990 Refresh...Where is all this dirt coming from?!

It's been several days since I've updated this project, but I have been hard at work on it. Mostly, I'm cleaning, removing parts and then cleaning some more. I am shocked at how much dirt has come off of this bike. Every time I feel like I have finished, I remove something and have to start all over again with cleaning. I called the former owner the other day and demanded a refund to buy more cleaning supplies(not really, but I will tell him he owes me several beers for being so lazy). Clay is a great guy and I am looking forward to riding with him in the future. He sent me a list of everything he rode last year and it blew me away. No wonder this bike needs a good cleaning...LOL

I am making progress at least. Not only have I cleaned more than 90% of the bike (the remaining 10% is unreachable thankfully...more famous last words), but I have managed to install some new parts. Also, I have removed about half of the graphics that were put on the bike and have been talking with a guy in England about creating a new set to personalize the bike and cover up the scratches on the body plastics. I liked the set that came on the bike, but they were the original owners idea and I wanted to bike to reflect my own tastes. This is what I've come up with as a starting point...

So, several days ago, I started by removing the left hand graphics. These things are basically big die cut, super thick stickers held on with really strong adhesive. So I broke out my heat gun to loosen the glue as I slowly pulled them off. It really is a two person, three handed job, but I managed it on my own even though I scalded my poor fingers several times with the gun.

That shiny stuff is glue that will have to be removed. I am trying to figure the best way to do that.

I saved the entire left hand sides graphics for the original owner, as he wanted to hang them in his shop.

The next day, I dove back into the bike itself and cleaned the engine again since I had exposed a bunch of crud after removing the exhaust pipes and battery box. That entailed a ton of prep work to reseal the inlets and exhaust ports of the engine before spending a ton of elbow grease and energy removing the caked up layers of dirt.

I started with parts that looked like this...

...and a bike that looked like this...

...and ended up with this.

Much better and more importantly, with all the dirt gone, I will be able to safely remove the valve covers and right side engine case without the worry of having dirt fall into the engine. Of course, I still need to do some spot cleaning jobs (the throttle bodies leap to mind...ugh), but that will be a lot easier. After everything dried up, I started on the tail assembly. There was still a ton of dirt inside the taillight, plate light and turn signals to get out. After a bunch of disassembly and, you guessed it, more cleaning, I had the light unit looking a bunch better....almost new!

After that, it was time to start tackling the front end. So, I propped the bike up with my circular saw case and removed the front wheel to inspect the brakes. Bad news....the brakes were not just dirty, the pads were worn out.

No problem, with the liberal use of brake cleaner, alcohol and a green pad, I had the calipers looking new again. I also made sure to use some anti-seize on the pins so they would be easier to get out next time...

Next on the list is to remove the calipers and grease the sliders.

That brings up to date on what is going on. I am still getting parts, tools and greases/cleaners/lubes delivered. I will have to wait at least a week before I really tear into the bike while I wait for a 14mm allen socket which I need to do the valves. Until then, I will be hard at work finishing the brakes as well as attacking the wheels and truing them and installing new tires as well as greasing the wheel bearings along with removing the remaining grahics and all the old adhesive. Exciting stuff for sure...