Fantastic Sticker Remover

I kept thinking about how I was going to get the factory spec decals off the chrome without scratching it up. I knew that Oops! gum remover worked wonderfully but I couldn't keep it on the sticker long enough to penetrate the glue.

I thought about soaking a rag then holding it in place. That would take a lot of Oops! but, if I could keep a small amount on the sticker for an extended period...

Alas! If I placed one square of toilet paper, folded in half, on overlapping pieces of packing tape....then soaked the paper and placed it over the sticker....sealing the sides....much like a bandaid....then let it sit for a little while....

The result:

I was able to remove the sticker by peeling up the edge with a knife blade and then simply pulling it off. I wet the bandaid a second time and reapplied it to the gummy residue and let it sit another 10 minutes or so and it softened right up. I cleaned off the remaining glue. buffed the area with Nev'r Dull and had one nice looking rear fender remaining.

Brainstorming Designs - First Draft

Below are three bikes that I really like and have given me some ideas of what I would like to do to my '78. The first picture just shows that the old gal could look really good with very little modification. Outside of a new seat, paint and pipes this bike is factory direct. (minus a few bolt on accessories.)

One thing that I really like from this bike is the burgundy paint around the radiator. Burgundy is the original accent color on the Goldwing emblems. I like it so much in fact that I've thought about powder coating the frame burgundy. My inspiration? This little cafe racer below. Now cream isn't my favorite color but it looks nice on this bike. The owner painted some of the chrome trim cream as well as the final drive and center stand. I wouldn't go that far with the burgundy. Just the frame. I also think that burgundy is dark enough that it wouldn't pop as loud as the cream does on this bike. A more subtle pop is what I'm after.

I've included this wing called Porter's Wing just because I like the way it looks. Almost completely factory to include the lights and handle bars, but has a very nice line to it. (I'm not making a joke about the paint either) The bike seems to flow well. Again you see the Corbin seat that was on the first bike, which I am becoming very fond of. You'll also notice that it has the Jardine Rumbler exhaust with slash cut pipes. This is the same style that I would like to put on mine.

Finally I've included a picture of what I want the paint to look like. Mother Honda was almost trade marked by her pin striping in the late 70's early 80's. The Goldwing already has a boxier shaped tank and the factory striping draws a definitive line making it even more square. You can see on Porter's Wing that the paint with out striping makes a drastic change in the apparent shape of the tank.

I would like to use the double gold(one gold flame and a second ghost flame) flames by Jim Munroe to accomplish the same effect. If you zoom in on the picture you'll see that the flames are also accented in burgundy. Coincidental? Maybe but, happily so.

Eagle One

I was puttering around with the naked Goldwing tonight and tried to buff of some of the oxidation from the front forks. I broke out the Eagle One nevr-dull wadding polish and started on the lower left fork. In no time at all, 30-60 seconds, the oxidation was coming off so quickly that it soaked through the wadding and made it completely black. It stained my hands. I buffed for another minute then wiped the fork down with a cotton rag. The results, quite nicely polished aluminum.

Oxidized

Polished

Here is the rear fender with the tail light removed. There was a fair amount of surface rust on it, especially in between the tail light and the fender. Again, a little Nevr-dull wadding, a little elbow grease and voila... 33 year old chrome looking very nice.


When I get a little more time I'm going to really get after the forks, valve and timing covers and anything else aluminum or chrome. I'll only do it once but I'll be sure to take a picture after for proof.