A few pics now that it's all done

[jlcnuke]

Well it started out looking like this (note, that is not black paint, it's more like spray in bed-liner or undercoat..):

http://www.gceenterprises.com/jlcnuke/DSC01077.JPG

But after a lot of work and some upgrades it is a bit more presentable now :)

http://www.gceenterprises.com/jlcnuke/bikeside.JPG

http://www.gceenterprises.com/jlcnuke/bikefront.JPG

http://www.gceenterprises.com/jlcnuke/bikeviewonit.JPG

http://www.gceenterprises.com/jlcnuke/bikeleftback.JPG

http://www.gceenterprises.com/jlcnuke/bikewheel.JPG

Figured I'd share the finished product now that it was nice enough out to get some decent pics :)

Upgrades include 2nd gen bars, pro-gel grips, heavy bar end weights (made a huge difference in vibration :) ), tinted windscreen, removed rear pegs and replaced with frame sliders, front frame sliders, flush signals, driving lights (not hooked up right now because of concerns about the electrical system handling them). Wheels painted with a graphite wheel paint, plastics stripped, primed, sealed and painted with dupli-color. Dupli-color clear used on the plastics and a two-part chemical resistant clear used on the tank to protect against any gas spillage. Swingarm painted with the same graphite as the wheels. Muffler and various other metal areas painted/touched up with a high temp black.

While it was getting all prettied up seemed like a good time to get some maintenance out of the way so she got new tires, wheel alignment, carb cleaned and floats replaced, air-box mod done (took a while to get the pilots adjusted right after but well worth it in the end), all fluids changed, valve alignment, throttle and clutch adjusted and a few other various maintenance items.

Now time to hit the road and enjoy her http://www.gceenterprises.com/jlcnuke/ricky.gif

[Derrick]

Looks great!...HUGE improvement...now get out there and enjoy it!

[cudruln]

Looks great!...HUGE improvement...now get out there and enjoy it!

:yeathat:

[red98teg]

looks good! if you dont mind me asking, what did the bike + work cost you?

[Reece]

very nicely done! :up:

[jlcnuke]

looks good! if you dont mind me asking, what did the bike + work cost you?

bike was just over a grand, paint was around $300 and upgrades ran another $200 or so. Total cost under $2k.

[Will]

Very nice! Did you buy her with the intent of doing all the work yourself? And what resources did you use to know how to do all the maintenance? Thinking about after the initial fix ups with Lorne, I will try to do all the maintenance myself.

[jlcnuke]

Initially I was only going to do the mechanical stuff but decided I couldn't deal with the paint job on it. www.ex-500.com/wiki had 99% of the information needed to do the maintenance (including full pictorial walk-throughs) and I downloaded the manual to verify torque's etc. Help from Invader (who used to work at a bike shop) made most jobs go really smoothly.

[coolbreeze]

That's the nicest 500 I've ever seen. Did you do the painting yourself?

[jlcnuke]

Myself and a friend (Invader) did the painting. Rattle can paint has come a long way from when I was a kid :)

[KTM Rider]

Looks GREAT:up: Good job!!

[redciv1]

Nice job. Really makes me want to fix my plastics and repaint. Nice!!!!