Budget Bike: Roketa Resurrection

[criggs]

Alright, I finally got some more stuff done on the Roketa. I got really sick late in December, and work on the bike had stalled for quite a bit, but seeing the parts just laying around in the garage motivated me back to it. I decided to sand the engine case to help remove as much of the stained color as possible, as well as cleaning up the cylinder fins. As always, I forgot to take before pics, but I have a few between cleaning and priming. Went with one light and two thick coats of primer (used an entire can) on the whole engine:

This week I'm going to do the Cylinder all black, and do a light clear coat on the primer gray for the case. Also cleaned up the handlebar mounts and primed them as well, as the original red paint was either gone, or faded pink (which I also forgot to take pics of):

Going to re-do those and the frame Red, then the bars and swing arm black. Once the paint is done, I need to figure out the steering head bearings, then everything goes back together. I can't wait to see how it looks.

 

[criggs]

Got a lot done today. Finished the Engine, frame, swing arm, and bar mounts (forgot to get pics of those):
Cylinder prepped for paint

Cylinder painted

Engine case clear coated

Engine finished

Frame done in red

Swing arm re-done black

Gotta grab one more can of Black to finish the bars and a couple other small misc things, then paint is all done.

 

[criggs]

Got even more done this week. Last Wednesday I finished the rest of the painting:

Bars re-done black

Front brake master cylinder and rear caliper mount

A pic of the bar mounts from last week

After all that I was just waiting for the steering stem bearings to arrive, which I got last night. I ended up ordering PW50 bearings since they looked the most similar to what came out of this bike. Started re-assembly today, and they fit perfect.

Still need to finish cleaning the wheels (super rusty) and a couple other small parts, then the rest is ready to go back together.

 

[criggs]

Got the wheels cleaned and installed, today.

A portion of the rust ring that went all the way around both sides of both rims:

After some WD40 and ScotchBrite:

Looks a bit like a bike, now:

Still gotta clean and shine the tires, but after that it's just wiring and accessories.

 

[criggs]

Welp, got the bike all back together and ride-able again. Last Saturday night I got the exhaust, wiring, and all of the controls (throttle, front brake, clutch lever) installed:

The very next day the tank, seat, and plastics were all on (minus the front fender and number plate), and the bike was started for the first time since tear-down:

Click here for video

Then, the following Wednesday, I installed the front fender and number plate, strapped on my helmet, and took her for a nice little joyride around the neighborhood:

[video=youtube_share;1NnpM1x7Iiw]https://youtu.be/1NnpM1x7Iiw[/video]

Still gotta shine the tires, but otherwise she's all done.

 

[motorman]

Looks and sounds awesome.

Must be so good to ride it!!

Makes all that hard work pay off.

 

[criggs]

Yeah man, it felt great to ride it again after working on it for so long. Only thing is now I don't want to get it dirty =P.

The resto is finally completely finished. Cleaned and shined the tires, made sure everything was as presentable as possible, then had my sister (family photographer) take some good pics for me. Lemme know what you guys think.

 

[DavidThomas2017]

Yeah man, it felt great to ride it again after working on it for so long. Only thing is now I don't want to get it dirty =P.

The resto is finally completely finished. Cleaned and shined the tires, made sure everything was as presentable as possible, then had my sister (family photographer) take some good pics for me. Lemme know what you guys think.

Looks great. Nice work

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