Stripping down bike to PC Frame Q's

[AtvKid4Eva]

Hey guys i think ive finally decided to strip down my 05' 450 and get the frame and subframe coated. Its literally the only think on the bike i havent touched. i have a couple questions about taking the motor out and such. I just had the pivot bolt out when i did the rear end so that wouldnt be an issue, but what about the oil cooler? Can i leave the lines hooked up to the motor and just unbolt it from the frame? I dont really want to unbolt anything off the motor if i dont have to. Im going to try and remove stuff in "chunks" if possible since i just put the bike together this summer. any other advice about removing anything?

[Balaz_73*00]

You could leave the oil cooler on, its jut those two bolts on the motor to take it off. Whatever works for you. Only advice I have is to stay organized and make sure you have enough room to keep things laid out while stuff is getting coated. I always set up an 8ft table and use half the garage.

[AtvKid4Eva]

okay, yea i figure if i take the rear end off as a whole and each half of the front end off as a whole i shouldnt have too many small parts lying around. Im very familiar with what goes where but yeah a table sounds like a good idea.

[Scro]

Plastic bags and a sharpie to label where the bolts come from. Take pictures as you tear it down. You probably won't need them for the majority of stuff. But the one time you come across bracket and say, "How the hell does this go back on?!?", you'll be glad you have the pictures.

[AtvKid4Eva]

yep! exactly what i planned on doing! Gonna start tearing it down tomorrow!

[AtvKid4Eva]

is it possible for the motor to be removed with the header still attached? Im trying to make this as painless as possible since i literally just built the bike lol

[Scro]

It would be much more painful than just taking the two nuts off.

[AtvKid4Eva]

Yeah. If i heat them up they should come off fine without breaking off i hope.

[CJM]

Try and see if you can remove the studs themselves if the nuts are stubborn. Or if the studs start to come off just let it ride and buy new studs. I had a fiasco on a 400EX where the stud snapped (long story) so I dont try and force anything anymore. Heat and melting a candle on it will do wonders tho.

Also once everything is PC. Run a tap thru every single threaded hole. Trust me, the PC evenw ith the little caps they use to prevent it-gets everywhere!

[fastredrider44]

Definately tak the header off. Actually, I think you will have to anyway. I have torn apart so many 450s I can put them together with my eyes closed, and know where every little bolt goes. That being said, pictures are really good to know how to route the wiring harness. It's vital to put it back properly so no wires rub causing you grief and possibly a dnf.

[AtvKid4Eva]

Bike is completely stripped down. The header bolts came off easy. Frame is blasted already and gonna install the gusset kit tomorrow!

[fastredrider44]

Check for any cracks in the frame while youre welding, especially around the footpegs.

[Balaz_73*00]

Anyone have any luck removing powder coat at home? Like with chemicals? I found someone that powder coats for real cheap but they dont do any stripping.

[01boneless]

I just got done striping pc at home......find someone that sandblast's its wayy easier

[fastredrider44]

Originally posted by Balaz_73*00
Anyone have any luck removing powder coat at home? Like with chemicals? I found someone that powder coats for real cheap but they dont do any stripping.

Youre wasting your money having something powdercoated without having it sandblasted.

[Balaz_73*00]

Obvisoulsly I wouldn't do that! In the past when I've gotten stuff done, I've heard "man we had to spend quite a bit of time stripping your stuff" (aka more $$). I was just wondering if I could do something at home to strip it myself. I've done a little reading on this and some people say gasket remover eats pc and the same with aircraft remover. I'm just looking to see if anyone has done this.

[fastredrider44]

aircraft stripper will eat it, but its a messy job and won't get all of the pc off in tight places. I know what you're saying about sandblasters saying it takes time though. It does. My local powdercoater has some sort of chemical they dip parts in before sandblasting to speed the process up. It's similar to aircraft stripper, but thinner.

[quadfmx]

Check around I started calling mack e shops and other automotive places that have to sand blast but they do t have sand blasting in their company title and it was like 1/3 of what I was paying a powder later or a sand blast shop

[Honda4life05]

what he said^ Call around to body shops, I got mine sand blasted cheap!

[simon7]

If you heat up the powder coating with a propane torch (you can buy one at Harbor freight for about 20) the coating will blast off much better.