You are giving me ideas for my build...

I have been toying with the idea of building up black wheels but I thought that they would look out of place with all of the aluminum. Powder coating the swing arm may do the trick.

Dave, are you going retain the mag wheels or will you be lacing up some (proper) wire wheels?

Looking forward to seeing this thing come together.  

Here's another nice little Ninja: http://altenergyautos.blogspot.com/2013/12/kawasaki-ninja-250-gets-retro-redo...

Yep......I am going the easy route on the Ninja project.  A bolt-on kit (mostly), and it will be back on the road.  I don't want a project that will take too much time or money on the little Ninja - I just don't want it to look like a bright green sport bike any longer.

That Scrambler is a handsome bike !  

I thought I had plenty of bikes till I seen it !  

I got a bit of cleanup and powder coating done the last few days.  I decided to keep the existing chain and sprockets, as they really don't show any wear and likely have another 10-15 thousand miles left in them. The rear pulley had a black/green oxide looking corrosion protection, and the tensioner adjusters for the axle were corroded - so I powder coated those with the single stage chrome.....it doesn't look quite as much like chrome as the two stage does - but the finish is far less thick as it doesn't require a clear coat over the base (and for the best chrome look they use a black base layer, then the chrome, then a clear.....and that really is a thick coating).

The swing arm bearings I ordered were 1/3rd the prices of the factory parts and were ordered from Bearings123 that I found on the internet - unfortunately it is an international company and the parts are being shipped from France.....so they are taking a week to arrive.

Yesterday I got the 2012 shock which is supposed to be a nice upgrade from the shock used up until 2007 - it is in much better shape than the one that was on the bike and looks nearly new, and it is adjustable.  The suspension that came on the bike feels really soft....this is supposed to correct that in the rear, and it is a direct bolt on.



I will have a bit of a pause as I wait for the swing arm bearings, and i will be out of town next week.

Cincinnati used to have Bearings Incorporated, and it was the place to get what you needed - they are gone, along with most of the neighborhood engine machine shops that fixed heads/valves/cranks/etc.  And the local Auto Parts store that used to carry the stuff that was made in the US/Canada.....is now selling the Chinese parts just like the Autozone/Advance/Pep Boys/O'Reillys does.

The only mistake I made in my bearing order was not shopping around a little bit.....the website has a US flag on it and I assumed it was going to send me stuff from a US warehouse.  

https://www.123bearing.com/

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 02/02/17 at 09:55:15:



I think I head about that rifle.

"Good condition, never fired.....only dropped once!"

Last night I cleaned up the for shock/swingarm linkage.  I was surprised to find that at 12,000 miles the bushings were a bit dry on grease, and there was some scuffing evident in the metal sleeves.  I cleaned them up and greased them, and put them back together - but I decided I am going to take them back part and install Zerk fittings so that I can use a grease gun on them.  I am not sure how well the grease fittings will function with the O-ring seals on the ends....if the grease will just ooze out while filling....or if it will try and push the O-rings out of place.....I suppose I can install one, put that part back together, and try pushing grease in it and see what happens.

I should have posted this photo previously.....this is the bike and the boxes from Blue Collar Bobber.  The parts were very well packed, wrapped and protected from damage.  I have a lot of respect for the way Blue Collar Bobber runs their business and the amount of time they have spent to make these projects go smoothly.