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The resurrection of Casper

Started by aviationfred, June 23, 2020, 09:15:23 PM

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aviationfred

a few years ago, I purchased Country Joe's (Joseph Berk) 1990 FJ. It came with no plastics on it and some that came with was crash damaged. I sourced all the needed bodywork and sis a Satin White paint job. The bike was named Casper.

The Satin white became a nightmare to keep clean and i repainted it a metallic brown. The white paint job is being redone. This time I will be using a metallic/pearl white that comes on the 2015 Ford F150 Platinum pick up. The same Black/Red and Silver graphics will be used.

The first step was to get a chin cowling.


Fred
I'm not the fastest FJ rider, I am 'half-fast', the fastest slow guy....

Current
2008 VFR800 RC46 Vtec
1996 VFR750 RC36/2
1990 FJ1300 (1297cc) Casper
1990 VFR750 RC36/1 Minnie
1989 FJ1200 Lazarus, the Streetfighter Project
1985 VF500F RC31 Interceptor

Ted Schefelbein

Cool. Your tool organization method seems eerily similar to my own.

More pictures as things progress, please.

Ted
I am an analog man, trapped in a digital parallel reality.


1989 FJ 1200

Waiex191

Nice!  You can never have too many FJs, right?

I was messy with my dad's tools as a kid.  Karma is real - my kid is a tool explosion every time he goes to the shop.
Bryan
1989 FJ1200
1981 Suzuki GN400
Poplar Grove, IL
 

aviationfred

I picked up the paint and have began prepping the body work.



Fred
I'm not the fastest FJ rider, I am 'half-fast', the fastest slow guy....

Current
2008 VFR800 RC46 Vtec
1996 VFR750 RC36/2
1990 FJ1300 (1297cc) Casper
1990 VFR750 RC36/1 Minnie
1989 FJ1200 Lazarus, the Streetfighter Project
1985 VF500F RC31 Interceptor

aviationfred

While Casper's clothes are getting refreshed, I decided to look into the forks and the very harsh ride. I found nothing out of the ordinary during disassembly. The dampening rod bushings are pretty worn and new parts are on order. We will see how they ride with fresh oil and fork seals once the painting is complete.



Fred
I'm not the fastest FJ rider, I am 'half-fast', the fastest slow guy....

Current
2008 VFR800 RC46 Vtec
1996 VFR750 RC36/2
1990 FJ1300 (1297cc) Casper
1990 VFR750 RC36/1 Minnie
1989 FJ1200 Lazarus, the Streetfighter Project
1985 VF500F RC31 Interceptor

fj1289

Fred - are you painting it yourself?  If so, can you go over the gun, compressor, etc you are using?

aviationfred

Quote from: fj1289 on June 30, 2020, 08:30:51 PM
Fred - are you painting it yourself?  If so, can you go over the gun, compressor, etc you are using?


Chris,

I will be painting the bike myself and not using a gun or compressor. I will be shooting it with these. I have used them for a few things and they work well for me and I get a good finish.

I shot the lower cowling with color matched paint mixed at an O'Reilly's Auto store. Same for the lid on my Givi top case and lids on the Givi saddlebags.


Fred
I'm not the fastest FJ rider, I am 'half-fast', the fastest slow guy....

Current
2008 VFR800 RC46 Vtec
1996 VFR750 RC36/2
1990 FJ1300 (1297cc) Casper
1990 VFR750 RC36/1 Minnie
1989 FJ1200 Lazarus, the Streetfighter Project
1985 VF500F RC31 Interceptor

Motofun

I find painting is a lot like welding.  There are 2 basic approaches.  You can go at welding with the wrong technique, materials etc and grind everything back into shape.  You can paint quickly and sand many of the imperfections back out.  I'm not saying one is right or wrong.  If you saw me weld you would know how I approach welding!   :dash2:  I spend 10 times as much time prepping to paint as I do actually painting. 
'69 Honda Trail 90
'75 Honda CB400F
'85 Yamaha RZ350
'85 Yamaha FJ1100
'89 Yamaha FJ1200
'09 Yamaha 125 Zuma
'09 Kawasaki KZ110 (grand kids)
'13 Suzuki GSXR 750 (track)
'14 Yamaha FZ-09
'18 Suzuki GSXR 1000R (track)
'23 Yamaha Tenere 7
SOLD: CBX,RZ500,Ninja 650,CB400F,V45 Sabre,CB700SC,R1

aviationfred

My friend picked up this Hot Staple plastic repair kit at a garage sale and has not used it yet. There are cracks in the 30 year old plastic. I decided to be the guinea pig and try it out. I am really impressed. The kit came with 7 different shapes of staples...

Fred
I'm not the fastest FJ rider, I am 'half-fast', the fastest slow guy....

Current
2008 VFR800 RC46 Vtec
1996 VFR750 RC36/2
1990 FJ1300 (1297cc) Casper
1990 VFR750 RC36/1 Minnie
1989 FJ1200 Lazarus, the Streetfighter Project
1985 VF500F RC31 Interceptor

aviationfred

I'm not the fastest FJ rider, I am 'half-fast', the fastest slow guy....

Current
2008 VFR800 RC46 Vtec
1996 VFR750 RC36/2
1990 FJ1300 (1297cc) Casper
1990 VFR750 RC36/1 Minnie
1989 FJ1200 Lazarus, the Streetfighter Project
1985 VF500F RC31 Interceptor

fj1289

Thanks Fred - super relevant info for folks as these plastics get older

aviationfred

Finally got around to shooting the parts. I changed the apparatus of paint delivery. I purchased a small air gun and used my compressor. The finished product is by no means show quality, but I am extremely happy with the results. The fuel tank and main fairing will be striped tomorrow once on the bike.


Fred
I'm not the fastest FJ rider, I am 'half-fast', the fastest slow guy....

Current
2008 VFR800 RC46 Vtec
1996 VFR750 RC36/2
1990 FJ1300 (1297cc) Casper
1990 VFR750 RC36/1 Minnie
1989 FJ1200 Lazarus, the Streetfighter Project
1985 VF500F RC31 Interceptor

Millietant

I took inspiration from your hot staple gun tool Fred and decided to try something similar on re-attaching the rear left piece of my belly pan. Not having the correct tool, I grabbed a couple of paperclips, a pair of long nose pliers, a blowtorch and a roll of duct tape.

I superglued the parts together and put some duct tape on the outside of the pieces, over the joint. Then I heated the paper clips until glowing red in my pliers and stuck them into the plastic across the joint - one each side of the mounting hole. Then, I applied a liberal coating/build-up of Plastifix (Plastex) on the inside and used that to fill the hole where a piece had broken off at the edge. Once it had "set", I sanded and painted (fine brush) over the join.

Before re-fitting to the bike I tried tweaking and bending the panel by hand to see if it cracked and it felt great.

The belly pan has been back on the bike for about 150 miles now and so far, all is great.

I think I'll be looking for a hot staple gun kit myself in the near future......seems like a great tool for 30 year old plastics.
Dean

'89 FJ 1200 3CV - owned from new.
'89 FJ 1200 3CV - no engine, tank, seat....parts bike for the future.
'88 FJ 1200 3CV - complete runner 2024 resto project
'88 FJ 1200 3CV - became a race bike, no longer with us.
'86 FJ 1200 1TX - sold to my boss to finance the '89 3CV I still own.

aviationfred

Finished getting the decals on this afternoon. Installed all the bodywork. Pictures do not do justice. There are flaws and imperfections in the plastic. My thoughts are, it gives the bike a bit of character. I have ordered the Casper decal for the tail cowling.


Fred
I'm not the fastest FJ rider, I am 'half-fast', the fastest slow guy....

Current
2008 VFR800 RC46 Vtec
1996 VFR750 RC36/2
1990 FJ1300 (1297cc) Casper
1990 VFR750 RC36/1 Minnie
1989 FJ1200 Lazarus, the Streetfighter Project
1985 VF500F RC31 Interceptor

FJmonkey

The glass is not half full, it was engineered with a 2X safety factor.

'86 Ambulance - Bent frame, cracked case, due for an overhaul
'89 Stormy Blue - Suits my Dark Side