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1983 CX650 Eurosport restoration thread.

It has been about 9 months since conception.

When is the baby due?

Actually I'm impressed with the relatively rapid pace of this project as parts are not easy to find.
 
Closing in. Weather keeps delaying things.
Between CMSNL, eBay, my boxes of parts, and Larry's boxes of parts from his previous 650E restoration, it actually wasn't too bad gathering components.
It was the surprises that really delayed progress (like the fork tubes, and the de-laminating rear fender).
 
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Building the paint booth.
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There is a project before mine. A CX500 fell over and seriously jacked up the tank. The bike was one of Larry's highly custom builds, that can be seen in the cafe & trackers thread from years ago. It was a pretty hard fall.
 
Something of a hiccup in both restorations.

The clear coat hardener that Larry has used . . . for a REALLY long time, has a shelf life. His can had crystallized. DuPont no longer makes it. He found a local company that had one gallon left. When he opened it, it was crystallized (this is one of those F U very much Kalifornia moments that impacted an entire product for everybody).
It's no longer available anywhere.

There's a lot more to the story, but the short version is that he discovered the problem while restoring the cafe tank. This is actually fortunate. . . for the Eurosport. Had he not find this out while coating the pearl paint on the cafe tank, it would have damaged the graphics on the Euro restoration.

The not so fun part, the new clear coat system that is safe for coating vinyl graphics costs about $1k.

We're going to do it right, but I'm not I'm the mood for a happy dance right now. (Neither is Larry)
 
Paint booth... damn!!!

Looking good Tim. :thumbup
 
Finishing sanding before graphics.

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One last hard part. Mirrors for the CX650 E and CB1100F supersport
are the same, but have been really hard to find for over a decade. I know for a fact, because I sold a pair for a friend 13 years ago, $150 a piece.
Larry has a decent pair that can be restored, and I found a company that can restore black chrome.
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Minor setback.
Somehow, a CX500 Turbo early run side cover ended up on the bike. Larry didn't notice it until he tried to put on the graphic and it wouldn't line up.
Note the curve on the front cover versus the straight edge on the one behind it.
Later run 500t's changed to the curved edge, and all CX650 E & T models should be curved.
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So, my cracked cover with two bad tabs needed to be repaired.
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In the mean time, tank graphics installed prior to paint.
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Been a minute. Overcoming each set back :thumbup

Liking the look of that tail / wheel.
 
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I took my time today waiting for the shop temps to get up over 78 before I clear coated the tank.
The first couple coats went on super clean and smooth. On the last coat I got a piece of dust right on the top.
So I used an old trick by using some tape to pull it out. It worked, but left a depression in the clear.
So I used a brush to add more clear to it and fill it in. I now have the heater in the booth to help cure it faster.
I'm hoping to block sand it all down smooth so I can do the sand and buff as normal. If that doesn't satisfy me, I'll scuff sand the whole tank and clear coat again. We'll see!
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Most of this thread might as well be latin to me, but that doesn't mean I'm any less impressed with the work you've done on this. Looking REALLY good! It was a fun read to see all the work both of you have done so far. Looking forward to seeing the end result of your labor of love.
 
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