SV650 Corrosion/Rust removal?

[isutty5]

Hi Guys,

I will introduce myself as this is my first post on here.

My Name is Jordan, 21 Years old, and a Recent A2 Test Graduade. I had 3 125's over 2 years before finally upgrading to a blue '99 SV650SY (Currently restricted to 47BHP). I'm absolutely loving it, It is now my pride and joy!

I work as a technologist in Education, I love me gadgets! And I love messing around with electronics and pulling things apart just to learn how they work. I'm also a lot like this with bikes now :D

Here is a picture of my SV :-P

http://img.pixady.com/2015/03/303405_bike_2.jpg

Now, as this is my pride and joy, I polish/wax this thing as often as I can to keep it shiny and protected from water. However, certain things are starting to get to me now...

Things such as the front fork legs looking like they have been eroded by acid, rusty bolts and rust on other parts of the frame and some on the bottom yoke. The top yoke looks slightly corroded too.

So, I am a guy with lack of tools and correct knowledge of which tools to buy to help me restore shine back to these parts. Bolts, I would assume I can just buy replacement stainless steel ones.

As for the forks, they looks a lot like this guys:
http://www.sv650.org/SV_restore/Img_1440.jpg

and somehow he managed to get them like this!
http://www.sv650.org/SV_restore/Img_1470.jpg

Now I read his posts but he didn't quite details the tools, products used to do this.

I was hoping someone here could perhaps point me in the right direction for what to buy and a bit of guidance in order to remove the corrosion and polish and lacquer it all back up to some real shine again!

I'd prefer not to buy the most expensive tools, but just something good enough that can do the job.

Thanks in advance!

[maviczap]

If you have the tools, then remove the forks from the yokes.

Get some good paint stripper, not Nitromors! and strip the lacquer off first.

To get a good shine, then you can use some wet & dry paper to remove the corrosion (1200 grit paper)

Then most people use Autosol to bring up the shine. Its quicker with an electric drill & polishing mop, but you can do it by hand.

To get a really good shine, a cotton mop and going through the grades of polish will get a super super shine.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Metal-Polishing-Kit-4-x-1-Aluminium-Brass-NFK0-4002-/301550475542?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4635cf1916

You may not get all the corrosion marks out, but the alloy does buff up well.

Remember to protect it after you've done this, maybe with some wax or clear lacquer

[carelesschucca]

:winner:

[Aldoo]

Hi mate
im also 21 with a rusty blue curvy with a belly pan!

http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/b617/Aldoo93/IMG_20150228_170757_zpsvdnqnsvj.jpg (http://s1294.photobucket.com/user/Aldoo93/media/IMG_20150228_170757_zpsvdnqnsvj.jpg.html)

can you tell which id done at that point? :P

I just used different grade wet dry to get all the old rubbish off then polished them with this
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281448988214?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

As you can see they came out acceptable - but i didnt spend ages on them making them perfect.

I didnt relaquer them, i thought using some wax/wheel sealant and repolishing them would be enough to stay on top of it ...its looking like i was wrong though! lol




Edit - its my first time posting here - why are the pictures massive? lol

[nutzboutbikes]

Hello and welcome.


Stainless steel bolts are good but generally not where high tensile strength is required or depending on your budget you could also use titanium bolts but these can cost a fortune.


That looks like it would take a long time to get that finish, I guess he used some type of mechanical polisher a bit of elbow grease and a lot of time!.
I have seen silver wheel paint used on the legs which looks good its hard wearing and it will be the method of choice when I have to do mine.
Clean off all the corrosion with sand paper, next I would probably use an acid etch primer then paint and finish with lacquer to seal it up and get a nice shine.


Good to see you bought the best shape SV!.

[maviczap]

Yes, they're very susceptible to corrosion on our salty roads!

ACF80 might have prevented the corrosion being as bad.

The only real cure is to powder coat or paint them. But sooner or later you're going to get a stone chip, which will then start to corrode underneath.

I don't know if anyone has had them anodized like the GSXR forks & I don't know how impervious to corrosion anodizing is?

If you're riding all year, then keep on top of it.

Your downpipe is too filthy, you need to polish that too.

Don't know why your pics are too big, depends on your image host I think. On Flickr I can choose the image size

[otaylor38]

Plus 1 on the downpipe.

Get that polished up too ;).

All depends how much elbow grease you're willing to put in i guess. I used a Dremel with a polish attachment and autosol to do mine.

On the forks i tried to keep it polished as best as possible then used a good wax to try and keep on top of it.

Worked for me, but i dont ride all year round and mine had only don 5k summer miles when i got it, so it wasnt bad in the slightest to begin with, im just abit OCD.

[carelesschucca]

Thinking about it if you do remove the forks for a clean up, I'd give them a wee refresh while they are off, new oil and springs maybe seals too. Well worth the expense.

[otaylor38]

Thinking about it if you do remove the forks for a clean up, I'd give them a wee refresh while they are off, new oil and springs maybe seals too. Well worth the expense.

Uprated springs would do a lot of good wouldnt it on the SV.

might aswel do the back whilst you're at it ;) haha.

[Murley.]

Anything you can get in stainless steel, change it out. Improves the look of a bike by miles. What I done with my fork lowers was polish them and then boil them in washing soda to help passivate them. It looses some of the shine but it vastly helps them from furring up. That's the problem with Japanese alloy, its utter she-ite and furs up at the first sign of moisture.

And with tools, halfords advanced range is always a good bet but in the end, you get what you pay for.

[otaylor38]

Anything you can get in stainless steel, change it out. Improves the look of a bike by miles. What I done with my fork lowers was polish them and then boil them in washing soda to help passivate them. It looses some of the shine but it vastly helps them from furring up. That's the problem with Japanese alloy, its utter she-ite and furs up at the first sign of moisture.

And with tools, halfords advanced range is always a good bet but in the end, you get what you pay for.

Or titanium.

I've just bought a few titanium bolts for the viffer (not cos of corrosion, just to attach extras with) n i love the titanium tbh.

Not cheap mind

[Jayneflakes]

Hello there, welcome to the joys of SV ownership and to the community that is the Org. This is a friendly place with lots of good advice and some of it will be stuff you wont find anywhere else.

When I first joined, I was directed to Chewies place (http://www.chewys-stuff.co.uk/) and that was a good thing. I bought a complete bike bolt kit and replaced every manky cheese steel bolt on the bike. Go and have a look.

http://www.chewys-stuff.co.uk/

I have also spent some time polishing things (have a look at my build thread (http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=157076) for the things I polished) and can tell you that it is a lot of hard work, but it is very worthwhile. To start with get some good paint stripper and apply it liberally, one little tip is to lay pieces of news paper on the paint stripper like papier mache on what ever you are stripping because this enables it to properly soak into the paint. I have not tried this, but have been informed that it works very well.

Once stripped and cleaned, take a file to the casting marks and smooth them out, you don't need a really course file, but keeping it clear of filings will stop scratches. Once the casting marks are gone, hit it with the wet and dry, start course and go progressively finer until the metal is smooth. You can polish to a mirror like this, but it is very hard work.

I used a set of polishing mops fitted into a drill combined with various polishing soaps and the final effect was like a mirror. It is a filthy job though.

To take the forks out, you will want a paddock stand and a jack or an Abba stand with SV fittings. If the Curvy yokes are the same as Pointy, you can paint the lower yoke and polish the top. Servicing the forks is also a good idea, swapping them for USDs is however completely unnecessary, but sure makes the bike pretty.

Another tip, strip down your rear end and service or replace the bearings in the swingarm and suspension rocker.

Something that you may find helpful is a Haynes manual and a good tool kit. A set from Halfords that consists of sockets, Allen keys, a few spanners and a couple of screw drivers will cost you a few pounds, but it is a worthwhile investment. The better quality tools you buy, the longer they last and the better they work.

Enjoy riding your bike, keep it shiny side up and try to avoid speeding tickets. :smt044

[isutty5]

Thanks For all the amazingly helpful replies! :-D

I think I shall enjoy this community :-)

I will definitely be sure to take on board all of your advice, some very thorough and helpful answers.

I will be sure to create a post with progress of my work in restoring the looks of my SVs looks.

Will definitely go for those bolts on Chewy's stuff. Not a bad price at all.

I am quite new to servicing a bike of this calibre, much more complex than 125's. I have never services forks before, but I am sure there is plenty of info that can guide me through it.

Thank You all for your advice. Much appreciated.