Replacement Master cylinder reservoir?

[Incubus]

I fired up the powder coater today and produced some really nice parts from what was once grunge. Nice brake and clutch levers and mounts, did a real nice right hand control casing. This is on top of two days of buffing on the engine cover and fork lowers. Incubus is starting to look quite attractive.

I can powder coat the front master cylinder and make it look nice, but there is nothing I can do about the nasty foggy yellow reservoir. Does anyone know of a replacement? Maybe something from another bike that will cross over?

The parts fiche does not list a separate part number for the reservoir, so I don't think I can buy only that - even if Yamaha still had them.

Suggestions are welcome.

Patrick

[xs11bobber]

Search my "Flash"ter cylinder thread. You may find some helpful ideas in there that I recieved from members.I don't think the plastic reservoir itself is a replacement part. I beleive it was Fred that suggest the most ideas to me. Fab a snap on type cover. I thought about it, then just bought a chrome custom unit and shimmed it. My bore is probably too small due to ebay seller F-up, but they're out there with a 5/8" bore that just a hair smaller than the (IIRC) 16mm bore.

Just shootin ya some thought for incubus. Can't wait to see some pictures after the final bolt and polish...

[mro]

nasty foggy yellow reservoir

Can be made to look just like this



John had discovered a way to referb the cosmetics of the reservoir and posted it some time ago.


mro

[mro]

I fired up the powder coater

You've got your own powder coater?
That's got to be a very cool toy.

mro

[Incubus]

Super cool tool, Mike. You can take the crustiest old parts and make them look NOS. A rough, pitted surface actually holds the powder coat better than a smooth one, and powder coat fills in all the scratches and gouges and leaves a nice smooth surface.

I do need to get a bigger oven. Right now I am limited to parts that fit into a toaster oven. I have powder coated things as big as brake rotors and triple trees, but that's as big as I can go. I'm looking for a cheap oven on Craigslist that will let me do gas tanks and things. A friend build an electric kiln in his yard so he could do frames and stuff. I am not that ambitious.

Patrick

[foreda]

Where did you buy?

Super cool tool, Mike. You can take the crustiest old parts and make them look NOS. A rough, pitted surface actually holds the powder coat better than a smooth one, and powder coat fills in all the scratches and gouges and leaves a nice smooth surface.

I do need to get a bigger oven. Right now I am limited to parts that fit into a toaster oven. I have powder coated things as big as brake rotors and triple trees, but that's as big as I can go. I'm looking for a cheap oven on Craigslist that will let me do gas tanks and things. A friend build an electric kiln in his yard so he could do frames and stuff. I am not that ambitious.

Patrick

Where did you buy your Powder Coating machine. I have been looking at one from the Eastwood Company. Reasonable price?

[Incubus]

I actually bought my powder coater on Craigslist from a guy who bought it and never used it because he didn't realize powder coat has to be melted on. I not sure what he was expecting. But it is very similar to this one:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=94244

Of course I got it for much less and it came with four colors of powder that the PO never even tried to use.

I've been real pleased. All you need is a cheap toaster oven (that you will never use for food again) to cure the stuff forsmall parts. What I have discovered over the last three years is that the equipment is not as important as the powder you use and neither is worth a damn if you don't prep the part right. That means even using rubber gloves to handle the parts after you strip them because even the oil from your fingers can compromise the adherence of the finish. Done correctly, however, powder coat is far superior to paint. It is really tough and imperious to most solvents and gasoline (but not brake fluid - DAMHIK). And clean up is a breeze. Literally. It's just powder. The overspray doesn't stick to anything and it blows away. You clean up your equipment with compressed air.

I highly recommend it.

Patrick

BTW - Do not try to store your powder supplies in a shed in Texas during the summer. Seems like my shed gets about as hot as a toaster oven. But I have some really brightly colored plastic bags that are impervious to most solvent...

[foreda]

Powder Coating

I've done some research and have seen some actual videos of the process. It is pretty cool and would be useful on small parts. Eastwood has one for less than 200 dollars but I don't know if it would be worth it since I do maybe a bike a year or so. I'd still like to get one to experiment with.

[Incubus]

The one I linked to at Harbor Freight is less than $70, Foreda, and it would work just fine. All the applicator does is send an electrical current through the part you are powder coating so that it attracts the powder and then blow a fine mist of powder to cling to the part. You could probably accomplish the same thing with a jumper battery and a straw. It's pretty simple.

Patrick

[fredintoon]

- - - I do need to get a bigger oven. Right now I am limited to parts that fit into a toaster oven. I have powder coated things as big as brake rotors and triple trees, but that's as big as I can go. - - -
Patrick

Hi Patrick,
SWMBO won't let you use the kitchen stove, eh?
I still remember the row when I stove-enameled my BSA oil tank in my mother's new stove and that was 50 years ago.
Scrounge a dead kitchen stove off the dump for free.
Mostly it's the control circuit board that's bust but the oven will still work.
For bigger stuff, salvage the stove elements and mount them in a section of industrial air conditioner duct
that's wrapped in pink insulation.
And the brake reservoir? If you don't fancy making a cover, paint it. You can't see through it anyway, right?

[crazy steve]

You could probably accomplish the same thing with a jumper battery and a straw. It's pretty simple.

Patrick

You need waaay more voltage than what a battery can provide. I've got the Eastwood unit, and while it doesn't say what the output voltage is, I know it's above 600 volts and wouldn't be at all surprised if it's well above 1KV; it will draw an arc across across a pretty good distance. But it's low current, so it probably won't kill you (but it WILL get your attention!).

I went with the Eastwood 'deluxe' unit (on sale, $140 w/powder) as it came with various 'accessories' that have been very useful. For an oven, I got a 'free' stove from a neighbor (all the top burners had gone bad, but the oven still worked) that has worked well. If you want to do bigger items, these are easy to come by. The Eastwood unit has been great, and I use it regularly for bike and car parts. The cost after you have the sprayer and oven is about the same or cheaper than rattle-can, as a $9 bottle of powder will do a whole bunch of small parts. I think that one 8 oz bottle would be enough to do all or nearly all of the covers on a XS motor (as long as you don't have any re-dos due to bad prep). Their powder even seems to be impervious to brake fluid, as I just did a master cylinder for a car with no problems. I love my powdercoater....

Three tips: One, don't ever use regular masking tape to cover up something you don't want coated as the heat will bake this stuff on like you can't believe. You can get it off, but expect mucho time in solvent scraping at it. They make special high-temp tape for this; it's expensive, but well worth it. Aluminum foil works for large areas. Two, do mask any non-threaded holes that have stuff that go into them. I had a bike frame done by a commercial outfit and the moron didn't mask them (after specifically pointing them out) and I had several hours invested in scraping the powder out. Threaded holes I don't worry about, as the powder doesn't go in far and I'll usually just chase them with a tap. Three, don't use a vacuum to clean up with, as the powder can be explosive. The sparks from the vacuum's motor brushes can ignite it and launch your vacuum into orbit....

'78E original owner

[mro]

Powder Coating

You can take the crustiest old parts and make them look NOS.

Yup, that's why I had the fenders done for the SF.
Spent a little over an hour trying to buff out some scratches but just would not look good.

mro
Toys wanted, powder coater, air brush, brand new vet with a foxy girl in it.
(Not necessarily in that order)

[Incubus]

To keep powder coat out of threaded holes, Steve, I screw in an old bolt or screw. I have a box of really nicely powder coated bolts. And it leaves a nice clean edge. I also use the screw for the ground so I do have to worry about leaving a mark where the ground connects. If you mess up and get it somewhere you don't want, Aircraft Stripper takes it right off. Buy the kind you can apply with a brush and you can take it off with precision.

[CatatonicBug]

My neighbor got the cheap HF powder coating gun, and surfed craigslist for an old electric stove/oven. He set it up in his garage on wheels, and just rolls the oven out in the driveway. He's done bike wheels, Tripple trees, engine covers, and all sorts of stuff. There is a bit of finesse to it, so I suggest practicing on a bunch of unimportant parts before anything you really want to make pretty. I hope to have him do my trees and a few other parts when I get around to the detail work. All it'll cost me is a jar of gloss black powder.

[foreda]

Exploding Vacuum Cleaner

You need waaay more voltage than what a battery can provide. I've got the Eastwood unit, and while it doesn't say what the output voltage is, I know it's above 600 volts and wouldn't be at all surprised if it's well above 1KV; it will draw an arc across across a pretty good distance. But it's low current, so it probably won't kill you (but it WILL get your attention!).

I went with the Eastwood 'deluxe' unit (on sale, $140 w/powder) as it came with various 'accessories' that have been very useful. For an oven, I got a 'free' stove from a neighbor (all the top burners had gone bad, but the oven still worked) that has worked well. If you want to do bigger items, these are easy to come by. The Eastwood unit has been great, and I use it regularly for bike and car parts. The cost after you have the sprayer and oven is about the same or cheaper than rattle-can, as a $9 bottle of powder will do a whole bunch of small parts. I think that one 8 oz bottle would be enough to do all or nearly all of the covers on a XS motor (as long as you don't have any re-dos due to bad prep). Their powder even seems to be impervious to brake fluid, as I just did a master cylinder for a car with no problems. I love my powdercoater....

Three tips: One, don't ever use regular masking tape to cover up something you don't want coated as the heat will bake this stuff on like you can't believe. You can get it off, but expect mucho time in solvent scraping at it. They make special high-temp tape for this; it's expensive, but well worth it. Aluminum foil works for large areas. Two, do mask any non-threaded holes that have stuff that go into them. I had a bike frame done by a commercial outfit and the moron didn't mask them (after specifically pointing them out) and I had several hours invested in scraping the powder out. Threaded holes I don't worry about, as the powder doesn't go in far and I'll usually just chase them with a tap. Three, don't use a vacuum to clean up with, as the powder can be explosive. The sparks from the vacuum's motor brushes can ignite it and launch your vacuum into orbit....

'78E original owner

Tell me you didn't blow up your vacuum cleaner??????!!!!!!
That'll leave a mark!!