diy or pro? military/rat respray

[frazer]

Thanks for the replies. Im just going to get it dip coated when I get paid. I took a lot of time sanding them but didnt prime or clean with thinners as id heard it wasnt that necessary for a simple rat job. Its easy to blame it all on me not doing that but surely it shouldnt be that difficult to spray a piece of plastic green. How could it go this wrong? Its green paint on plastic, its came out grey, uneven rough surfaces and brushing straight off in some places. Never again, seems difficult and expensive to say how cheap and quick it is to get it dipped or wrapped.

Ive got bigger problems with it though. The clutch is too stiff, ive oiled the pivot arm which has helped a bit but im having trouble getting a replacement cable. I ordered one for my model and for some reason its too long. Nowhere states the length and theyre suprisingly hard to come by at a reasonable price.

The abs/heated grip switch wires have snapped off but now the switche connectors themselves are knackered after I tried my hand at soldering. Theyre also not easy to come by.

The fork seals are knackered because the forks are pitted. I havent looked into sorting that yet but I imagine its going to be a nightmare too.

[Stu]

As they say preparation is 90% of the work when it comes to paining!

I have had cases of paint just rubbing off when its not prepped right I have also had cases of paint reacting with the plastics too

[Throttled]

I saw a bike being ratted and the guy used plastikote paint. It covers a multitude of sins.

[RantMachine]

Fork seals aren't too bad, getting the damping rods out is the main shitter. You can save a lot of money by shopping around for the seals and dustcaps themselves; can't remember which but one or another model of VFR uses the same ones and trust me they're one hell of a lot cheaper just for the joy of not being bought from a BMW supplier. The F650 forum is generally crap and very slow paced, but their FAQ section is a holy bible of F650 repairs, should say which you need: http://faq.f650.com/main.html

Re. the stanchions themselves (and clutch cable), 90% of the parts you'll need when fixing up an F650 can be bought from these guys: https://www.motorworks.co.uk/vlive/Home/index.php

I rarely found any parts cheaper elsewhere, and certainly never got such good service. I was in a pinch when my bell crank gave up the ghost and didn't have the cash to replace the whole set of bearings along with it - they were kind enough to have a dig through their parts bin and send me the one with the healthiest looking bearings already fitted Turned a £300+ job into a £100 job! Give them a call, they'll sort you out.