KR-1S.co.uk Forum

Hi Guys

At long last i now have my nice clean bead blasted engine parts and I have re-coated, re-sprayed and powder coated everything except the frame. I intend restoring this bike to showroom condition with as many original parts as possible as it left the factory. At this point I have 2 questions from the guys who have done this.

1.
Once the motor parts have been bead blasted, what do I coat them with to ensure they don't go all furry or start to react with moisture?

2.
The frame I have has been polished and will be etch primed and re sprayed in 2k paint. What colour do most of you guys get it sprayed in as it seems to be a satin low sheen metalic silver. Most automotive painters I know will match it with a close car colour. Unfortunately there is not enough paint on my frame to match it or scan it with a spectro unit.

Cheers, Steve

I can't help you with the frame colour Steve, but I have my engine cases and other non-polished bare aluminium parts (e.g. foot rest assemblies) blasted by this guy:

http://www.wetblasting.net/

The process involves a very gentle wet bead blasting (so gentle that it takes ages to remove paint), followed by burnishing. The result is a smooth semi-lustrous finish - oily or greasy marks wipe straight off. The surface finish is quite resistant to corrosion, as long as you look after it (keep clean, spray with WD40 once in a while or if it gets wet). I have had about a dozen sets of engine casings (although only one set for a KR-1) and many more chassis bits done over the last 7 years or so.
I have found Wayne's service quite cost effective, but be warned; A complete KR-1 engine consists of about 18 separate castings, many of which have a lot of nooks & crannies, making for quite a labour-intensive (and hence fairly pricey) job. I really like the result though...and have had good service from Wayne.

Before I discovered Wayne, I used to have engine cases dry-blasted with glass beads and then sprayed with one or two coats of clear lacquer. This finish can also last a long time if you look after it.

Regards,
James

EDIT: I'm not on Facebook myself, but I see that Wayne has uploaded some photos of my KR-1 engine cases:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 859&type=1

Cheers mate

Mine have been bead blasted with glass beads and have a nice finish, the cylinders and head have come out reasonably shiney but the cases are quite dry looking. Was in two minds to either coat with wd40 or spray a clear coat on it?

Polish them

Trying to get an OEM finish so might just go with the WD40 until I'm ready for assembly.

I favour GT85 in harder to reach places as it dries and leave a PTFE film. WD 40 doesnt dry and can have a tacky feel, this can gather collect dirt and crap. Also i think wd is slightly higher in solvent.
I used to use it on my mountainbike as a water displacer lube on the rear cassette, but i used it too liberally and it washed the grease out and buggered up the hub!

I also use GT40 on plastics also as it provides a nice lustrous finish.

Just my 2 penneth

Steve

WD40 is more hype than it is a good procuct.

what is it realy good for

Ok, so can anyone confirm that the colour of the clutch side cover is the same as the frame colour?
I can match it from the side cover if it's the same?

Yeah the clutch inner and outer covers are the same finish as the frame

Awesome luders , the side cover is mint so my painter can try match it to get a colour for the frame.

Steve

Resonator chambers were also of the same finish

Well that is handy to know as I forgot to get them blasted, was about to send them to the blaster. Will send them to the painter now.

I was looking at the motor parts tonight, are the balance shaft bearings easily obtainable or only OEM?

the balanceshaft bearings are not available from kawasaki i don't know if the where at one point also.

Yup, I answered my own question when I looked at the parts fiche. It's sold as a complete assembly.

I can't find a complete Oem gasket set listed either? I guess you have to buy individualy, the Athena kit makes me nervous. Are there any other options? I will grab a matika piston kit as they seem to be a good option.

Dan is making quality gaskets, everything except head gaskets, ask him to price up the shipping along with what you need.

Here's a base gasket he made for me a few weeks ago.