work on the smurf today.

Started stripping paint.  So the big issue with this bike it that it fouls out plugs with carbon deposits, like running too rich.  Lo and behold, when I had the carbs apart, I took apart the main needle jet, and the clip was on the 4th clip down. 

Another funny thing is the slow jet from the third carb. looks like it got mangled somehow.  If someone has a spare 40 idle jet, PM me :D

When I was cleaning the paint up, I was like "WTF kind of idiot would paint INSIDE the carbs?"...I then immediately followed that up with "What kind of idiot buys a bike with paint on the INSIDE of the carbs?"

On the T with 4 Orings in between carb 3 and 4, the O rings were blue.  Amazingly, the slow jets were the only majorly clogged ones. 

The aircraft stripper did work pretty well, but i will definitely have to do it at least once more on the engine.  As you can see, I didnt remove the engine completely, just masked off most and disconnected everything.  Look at that sweet paint job inside when you take off the clutch cover  ::)  Tomorrow comes stripping part 2.

having never disassembled a bike before, and being scared of removing the carbs, it was WAY simpler than I had built it up to be in my mind.

"i love the smell of cooked beaver in the morning...it smells like....victory."

Offline KB02

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #14 on: April 10, 2008, 04:43:17 AM »
... wow ...   :o
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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #15 on: April 10, 2008, 05:04:11 AM »
That thing is a Krylon Nightmare!

Offline mystic_1

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #16 on: April 10, 2008, 05:27:59 AM »
Wow, that is one smurfed up bike!  The PO was a real smurfhead, smurfing everything like that.  Keep up the good work, somewhere in there is a really smurfy bike.

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Offline heffay

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #17 on: April 10, 2008, 10:36:52 PM »
i think that you may be destroying someone's artwork and you should be ashamed of your smurf.
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Offline Terry in Australia

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #18 on: April 11, 2008, 07:12:07 AM »
Ooooooer................
« Last Edit: April 11, 2008, 07:27:24 AM by Terry in Australia »
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Offline rachet

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #19 on: April 11, 2008, 10:52:08 AM »
So wait. . . you DON'T want to paint the inside of the carbs!?!  Ah Crap! ;)

You defiantly have a lot of work ahead of you!  Keep us posted tho, It's Smurf-tastic!

Rachet~
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Offline narcoticrex

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #20 on: April 13, 2008, 04:51:37 PM »
Well, its not in flames, but I did destroy it.  I used it as the basis for a cafe seat - yes I am making this a cafe.  No, Im not a poseur, its just what sells heh.

Here you can see the steps I took to destroy it, and rebuild it like a phoenix rising from the ashes of destruction.  Im also posting some updates on the engine - stripping engine paint really sucks my ass.  Does anyone have any tips for getting those small, hard to reach spots?  When I try to use water, it doesnt work as well (maybe if I had a power washer instead of a garden hose  ::)) I was thinking of perhaps a gun cleaning kit?

I hope to be selling this bike in about two weeks, Im sure one of you will see it on ebay or CL hah

"i love the smell of cooked beaver in the morning...it smells like....victory."

Offline narcoticrex

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #21 on: April 13, 2008, 04:54:31 PM »
Also, here are the carbs - stripped, cleaned, reassembled and bench synced.

I have a question about the carbs - see the plate where the spring is attached to?  How dos that fit in between the 2 and 3 carbs?  I cant get it to stay anywhere except right where it is at....
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Offline JLeather

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #22 on: April 13, 2008, 06:16:13 PM »
Ya see where the fuel inlets are between 1/2 and 3/4?  That spot between carbs 2/3 is where the spring-holder goes.  You have to put it there before you screw the carbs to the rack.  See the attached pic...


Offline Aaron J Williams

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #23 on: April 13, 2008, 08:32:09 PM »
Ya see where the fuel inlets are between 1/2 and 3/4?  That spot between carbs 2/3 is where the spring-holder goes.  You have to put it there before you screw the carbs to the rack.  See the attached pic...


I remember the first time I forgot to put that back after doing a set of carbs, good times for sure!
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Offline narcoticrex

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #24 on: April 13, 2008, 08:52:21 PM »
Oh, spitfire.  No wonder I couldnt make any sense of it.  Thanks!
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Offline mystic_1

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #25 on: April 13, 2008, 09:21:06 PM »
Rex,

Pics attached of the spring anchor installed.


Now, to digress a bit, let me say this.  In your very first post on this forum, you said the following:

Quote
So now on to the meat of my post - getting the 750 to run, because I think there is a good bike hidden in there somewhere, I just gotta coax her out.

I agree with what you said here, there IS a good bike hidden in there somewhere, and in fact I can already see the edges of it peeking out from behind all the blue paint you've stripped off :D  I think you've already doubled the resale value of the bike!  Right now you're in the worst part of the process, cleaning and inspection.  This is where all the nasty surprises lurk when reconditioning a bike.  Once you're through this and into the reconditioning and reassembly stages it'll seem more worth while.  The payoff is when you get it dialed in and crack the throttle that first time and trust me, it'll be worth it.

The carbs look tons better, if they ran before than there's a good chance that the jets and passages are not hopelessly plugged.  Don't get discouraged if you end up having to pull them back off again, one hears of this time and again on this forum when people redo their carbs.

Regarding stripping the engine paint, if you go to a good hardware store you should be able to score a variety of brushes, I just bought a new set of long narrow nylon brushes (like a small bottle brush) for cleaning out oil passages and the like, they cost me about a buck and a half each and I got them in sizes from 1/2 inch down to 1/16 inch.  Something like that may help in getting between the fins and the like.  You can also find a variety of long bristle wire brushes in stainless steel or brass.  Brass is good cause it won't scratch the aluminum so much.

What are you using as a solvent?  Aircraft Stripper, available at many hardware and auto parts store, will cut through just about any paint in short order.  It'll eat run-of-the-mill rattle can paint without even breaking a sweat.  It's green and nasty, so use gloves and work in a well-ventilated area, and protect the frame and such very well if you're doing all of this int he frame.

I can see where you're going with the seat, do some searches because some people here have made some amazing seats and there are a million variations and techniques to be found.  I must admit to having ridden for several seasons with a seat cover that was largely held together with duct tape :D but I've since replaced it.  Old hacksaw blades make nice tools for shaving foam, also a disc sander with some coarse paper will cut it nicely.  You can also use spray adhesive to add new layers of foam.  Meanwhile, always park the bike in the shade to make the duct tape last longer :D

Good luck on the carbs.  I think you're doing a great thing by rescuing this bike.  You may very well reconsider selling it once you've got it sorted properly :D  Still wanting to go with the cafe racer theme, or are you leaning more towards the Mad Max theme now? 

cheers
mystic_1
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Offline narcoticrex

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #26 on: April 14, 2008, 12:01:41 AM »
Thanks for the love mystic.  Actually, Im excited to get it all back together, I think she will run 100x better now that I done the carbs.  Some of the air inlets were completely clogged with blue paint!

I do use aircraft stripper. yes, it burns like hell when it hits your skin. 

the seat has already been fiberglassed and is being bondoed.  Im not extrememly happy with the results, but im happy enough that im not going to do it again.  I was going to post more pics and stuff, but i was all smurfed out after working on her all day.

as far as the brushes, i need something with stiff bristles sorta.  a toothbrush worked good on parts, but is too small to fit between the fins (as you can see in the pics).  I also used some steel wool wrapped around a pencil in a drill, but that didnt work well, the pencil kept breaking or the wool stopped moving.  maybe i should buy some sort of polishing tool  ::)

i have to sell this bike, im moving back to NY from VA (and going to new zealand shortly), and I thought the 750 was going to be the one to take me to NY...until i got my 550. 8)  i wish i could keep both.  if i was keeping the 750, i would certainly "mad max" it, i love the look of that thing - olive drab duct tape kicks ass.  but since i have to sell it, cafe is the way : )





"i love the smell of cooked beaver in the morning...it smells like....victory."

willhwhitt

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #27 on: April 14, 2008, 12:54:02 PM »
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=31844.0

 :-\

I bought this bike here in lynchburg locally, before I joined these forums, and before knowing that the bike was the laughingstock of the online CB community.  I originally bought it to ride/light project, but it is a major project, so I got a nice 550 and just took some of the 750 parts to fix her up - now I have a 550 daily rider, and a junk Smurf.  I was thinking of making the 750 into a cafe project, or like the Mad Max bike I am attaching (thanks whoever posted that pic, I love that bike!) - however the first thing to do is strip the paint.  Yes, I am going to do this.  I was thinking of just removing dumping a crapload of brake fluid all over the engine to strip the paint, leave it to sit overnight, then try and blow it off with an air compressor.  Does anyone have a better method, or see any problems with my method, for removing paint from an engine?


  Just remember,"Everything has potential if you have time." There was a man on the weather channel that makes millions on worm poop. Everything has potential.



Offline narcoticrex

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #28 on: April 28, 2008, 11:10:08 AM »
Hey guys, I finished my work and have this bike up for sale in the lynchburg area. i posted in on CL asking 1700, just because CL is notorious for lowballing, if I want an offer over 1000 I figure I have to put a high price on it.   

Sorry for not taking more "during" pics, but I was usually too busy/greasy to handle a digi cam.  Before I sell it, I will get some better quality pics to put up.

Here is the laundry list:  stripped engine paint and cleaned engine, same for carbs, complete tune up, replaced all 4 wires going into the coils, made a custom cafe seat, put on new drag bars and gel grips, adjusted the clutch, new battery, redid some electrical wiring that was messed up. 

took her out for a quick cruise down the street the other night - after riding and getting used to my 550, the 750 felt like riding a plane that was about to take off. it sounds like hell when idling until it warms up.  still seems like it wants to idle high, but has no tach, so i am just taking guesses based on engine sounds.  the carbs need to be synced still, they have only been bench synced. 

Its raining like crazy today, so when I can ill take better pics.  Thanks for all the support and help I have got from this forum!

"i love the smell of cooked beaver in the morning...it smells like....victory."

Offline Klark Kent

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #29 on: April 28, 2008, 11:17:21 AM »
wow- nice progress.  i like the 13 domino- very original. 

just one thing- the throttle cables can be routed through the triple tree headlight bucket space and then along the spine under the tank to the carbs for a cleaner look.  you might also want shorter cables due to the drag bars, but i think rerouting would go a long way towards cleaning up the look of the front end and looking the part of a $1000 cafe.

good luck
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Offline Roach Carver

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #30 on: April 28, 2008, 11:29:20 AM »
vast improvement.

Offline .RJ

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Re: I bought the smurf?...hahaha f**k.
« Reply #31 on: April 28, 2008, 12:31:56 PM »
it sounds like hell when idling until it warms up.  still seems like it wants to idle high,

Needs a carb sync and a valve adjustment - I just went through this with my 750, I've got no history on the engine.