Step 5: Back in 1 Piece!

I took my time putting everything back together, I was waiting on few small bits (like the column lock, preventing me from putting the steering column on..) and also polished / cleaned up / replaced screws, nuts, aluminum, chrome, repainted the exhaust with temp rated paint, etc. Tip: easy way to clean up metal, chrome (only use steel wool on chrome- no sandpaper) , metal;  basic steps: med sand paper (enough to get level surface) followed by some 400, then 800 or 1000, then finish with fine steel wool, (steel wool will buff and take out any lines or directional patterns from the sanding) amazing!, my levers came out so nice!  Also used a can of silver and black to touch small misc parts. Makes for a nice clean overall look (ex. - painted my plastic engine cover, and kick stand metal)

Step 4 - Paint

The dishes are DONE! Primed, Sanded, Painted, and Clear Coated.

It took me longer than I estimated. I thought I could do it in one day, but it took me 2 full days. I had an issue, when I got to the paint stage. I realized that I somehow forgot to order Reducer with my paint order! I lost an evening or work due to that.

DIY is the name of the game. Painters cap on...

After going back and forth about where and who could paint my beloved scooter, I have opted to do it myself. I chose this option based on the ridiculous prices and answers I got when I asked a few local shops. I was being quoted about $1000 - $1600 (N. California) I just couldn't make sense of that figure, when I know that I could do a very similar job myself for more that half that price. I racked up a total of about $250 (before shipping), that included a paint gun, a diff spray tip, air hose, metal prep cleaner, paint, primer, clear coat, wax and grease remover, a respirator, paint cups, and strainers!

Step 3 1/2 - Front shock dis-assembly

Front shock dis-assembly - Brought this inside.. too cold and dark in the garage! So this required a bit of a strategic removal order, and good lighting. To start I removed the damper shock ( previous session.. involved blood..)  despite the pain, it was pretty straight forward, a few bolts on the top and bottom. Then I got confused in trying to remove the spring... what I found is that what you actually have to do is remove the brake pads, then the fork.

To remove the brake pad, wedge a screw driver between the
2 plates where they overlap (bottom of pic) through the bolt.
Lift the top one away and then they come off easily.

Step 3 - Still sanding and cleaning up stuff

Sanding, sanding and more sanding... wow this really was more work than I realized. There were 3 layers of paint, so that was part of the pain. In future, I would absolutely consider sending it off to be media blasted. I finally got the dust cover off the fork, which was preventing me from removing the fender. I found a hand held torch for like 12 bucks at Home Depot. I had to heat the dust cover, and then tap from underneath to get it to move. It took alot of wedging and taping and more wedging, there was the cover and then a collar, 2 pieces that eventually came off and  then fender came off! Yay! I removed the damper, and managed to slam my hand against the fork and lost a good chunk of skin... grrrr, did I mention that this wasnt very fun? Now Im stuck trying to get the spring off, etc.. I have to find some manual info on that.

Step 2 - Dismantle, remove engine, drop forks

So I did most of the sanding about a week ago initially thinking I was going to just paint without dropping the engine, and fork. Then later I felt like that was a bad idea, and half ass, so I decided to strip it down.

Step 1 - Evaluation and Goals

I have had this scoot for a long time... originally bought from a kid who built it into the frankenscoot that it is. The frames is a 65 Allstate, but it has been converted to 10" wheels, and it has a stock P200 engine. The electrical has all been upgraded to 12 Volt, and runs off the engine (no battery), also the tail light has been upgraded to VBB style, more functional i guess, and the oil just goes in premixed like the old style.