Slimline chrome!

[iansoady]

The lower fork spring covers on my ES2 looked a bit odd.



So on stripping them down I decided to investigate further. I discovered that a previous owner had taken a Ryvita packet, which is obviously metallised foil, and glued it to the metal with the shiny side out. It actually looked quite good from a distance.



Very ingenious and a cheap option, but I'm getting the bits plated.......

[mini-me]

Nearly as good as cardboard brake linings, and yes, I have seen those.

[Oggers]

What a skinflint! At the very least he cound have used Bacofoil.... 

[Grunt]

What a skinflint! At the very least he cound have used Bacofoil.... 

Dont put the poor chap down Ryvita is a British company, at least he didnt fit a Kawasaki side stand.

[john.k]

Jap bikes use the same process on plastic and pretend its chrome...........just the plastic is a bit thicker.

[iansoady]

What a skinflint! At the very least he cound have used Bacofoil.... 

Dont put the poor chap down Ryvita is a British company, at least he didnt fit a Kawasaki side stand.

Ouch, that smarts!

[john.k]

Ian,you have the same long muffler as my ES2.........people say its too big..........mine came from Armours in 1984,rest of the exhaust too............One thing you are missing is the exhaust bracket that fits the front plates directly below the two 1/2 mounting bolts..........My ES2 is the only restoration Ive ever done  that I threw money at........now its too good to ride,and lives in a spare room....I ride a tatty old  1950 Ariel and a 1939/1946? Panther 100 bitsa........The only resto Ive ever done really well out of was my Willys Knight roadster.........

[iansoady]

Yes, there should be a bracket there but the system seems quite solid without -  I'll see how it goes. That long silencer does seem to leave the bike at something of an angle rather than being tucked in but similar machines in the National bike museum seem to have similar - for whatever it's worth.

I've always fought shy of "concours" restorations - as you say they can be too pretty to ride and you end up obsessing that the lovely paintwork may be scuffed.

Chroming is going to cost me about £400 at an old-school plater in Brum I've used previously. Everything except the wheel rims (at this stage) but I'll probably have them done next year as I want to have the bike properly on the road by Spring.

[Rex]

You'll have fun getting a plater to redo chrome rims...

[mini-me]

Some platers will just polish the edges,which is handy when you want to paint the middles.

Start saving though, because the price will probably buy you two French scrapheaps

[john.k]

I d never get chroming done again.....since hexavalent salts were banned,the platers all say it doesnt last......I would get stainless rims,or just go with paint........where I had the wheels professionally lined,it seems a etch was used,which has lifted the chrome where the lining is........Fortunately,the tank wasnt done by the same guy,and the chrome is still 99%..with one little patch thats visible in sunlight.

[Grunt]

I was quoted £100 for my Bonnie grab rail to be re plated at a platers in Hull. £10 just to have it stripped if I was to have it powder coated. New ones are £80 ish, which I don’t really want because I want to keep as many original parts as possible. So far it’s bolted back on as it was until I make a decision.

To have two rims done I’ll raise Mini-Me’s two french scrap heaps to four.

[TGR90B]

Beware of new grab rails Grunt. I bought one many years ago for my T100R at Kempton. After a few years it rusted quite badly. I cleaned  the old one up and refitted it. It's still on the bike and looks reasonable.

[Rex]

The old truism with platers says that one grabrail would be eighty quid, two would be £110, three £140 and so on.
Far better (cheaper) to get a batch of work and get it done all together.
I use an excellent poweder-coaters in Southampton and last time I was there he showed us "chrome" powder-coated old wheel rims. Not concours standard obviously but a passable alternative to sh*tty Italian Raedeli quick-peel rims etc where a painted rim wouldn't do.

[iansoady]

You'll have fun getting a plater to redo chrome rims...

My local old-school chap will do them. He charged me £100 for a pair of A10 rims a couple of years ago. He also does exhausts and silencers which I know a lot won't touch.

His place is rather Dickensian however and I worry he'll be closed down....