Am I crazy? Thoughts of complete rebuild

[gage]

So I broke my hand and it's looking like I won't be able to ride until spring which here in new england is about 8 months away.

S in an effort to stay sane I was thinking of stripping the bike down, a 2002 S4, and performing some tweaks.

The bike is in decent shape but has been ridden hard and could use some freshening.

I would like to powdercoat the frame and swingarm, paint the engine, anodize the forks and a bunch of other parts, like the cyclecat risers etc.

I'm fairly mechanically inclined and do all my own maintenance,incl. valves etc. I have the majority of tools that I think I would need and don't mind buying others as long as I will use them again.

I;m curious to know how people who have done this liked the experience and whether they would do it again?  What the major pitfalls were? and what kind of cash was spent getting it done?



TIA
Gage

[djomlas]

thats a great looking bike,
im planning something along those lines as well...good luck man, should be fun to spend time in garage with the bike during those crappy days

[derby]

I'm fairly mechanically inclined and do all my own maintenance,incl. valves etc. I have the majority of tools that I think I would need and don't mind buying others as long as I will use them again.

I;m curious to know how people who have done this liked the experience and whether they would do it again?  What the major pitfalls were? and what kind of cash was spent getting it done?

it's not too hard to pull everything apart. i think the last frame/swingarm i got powdercoated was <$200.

[Duc Fever]

Can't think of a better way to spend 8 months of winter

[Popeye the Sailor]

Most people take things apart and either

1) Never get them back together

or

2) put them together wrong and it's never right again.

Does it start up? Does it work fine? It's not broken-don't fix it.


If you *must* violate something, go find a bike that doesn't work-get an ancient jap bike and make a badass cafe racer. It'll cost a fraction of the duc, and be cool as hell.

[truckinduc]

Im doing it

[truckinduc]

i broke my knee and femur. Bike was just about fine. I took it as an oppertunity to make it my own. Ill be putting less than a thousand dollars into it.

[Popeye the Sailor]

i broke my knee and femur. Bike was just about fine. I took it as an oppertunity to make it my own. Ill be putting less than a thousand dollars into it.

You have a lot of tools that the average person probably does not.....

[truckinduc]

Thats true, but im doing more to it than most people too

[Spidey]

Go for it.  I rebuilt a Ninja 250 last year, and I didn't know squat before I started.  The DML walked me through the whole process.  And some guy (not someguy) took apart his entire bike without a manual and the DML and Norm walked him through the whole process.  It was excellent.

Be prepared to spend more than you anticipate.  You'll need to buy tools and parts you didn't know you needed.  And as we all know, mods happen.  We can't stop them.  They just happen.   

[BastrdHK]

Someguy has a point.  You may take on this project and it could end up in disaster.  At least you would know more about yourself and your limitations though.  I look at this project as having the potential to be one of the most liberating yet focused experiences  of your life.  A singular vision that only you may be able to see. 

I say, take this journey see how deep your passion for this machine reaches

[Speeddog]

Take lots of pictures as you disassemble.
Take notes.
Make a list of parts you need to replace, as you go, so you don't get hosed during reassembly.
Put bolts or whatever into ziplock baggies as you go, slip a note into each baggie, like 'rear rotor bolts' or 'front fender bolts'.
Get plastic tote boxes to put parts and baggies into.
Clean all of the parts before you pack 'em away, otherwise it's a mess and your assembly schedule blows to hell.
Label parts with blue painter's tape and a sharpie.
Keep kids and critters away from it all, lest they scramble/lose/ruin stuff.
Winterize the gas tank.
Get the CF parts clearcoated, they likely need it.
Get the header and S-pipes polished.
Clean, inspect, and grease up the swingarm and suspension pivots.
If there's any brackets you don't want on the frame, trim 'em off before powdercoat.
Make the powdercoater painfully aware of the necessity if *not* obliterating the VIN# stamped on the head tube, if they sandblast it and powdercoat over it, it'll be like it was never there, and that really sucks.
Also, tell 'em to plug the threaded holes, otherwise you get to run a tap through 'em afterward, or bugger things up at assembly.
On a lot of stuff, you can thread the bolts back in to where they were after you disassemble.
Make a plan or a flowchart or Excel spreadsheet or*something* to schedule and track the project, what stuff is done, which vendors have which parts, etc.
Helps avoid the realization that the fork legs are missing, and you talked to ten vendors, and don't remember who has 'em...
Wrap the bodywork and shiny parts up so they don't get rashed.
Put the radiator in a box so it doesn't get pranged.
Take lots of pictures as you disassemble (did I say that already?).

Don't forget to do something about that  yellow spring.

[Spidey]

Also, make sure you have Speeddog's and Duck-Stew's cell numbers on speed dial.   

[MotoCreations]

Six things:

1) guestimate your expenses and then double them.  Most will go to tools which are an "investment" of sorts.
2) instead of tape (which gets messed up) use zip-ties to mark your electrical connections.  Get three different colors and intermix on both side of the connectors. Fastest and easiest way for a newbie to reassemble a wiring harness correctly as everything is color coded then. 
3) take lots of pictures
4) build an engine stand to properly hold the engine up. You can make in metal, wood or whatever.  (do a search on what others use) You won't regret doing it.
5) create a "game plan" BEFORE you tear everything apart ala colors / parts / etc.  Follow your plan then and don't let friends talk you into changing things as you go along -- it will turn into a mish-mash of sorts then.  Do a mockup in Photoshop to visually create if you can.
6) Loctite and torque wrenches are your friend -- use them and use properly

and the most important item:

- remember to have fun while you are building your bike!

[Cider]

I did that last winter: I took apart a perfectly good Monster just because.  It was a little stressful, and I made a few mistakes, but overall I enjoyed it so much that I'm looking for another project bike for this winter!  BTW, I have roughly the same wrenching experience as you.