GT550 Cafe project

[imquattro]

Well, at 3 minutes a spoke start to finish + 1 minute a nipple. (x72 each) =
How did I get all that time in???
Well, all the spokes are de-corroded and polished. There's still a small bit of residue from the buffer on each that needs to be wiped off prior to clear coating or whatever I decide to do.
Before & after (looked WAY worse in person).


Rear spokes:


Whole set (front & rear + nipples):

[Joiseygirl]

They're looking good!

[tz375]

Very nice. What did you decide to plate/coat them with to prevent rusting? Raw steel does rust pretty quickly.

[imquattro]

Very nice. What did you decide to plate/coat them with to prevent rusting? Raw steel does rust pretty quickly.

[tz375]

POR-15 say that Glisten can be used over regular steel, so that's good. It won't be a huge saving over replacement spokes but it will avoid throwing away usable metal and that has to be a good thing.

[Suzukidave]

What would it cost to just put a zinc coating on them ?

[imquattro]

What would it cost to just put a zinc coating on them ?

Zinc coating isn't glossy & bright (like chrome & nickle) from what I've seen.
I picked up a can of Rustoleum Cold Galvanizing spray paint, supposedly 98%+ zinc. It was on sale locally for around $4, an example can be seen here: http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/us ... Spray.html
I was thinking it was a clear coating, or a coating that could be cleared over.
Not so. It was a grey powder that wiped right off when dry. Painting over (only latex paint!) wasn't an option.
(anyone need some cold-galvanizing paint? )

SO, zinc coating is not an option for me.

[imquattro]

Could you take a picture down the cylinder as it would be interesting if the one set is the chrome bore ones with the different porting .

Sorry, didn't see this post...
I'll take a shot for you later this week and post back.

[Coyote]

I tried clear coating spokes. There is no way to work them through the hub without scraping some of the clear off. That puts you back to square one. There is really nothing you can do short of powder coating, and that would cost more than a shiny new set. I threw in the towel and bought new. All that work and time (polishing) for nada.

[Suzukidave]

SO, zinc coating is not an option for me.

I was think more along the lines of plating http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/zinc.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and this would also come in handy for the other grubby nuts n bolts on the engine and frame .

[22Garnet22]

First off, kudos for involving some students. I'm 19 and years ago had a power mechanics class. There was a bike in the shop but we didn't work on it. After working on my GT500 I realized that if we got to work on that bike, I would have gotten into motorcycles way earlier.

My dad's just getting materials in for zinc plating some bolts and stuff for 1 or 2 of his bikes and from what I understand about it zinc plating isn't as "nice" as chrome but it doesn't fall too short. I think that combined with the DIY aspect makes it pretty viable for some people.

Cheers!
Garnet

[tz375]

Correct. Zinc plating is a flat finish and lacks teh shine of polished stainless stell or chrome, but it's a good compromise between long term protection, looks and cost.

We have had dozens of sets of spokes plated over the years and some were chrome. Luckily they didn't snap and they looked great but they tend to rust inside the nipples worse that zinc plated spokes. We've used Buchanans stainless spokes where we didn't have the spoke length or diameter on hand to lace up a particular combo of rim and hub, they are good but not cheap.

Zinc plating is reasonably cheap if there's a good plating shop near you. We have one in Chicago and send stuff by the box load. What we tend to do is to clean ALL the hardware for a bike and send that all in as one lot. Some is barrel plated and some they wire and they heat treat it all. Once had a batch not heat treated and those spokes break regularly.

[imquattro]

Any and all decent plating kits that would produce a bright shiny finish are too much $.
A new set of spokes and nipples (chrome or stainless) are over $100.

[imquattro]

There is really nothing you can do short of powder coating, and that would cost more than a shiny new set. (polishing) for nada.

Powderbuythepound.com has nice powder for really nice deals.
I have the equipment but also don't want to run into a fitment issue due to the coating.
Then theres the issue of the threads on the spokes & nipples. You shouldn't powdercoat them assembled because they'll most likely mar when disassembling for lacing the wheel.
So.... catch 22... it'll look nice prior to assembly, but probably get semi-scratched after being laced.
My next thought would be to powdercoat the wheel (clear) after being laced & trued.
Not sure how the 400F will affect the truing....
AGGHHHH! needs more $ - a new set of spokes would have eleviated all this.... but then again, I like troubleshooting all these details... it's too easy in my book (and feels like a cop-out) to just buy new and install. That's lame, and anyone can do that (with-in reason).

[imquattro]

Could you take a picture down the cylinder as it would be interesting if the one set is the chrome bore ones with the different porting .

Sorry, didn't see this post...
I'll take a shot for you later this week and post back.

Here's a shot of the inside of the 72's bore, looked chromed in some areas, but could have been ring wear on the cylinder wall:



Here's a shot of the inside of the 74's bore (crosshatching not visible on photo but easily seen in person).