engine colour ???

[Tonyxs11]

not important but I was just wondering, all the 1979 SF's ive seen have a silver coloured engine but mine has a black engine, its factory paint by the way and yes the frame and engine numbers match, 3H3.

[bikerphil]

Someone may have painted it, along with all the gold trying to emulate a Midnight Special. There was no black engine available (US) until 1980 AFAIK.

[Tonyxs11]

Someone may have painted it, along with all the gold trying to emulate a Midnight Special. There was no black engine available (US) until 1980 AFAIK.

yeah thats possible, but if someone has painted it then they have used the exact same paint the factory uses ?????

[bikerphil]

Well, after looking at a few pictures of your bike posted in another thread, to me the paint looks too fresh to be the original 40 year old paint. Maybe the PO did some research and used the correct factory finish paint. I noticed there is no paint under the ignition cover, wondering if there is supposed to be.

[Tonyxs11]

Well, after looking at a few pictures of your bike posted in another thread, to me the paint looks too fresh to be the original 40 year old paint. Maybe the PO did some research and used the correct factory finish paint. I noticed there is no paint under the ignition cover, wondering if there is supposed to be.

yeah their are parts of the engine that have been painted by the last owner and ive done some as well just to tidy it up a bit. but if you look under the engine round the sump it looks like factory paint to me. when a factory paints a cover they only do the outside, it would cost much more to do the inside but at the end of the day it doesn't really matter. i was just wondering

[cajun31]

yeah thats possible, but if someone has painted it then they have used the exact same paint the factory uses ?????

Not just possible... that engine has been painted. No way a 40 year old engine still has the shine that the paint shows from previous posts/pictures you have posted. Two things from the pictures is that the fins on the engine are black and the rotors are a fresh black as well. On the black engines the fins are still silver. If you want to prove that it has been painted you can take a bit of thinner on a rag and pick a non-conspicuous spot and rub the rag on the paint. If it is fairly fresh paint, and especially if it was done with rattle can paint, the paint will come right off.

[Tonyxs11]

Not just possible... that engine has been painted. No way a 40 year old engine still has the shine that the paint shows from previous posts/pictures you have posted. Two things from the pictures is that the fins on the engine are black and the rotors are a fresh black as well. On the black engines the fins are still silver. If you want to prove that it has been painted you can take a bit of thinner on a rag and pick a non-conspicuous spot and rub the rag on the paint. If it is fairly fresh paint, and especially if it was done with rattle can paint, the paint will come right off.

like ive already said yeah its had fresh paint on some parts over the original finish, some of it I have done some the last owner had done. ive cleaned up some crap and oil of the sump with thinners and acetone and it didn't touch the paint. ive seen countless factory painted engines over many years working as a bike mechanic and to me in parts it looks factory but other parts have been painted over. I can normally tell the difference.