[luky_13]

Originally Posted by anku94

YES. That would be awesome. As cool as thread is, an educational thread where a noob like me could make head or tail of things would be great.

BTW, how much % of the build would you say has been completed ?

The build is 75% done, things left are the tricky electronics, electricals and of course how can we forget the notorious primary drive and clutch.

[luky_13]

Prepping the frame
The frame went for powder coating and returned the next day evening. Before that, the previous day was spent in cleaning up the welds, tubes, crevices. Boy was I wrong when I thought this was an easy task, 3 of us worked for more than 30 man-hours to complete the superficial cleaning of the frame. Next, critical regions like the neck and swing arm pivot holes were masked, all thread holes were bolted to avoid the powder from settling on the threads during the process. Believe me it can create a lot of problems. In fact we were quite glad that all this was done meticulously, it showed in the finished product.

Just before leaving for powder coating.


R&D
We indulged in a lot of R&D before zeroing on a powder coater, initial research showed that most coaters do not do the prep work properly. Chemicals used for prep are seldom replaced, most of them just get topped leaving impurities in the cleaning tank thus are not powerful enough to de-scale the depositions over metal resulting in a lackluster finish. Having spent almost a year on this frame there was really no scope for any mistakes. For people who are are not sure what powdercoating is, it is a type of dry coating, which is applied as a free-flowing, dry powder. The main difference between conventional paint and powdercoating is that the powdercoating does not require a solvent to keep the binder and filler parts in a liquid suspension form. The coating is typically applied electrostatically, and then baked in an oven to allow it to flow and form a "skin." The powder may be a thermoplastic or a thermoset polymer. It is usually used to create a hard finish that is tougher than conventional paint making it wear resistant.
During our R&D we came across the Henkel Surface-Technologies (Henkel - Industrial) which is a nano-technology pre-treatment which improves powder coating quality. Fortunately, to our amazement and surprise we found a company which offered the Henkel Surface treatment. Our search ended just there.

Process
The vendor started by dipping the frame in a bunch of large tanks repetitively, a process called Phosphating. A phosphate coating converts the metal substrate to a uniform, inert surface, which improves bonding, minimizes the spread of oxidation if the coating is scratched and improves the overall corrosion resistance of the final part. The frame was dried and taken to a spraying booth, where fine black powder was sprayed and then baked in an oven @ 180 deg. for 20 minutes. The result... was better than expected.

[aargee]

That's beautiful; pls remove the entire cover, if possible to show us the finishing. I hope you did the powder coating to the rear swing arm in addition.

THANKS A MILLION to have explained on what is powder coating. Now I know whom to talk when it comes to powder coating.

What would be the difference between powder coating & lacquer treatment? Are they both one at the same or different?

[luky_13]

The rolling chassis assembled with 2 stooges checking it out.


Can't remove the shrink wrap, need protection against tool slips, scratches and dings at the time of assy. Yes the swing arm was also powder coated with the rest of the frame to match shades.

[nandishpal]

hey brother,so far this is the best diy i have seen on a HD in our country,i am very eager to see it in flesh, i like your patience on the building process,

[desideep]

this is a hard tail?

[luky_13]

Originally Posted by nandishpal

hey brother,so far this is the best diy i have seen on a HD in our country,i am very eager to see it in flesh, i like your patience on the building process,

Thanks Nandish.

Originally Posted by desideep

this is a hard tail?

It's a softail, you should be able to make out from the shocks on the rolling chassis.

[luky_13]

I know everyone is eager to see the bike, so I thought let me give a sneek preview... Just a quick snapshot assy to see how this baby looks and fits, not bad... I think we are getting somewhere. The fenders and the tank still have a protective tape covering them. We will be taking everything apart for a final assy.






Please make do with the poor quality of pics, I did not have my SLR at the time of this shoot.

[desideep]

i am sure even if you dont get it reguistered you would be able to ride it around in your home town without no problems.

beautiful

[navpreet318]

Now that is AWESOME! you finally managed to pull it off! the mock up looks amazing.Hats off to you buddy.Only detail now i would like to know actually is that how much did you spend on this monetarily and how much time wise.

Respect man! Deep Respect!

[BIG SARAN]

Man o man. Thats a thing of beauty. All the 'blood, sweat and tears' is finally seeing fruition. Can't wait to see the complete 'babe' ON THE ROAD roaring off.........

We want pics, vids and detailed ride report and ownership experience. Don't you keep us waiting.

Mark my words - this thread is gonna be legendary.

I am very happy to see your passion and hard work triumph. In a way you do inspire me a lot. On that note LIVE TO RIDE.

[Latheesh]

Wow, amazing work there. What's the diameter of handle bar? It looks bit small (I may be wrong).

Hope to see the end result very soon, we admire your dedication and hard work.

[prashanth_benz]

Your technical knowledge astounds me!! Well done on a great build..! Just one question. Would you be able to register this as a project or a one off? Does Indian regulations have a provision for something like that?

Again kudos on a fantastic build!
Cheers

[aargee]

Something just fluttered in my chest when I saw the motorcycle assembled. But till now you never told me anything on the most important part that I kept asking you about, hope you'll share some info.

BTW, did you fire up the engine?

[Jeep]

Not sure how I missed this thread for so long.
Your passion and dedication are highly appreciated. All the best!
I bet you would do anything to get it registered once it is done. You too know that!