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Thread: *SX Project Done.* Tons of before and after pictures!!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Pennsylvannia
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    *SX Project Done.* Tons of before and after pictures!!

    I finally got this whole SX project done, and I figured I would share this with you. I have been keeping it in a document in Word for when I got done to share with you guys. Here goes.

    SX-Project:
    Before:




    Rear-end:
    Seat:
    I can’t STAND when things have torn seats. I feel that it makes the whole machine look so dirty, old, and used. So when I got this, that was the #1 priority. I picked up some ¼ inch staples, some fabric, and went to town. It took 3 hours to do this seat, but that was because I wanted it perfect. No wrinkles. It wasn’t very expensive either. $10 dollars for the staples and a yard of the fabric. And a yard of fabric is enough to do 2 seats. So I must say, for $10 dollars, you can make your ripped seat look $100 dollars better.
    Here is the only picture I have that shows part of the tears:


    And after:

    Last edited by nouseforaname90; 09-04-2005 at 11:23 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Pennsylvannia
    --
    1,147
    Shock:
    I always thought the shock on the back of the bike looked horrible. I’ve wanted to fix it up ever since I got the bike. It wasn’t until I read a post where Huffa said how to take it apart and paint it up that I did it.
    Here are some pics of the progress of the shock:






    Here it is done:


    And here it is on the bike:



    I think it made the backend look a lot better, although I didn’t really like the silver shock on the back of the bike with everything else being black. It wasn’t until I got all of the polished aluminum and gray things on the back of the bike that I started liking it. It blended in.
    Last edited by nouseforaname90; 09-04-2005 at 11:51 PM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Pennsylvannia
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    1,147
    Wheels:
    Ever since I got this bike, I’ve wanted to paint the wheels. I hated the rust around the edges of the rims. Then Huffa told me how to paint them.. in the same post that he said about painting the shock. As soon as I got the paint, I got right to it. At first, I had some difficulties. I picked up some paint from a buddy, and ran out. The 2nd rear wheel only needed one more coat when I ran out. And it just so happened that the color was discontinued!!! So I had to strip both tires back down and restart. I wasn’t happy.
    This is what the tire looked like before:


    The first color:



    And here is what they look like now:



    I matched up the colors of the caps, and they were pretty close. But when I got to spraying, I saw a huge difference. NEVER believe the cap color!! It can be way off. I personally liked the first color better, but oh well. Now I’m just going to wait until the paint chips, and then have the rims powdercoated and done the right way.
    Then I didn’t like the “drity” look of the old lug nuts on the nice, newly painted wheels. So I got some chrome lug nuts for it. I like them a lot and they also add to the chrome/polished aluminum stuff on the bike.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Pennsylvannia
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    1,147
    Exhaust:
    This exhaust annoyed me from day one, but I’ve loved the sound from day one as well. I didn’t have money to get another one (or so I thought!), so I just dealt with it, and warpped it in tin to make it look better, and cover up all the rust-holes in it.
    Here she is when I first got the bike:

    Here it is after the tin:


    I still thought it looked like crap! So when Huffa showed me an auction of a used SuperTrapp, I jumped on it. For a winning bid of $26, I made out!! (It was only $41 with shipping). It looked like CRAP when I first got it, but after about 2-3 hours of polishing and painting, it looks 110% better. I can definitely say it was worth buying a used SuperTrapp and fixing it up for $41, than buying a brand new Cobra and slapping it on the bike for over $200. Just knowing that you took it from looking like it was beat to heck and back and then making it look like new gives you a great feeling. Better than just buying a new one and slapping it on the bike! Here is the SuperTrapp before:




    And after polishing and stuff:


  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Pennsylvannia
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    And then after paint:





    I love this SuperTrapp and the sound is awesome with 12 discs. Sounds like a Harley on a slightly smaller scale, really. I can tell that I lost a tiny bit of horsepower, because it will only pull the front end up in first now, instead of first and second, but the speed gains are great. I would recommend a SuperTrapp to anyone that can get their hands on one.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Pennsylvannia
    --
    1,147
    Grab bar:
    These PRM grab bars are not too cheap. But they aren’t expensive either. Just the right price for the quality. I’d have to say it was quite a good investment. Compared to the stock one, it feels soo much more durable, and it is also lighter. I love the look of it on the bike too. The stock one was just too.. blah. This one seems to give it a “sportier” look, and also offers a little bit of room incase you want to strap a gas tank on there or something. There isn’t a TON of room, but enough for a one-gallon gas tank or something to fit if you strap it down well, which is more than the stock grabbar offered.
    Here she is before the grabbar:




    And after:


  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Pennsylvannia
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    1,147
    Taillight:
    The taillight may seem minor...but on this bike it was a big improvement. It brought the look of the whole backend together. The old taillight was cracked and dirty:



    and this new aluminum LED taillight that I got off of eBay (it was for a Banshee) works great. It cuts through the night great. It doesn’t cast that red light behind you like the stock taillight (I hated that red light it cast…I don’t know why… it just bugged me), but it cuts through the nighttime 10x better. I personally love this taillight and am glad I invested in it. It fits in with all of the other aluminum/chrome looking things on the rear of the bike. I had to drill and tap holes in the bottom of the grabbar to mount it, but that was no problem. Considering that was the first time I had ever used a tap set, I’d have to say I did pretty good and was veryyyy proud of myself. lol
    Here is the rear before the taillight:



    And after:

    Last edited by nouseforaname90; 09-05-2005 at 12:01 AM.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Pennsylvannia
    --
    1,147
    Front-end:
    Forks and brake drum: (I replaced the torn boot on the left side as well…but thats nothing significant)
    Now these…boy… these took awhile. 3 or more hours per fork, but I can say it was worth it. The forks/brake drum alone made the front end of the bike look a lot better. I don’t have much to say about the forks, other than do not try to polish your forks/brake drum unless you have a lot of patience and time on your hands. It took 2 days to get these done, and probably around 7-8 hours total for the forks and what you see in the after pics:
    Before..: (it was half cleaned up in the first pic.. and I already had the right fork done in the rest)





  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Pennsylvannia
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    After:







    Now I was considering stopping there on the front end, but you guys know me. I can’t stop with just that!!

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Pennsylvannia
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    Headlight:
    I’ve always looooved the look of the 350X headlight, and I’ve always envied the people that had them on their bikes because I thought they looked so great. Well they not only look great, they are so much better than the 250SX headlight. I had some trouble with the wiring, as the people who helped in my post know… but we got through it thanks to their help and advice. Now I must say. The 250SX headlight works pretty well. But after putting this 350X headlight on there, I am never changing it back. It looks great, and is a lot brighter than the 250SX headlight. The dual beam thing is awesome and makes it so much brighter, gives it a wider viewing path, and about a 2-3x longer range. Comparing the 250SX headlight to the 350X headlight is like trying to compare a household lamp to a spotlight.
    Before:


    After:



    I have to thank TravEX for the headlight… and a BIG thanks goes out to 350x’inNY (Bruce) for sending me a replacement lens and bulb to replace the broken one. And he also sent it to me for free until I get the money to pay him back. Thanks Bruce! And just so you know, I’ll have your money to you soon

    Panel Cover:
    This was just a minor detail, but being a perfectionist, it bugged the crap out of me. I need to thank freewheel3 for taking this off his parts bike and sending it to me for free.
    Before:


    After:

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Pennsylvannia
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    1,147
    Gas Tank:
    Now the gas tank was supposed to be the first priority on this bike, but it got set aside sometime during the project and forgot for awhile. As soon as my dad remembered that my neighbor is a painter and told me about it, I ran over there to ask him if he would do it. He jumped on it, as he used to work in a body shop where he would do painting everyday, but hasn’t painted in about a year and is trying to get some practice because he is trying to get back into it. I went to NAPA and bought the paint and all the supplies for $80.00!!!! Oh well. As long as it turned out nice, I thought. And it did. The paint job, along with the decals from Harlan made it look brand new. The tank took about 2 hours of wet sanding from me, and about an hour of wet sanding from Kaz, and probly an hour or two for painting. When all was said and done, he put 9-10 coats on it.. so I don’t have to worry about my knees rubbing the paint down to bare metal anytime soon!!
    Here are a few pics of the progress of the tank:
    After wet sanding:



    During and halfway through buffing:



    And the finished product:


  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Pennsylvannia
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    The finished product on the bike with the decals, newly painted gas cap, and polished petcock on it:





    I think it turned out very nice, but at a very high price. $138 total, but if I hadn’t already had the Wet/Dry sanding paper and rubbing compound, it would have been more like $170.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Pennsylvannia
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    1,147
    Handle Bars:
    I don’t have any before/after pics of this part of it. It was a very minor thing. But it was part of the project, so I included it in here. I painted the handle bars, and everything metal on them. Like the throttle housing (or whatever its called), and such.

    Front Fender:
    Thanks to the post by CHAINSAW, and some advice on flame-kissing from bigredhead.. I got this front fender restored and looking like new. Unfortunately, no before or after pics. But considering that it took over 4 hours to do, I figured I would add it in to the list.

    Painted Items:
    I have no before or after pictures of this either, but you can see them in the before and after pics of the SX. I painted the kicker, foot pegs, shift lever, foot brake, hubs, heat shield, header, and more. Too much to mention, and not really anything significant. Just minor details.


    I probably missed some stuff… but hey…there was a long list of To-Do’s on this project.

    Here is the list of things that I wanted for the project and got:
    PRM Grabbar
    LED Billet Aluminum Taillight
    SuperTrapp Exhaust
    Paint Gas Tank
    Redo Seat
    New Rubber Cover by Neutral Light
    Paint Handle Bars and All Metal Acc. On Handlebars
    Replace Left Fork Boot
    Polish Forks
    Paint Rims And Hubs
    Paint Front and Rear Brake Drums
    Polish Front Brake Drum Backing and Axle
    Polish Honda Sign On Clutch Case
    Paint Kicker, Exhaust Heat Sheild, Footpegs, Foot Brake, and Shift Lever
    Paint Shock
    Chrome Lug Nuts
    350X Headlight

    And here is what I still need to get:

    New Front Brakes
    K&N Air Filter
    New Grips
    Paint Frame
    New plastics

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Pennsylvannia
    --
    1,147
    After:












    In the after pictures, I hadn’t washed the bike yet. I’ve been too busy riding it. After spending 4 months and over 70 hours on it, I just want to ride instead of washing it. So I will hopefully get it washed next week and put up some pics for you guys of it clean. For now, bear with the dirty pics.. lol…that could be taken wrongly!

    P.S.. don't mind the missing paint on the hitch. I had to haul a trailer around with little kids in it last night, so the paint came off. I'm going to repaint it, and put some kind of a rubber gasket or something there to prevent the trailer tongue from rubbing the paint off again.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Pennsylvannia
    --
    1,147
    All in all, I’m pleased with the SX now, and learned a lot during this whole thing, thanks to you guys and some examining of the bike and its parts on my part. I know its not a big thing where thanking people is necessary…but I definitely need to thank some people.
    Huffa is one of the major ones. He helped me out a lot with this whole thing… he is the one that found the SuperTrapp for me and I thank him A LOT for that. I love that thing! Lol
    bigredhead.. 250sxwheelie pop.. thedeatons.. Maine_Triker.. anyone who helped out with my electrical problem.. thanks a lot. It must have took a lot of patience.. lol. And bigredhead has also helped me with a lot of other things too.
    Roger (sandpuppi101) at Muddog Restro’s got me some parts, and he is on the lookout for quite a few parts for me. Very nice guy and I would recommend him if you are looking for parts.
    TravEX and 350x’inNY.. I definitely need to thank you. TravEX for sending me his headlight for $30 bucks when the cheapest one I could find on eBay was over $50. And Bruce for the lense/bulb. Especially trusting a total stranger and sending it to me for free until I get the money to repay him. That takes a very nice person, and there aren’t many people like that out there anymore.
    I don’t know if I forgot anyone, but if I did.. sorry.

    All in all.. I’m very pleased with this project. Comments, please J
    And if you actually sat and read through all of that.. you are NUTS! Haha

    Oh yeah. And I took 200 pictures during this whole thing.. so if you want more pictures of something, just ask.

    Total project cost: $1086.56 including the $550 I paid for the SX.
    That does not include the $160 for the new plastics that are on their way (but I will not be getting them until Christmas), and I threw away some of the receipts from the beginning of the project, so the total cost is probably actually more like $1100-1150..

    Comments?

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