I had the fairing, front fender, side covers and gas tank painted in a two tone paint scheme, code 130, used on the RS bikes; the colors are Dunkel Blue and Hell Silver. In this scheme, the seat cowl is painted Dunkel Blue but I chose to use Hell Silver instead. And in tribute to the first year 1977 RS, I had matte clear coat applied instead of gloss and a single white pin stripe applied.
This shows how I do the work and a short video showing some of the assembly details.
I’m converting the original RS fairing to an RT. I had the fairing, front fender, side covers and gas tank painted in a two tone paint scheme, code 130, used on the RS bikes; the colors are Dunkel Blue and Hell Silver. However, in tribute to the first year 1977 RS, I had matte clear coat applied to all the silver areas including the gas tank and gloss clear to all the blue areas. My painter was up for the challenge of painting the gas tank. The slight ridge between the clear and matte clear coat on the gas tank is hidden by the wide red pinstripe.
Here is what I started with:
NOTE: Due to the poor lighting, some of the dark blue parts appear black in the photo below.
Newly Painted Parts
Most Of The Fairing Hardware Below Comes From The Bolt Guy
The RT fairing includes side storage boxes that attach to the inside of the upper side panels, but I do not plan to use them as they fit too close to the gas tank for my comfort.
And here is what I ended up with.
Ignition, Volt Meter And Clock Are Working
Fairing Installed
Fairing Installed
Fairing Installed
Here is a link to the details of how I did this work and a summary video showing the highlights of the work.
The first engine start is always a major milestone on a project. I usually perform this earlier in the build than I am on this project. But, my gas tank and the other parts that I had painted have been delayed coming back, so I’ve done everything else I can do until I got the gas tank in hand. This Friday, I picked it up and installed it.
I made a detailed check list prior to starting the engine so I wouldn’t forget something and improve the likelihood the engine will start.
Here is a link to the procedure I followed to prepare for the engine start, and how I performed the all important initial bedding in of the new piston rings with the new Nikasil coated cylinders.
Since I am converting this RS model to an RT, the handlebar throttle and choke cables have to be longer and I show how to change the handlebar cables in the Bowden assembly. I installed them when I installed the handlebar perches as shown here.
I had the air box powder coated. Although the carburetor rebuild was a couple years ago, I rode the bike less than 1,500 miles after the rebuild and they have been off the bike for about two years. I inspected the o-rings and found they are in good condition so no need to do another carburetor rebuild.
Since I modified the engine to boost compression from 8.2:1 to 9.5:1 and had the heads bored for dual spark plugs, I have to change the carburetor jetting. This engine has the same configuration as the engine in my 1977 R100RS that has the CFO (California, Florida, Oregon) configuration, so I use the same carburetor jetting.
When I first got the bike, I rebuilt the carburetors and “updated” the pulse-air system that fed air to the exhaust ports as shown here.
I am not using the stock side stand for three reasons: the bushing and bolt are trash, it’s in an inconvenient location hidden by the cylinder and lower fairing panel when extended making it hard to deploy, and the bike came with a Brown’s side stand which mounts further back on the frame so it’s easy to deploy. The left exhaust header bracket is secured to the Brown’s side stand bracket so I installed the side stand when I installed the exhaust system.
Brown’s Side Stand
Brown’s Side Stand Installed
I had the center stand repaired and powder coated. I replaced the pivot bolts and bushings due to wear and tear.
Center Stand Wear and Tear After 82,000 Miles And 37 Years
