Have I ruined my SP1? Refinishing the swing arm. Honda VTR service and upgrade project part 7. RC51.

[@sidewaysaction9983]

Maybe it's because I'm a metal worker. Am I the only one shouting put the die grinder Dave & watch a KZbin video on how to satin brush stainless & aluminium. Power tools are advanced level 11. It's not ruined but that entire side will want refinishing if you want it bang on.

[@masonthisquen3845]

I agree, but I am not a metal worker. Brushing up the whole swingarm, even the cast parts would look real nice, although not original (better than original in my opinion). Then a layer of anodizing to prevent oxidation and avoid constant refinishing. Nothing beats a brushed swing arm for me.

[@stevetee4145]

Tried a similar process on the end cap of my hayabusa exhaust. I ended up polish the whole cap which made it shinier than the other one. I ended up buying a new end cap.

[@MichaelSmith-mc8bd]

Absolutely agree, as a retired engineer myself, aluminium an power tools just don’t mix.

[@pmcg7823]

That's a great look Dave I'm going to try that on mine Thanks! Stevie Wonder

[@ianlawrie919]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@obsession_engineering]

😁😂

[@leighsmith3867]

The swingarm is lacquered, if u strip all the lacquer off 'between the welds at either end' to make it even .. scotch it to give brushed affect and give it a coat of lacquer .. it will look brand new

[@Markbez]

The frame and swinging arm are anodised to prevent the raw aluminium oxidising , unless you have it re anodised it will need the whole section on the side flatting down to remove the anodised coating on the whole side of that section of the swing arm .or the area will oxidise and get duller than the existing coating leaving that patch showing .

[@Mattster0802]

It was coated from the factory, but I think you’re on the right track. Love the channel. Cheers from Florida!

[@pmcg7823]

Joking aside ....I admire you for putting this up for the critical acclaim you have received! Obviously it wasnt the best idea but even the great Dave must learn by his mistakes. Time to call the guy who offered to refinish it.. Or get down to Halfords for the closest match in a rattle can and clear coat it.

[@paulcavacuiti4176]

I appreciate that it’s not really fixing the issue but if you check the ‘caution label’ fiche on the Honda parts listings for the SP1, there should be at least one or more large warning / info decals placed in the same area on the swingarm from the factory.

[@jameswhitehead-sf2nf]

I had a sp1 y from new and it came with information sticker right there. As for the die grinder throw it in the bin, you need to refinish the full length of the swingarm on that side.

[@ianhoyle8459]

Dave If you close your eyes you won’t notice it at all..😊 As I’ve got older I try to leave this type of thing alone and consider it honest wear as nothing stays new. Gradually the item ages gracefully summed up as enjoyed and loved ❤️

[@simonfield1266]

Had a similar issue with a 1200 Bandit arm years ago, dry new scotchbright pad on the whole arm and then Satin Lacquer worked great

[@MrPADDYOT]

Dave, you're a braver man than me!! Not ruined, more like a work that's still in progress.

[@bayworksracing8568]

Used a sander then burnishing tool from ebay with a 120 and 240 grit wheel to brush polish an old fireblade swing arm that was scratched. Came out good for a first attempt. Think that would work a treat on that swing arm.

[@motnor4407]

On my 2000 SP1 I noticed that the swingarm was painted with silver colour paint. I made a try on a very little discret spot with acetone, so Îm sure 🙁I wish you to paint it again with that paint and get a good result. Sometimes it’s better not to touch…Good luck !

[@deanmsimpson]

I'm thinking you need to use a coarser Scotch Brite Dave. The maroon colour you used are quite fine. Try the green, brown or grey. But practice on a piece of scrap ally first. Take the scrap ally through the steps you've already taken the area on the swing arm first so they're matching, then try the coarser Scotch Brite. Best of luck 👍

[@julianmorris9951]

You’ll need to remove the swing arm now and get it re anodised, or you could like I did on my 1981 rm 465 which was strip the anodising off with a scotch bright stripping wheel then painstakingly re finish the raw aluminium with different grades of wet and dry, starting with say 320 and finishing with 1000 or 1200 depending how you want it, I then put cerokote air during clear over the top and it’s all good 👌🏻

[@eddysobieralski8075]

Is the swing arm out and on its way yet? 🤣 I have lived with a small gouge in my SP-Y swing arm for nearly 24 years after NOT locating one of the bobbins properly in the 1st month of ownership... still eats away at me to this day!

[@pruplebug]

If you don’t try, you never know if you can. That’s part of the fun of working on your own bike. Looks reasonable to me and should weather nicely. 👍🏻

[@jamest5149]

Swing arms and frames in that finish are brushed with a special burnishing machine much larger than than the die grinder- looks more like an angle grinder with with a special large barrel wheel at the end, takes skill to use. The and this is most crucial, they are anodised silver, you can see the ring of the anodised finish around where you have been working. The best you can do is ‘make it look better’ than the scratches that were there… its a specialist repair so choose your level of OCD wisely as it gets expensive fast.

[@sjbechet1111]

That's not an oxidized coating - that's anodized, seen it heaps on parts people bring in for TIG welding. You can get that finish texture best with wet n dry with a light machine oil, you will need to do the whole surface so it's not obvious. I did learn that I have an SPY - cool, thanks for that.

[@rafaellastracom6411]

My heart sank when I saw the die grinder. No worries though. You have not ruined it, not by a long shot. I had a similar issue on a Honda Hornet and I took that section down with sandpaper and that is the trick. You have to do the entire section so that the finish is the same. A bit of elbow grease is all that´s required. Using sandpaper wet with oil will give you a nice, satin finish that is hard to distinguish from the original finish in terms of color and shade. Sandpaper and oil is also the way to avoid brushing the aluminum which is another hassle that is just not required.

[@eerr-m1k]

As someone mentioned above comments these aluminum parts should have some top coating. It could be anodizing or it could be some kind of varnish. After some time this shiny mirror finish should disappear. Will it be better? It would be interesting to see. So no sticker on swingarm! :D Personally me I would not use any grinder in this situation. Only by hands and with scotch brite or sandpaper.

[@DeathsStalkerRVT]

My wife came upstairs to see why I was Yelling "NO!" at my computer. 🤣Die grinder is way to aggressive for that job. I've done several repairs on my 250GP race bike and the best solution was a random orbital sander (type used for wood sanding) with scotch bright and a little Autosol Metal Polish. Also if you do the complete flat side where the damage was you can make it disappear. It will take but it will be worth it 😉

[@pokechopracing8862]

No Dave you didn’t ruin but we both know how you are and if it’s not perfect it will be back to the drawing board! I think it looks fine and once the cans are back on you probably won’t even notice! Cheers from California.

[@brechtvanryckeghem9243]

Have a few sp1 2 & Y swingarms in my garage and pretty sure that have a coating Grts

[@stevesane800]

Paint it tough black😉 Jobs a good’en🤙

[@nicholastaylor5677]

try just water and start with red and then grey scotchbrite, use proper 3M though. Got a good finish back to some brushed ally panniers before, good luck!

[@XxL3GiTxSNaKExX]

That aluminum swingarm has an anodized finish (which you just burned through 😂). It’s all good though, you just need to either have the entire arm polished or have it powder coated 🤓

[@jonathanmackie4884]

Hmmm? Nah! It's not too bad. I think, as you said, it will oxidize in better. One of those cases where a little is fine, but trying to make it "better" is a fool's errand that leads to disaster as one chases ever disappearing perfection. Once tried to fix a small scratch on a tank that ended up just highlighting the scratch more and more. Finally had to respray the whole tank. But the guy who did it got the colour one tick off the right shade so every time I looked down I was reminded of my folly.

[@P6_7R_Nick]

They do have a finish on them, like the Yamaha frames, I think it's anodised. It's not ruined as it can still be saved, but it's not good 😂 Oh, don't forget to get back to me about the chain checker tool please 😉

[@obsession_engineering]

Email sent yesterday!!

[@keithhosker4464]

Has it not been factory painted and lacquered, I wonder if you have “polished “ the lacquer off 🤔

[@davetalton6939]

Had exactly the same problem with my 94 gsxr 750. In the end I had it powder coated.

[@90dfender]

The result at the end is better than at the start,so if i do the maths your going the right way.

[@stevewilkinsontunes8747]

Thought we was going to have a father Ted moment there !!😂

[@mayhemmayo]

THANK YOU. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK

[@NicholasGledhill-z9g]

There anodized so will be hard to ever get perfect call your man to have it done if it’s who I think it is he’s very good Dave

[@darrensmith1823]

I have a similar issue with my aprillia swingarm I want to sort, who's the go to guy to refinish please?

[@darrensmith1823]

Who's the go to guy to sort out this issue? I have a similar one

[@paulblackwell1485]

Not quite up to your nomal standard Dave, but very tricky to match that factory finish honda use.

[@vtvt2690]

Bold attempt. And not an entirely unfavorable result.

[@Kakalh38755]

Been there and the only finish that took it away was aqua blasting

[@headrace4863]

…I’ve had good results with WD40 and wire wool on my zxr750h2, and my sc57 ‘blade. Exactly the same issue.

[@PedroStrynckx]

Maybe the tool/brush that is used to give a Delorean car its finish look will do the job properly... Delorean s have a smilair patern (sorry if the vocabulary is not correct, i speak dutch)

[@grachoderunwiderstehlichen]

it take hundret years for the oxyd-layer ...so yes you ruined for a while dry-ice cleaner available ?

[@Vtwin_Superbikes]

Inversely, Davros. It looks like they tried to take the original info sticker off and made a complete hash of it….. sooo, just get an original sticker and complete the concourse stocker 😄👌🏼✊🏼

[@Mr93616]

Now that it is flat, a nice Castrol sticker will finish the job, after all they do come from factory with all sorts of motif's.

[@alanoswin8827]

Oh dear Dave think they are anodised or other hard coating, Factory Coating (chesterfield) do a lovely job back to original.

[@redchemicalsltd2324]

This is a anodised finish as standard, the majority of Japanese sports bikes with a silver or black coloured alluminium frame & swingarm are anodised to prevent corrosion... the brushed finish would have been done before the anodised process... I am interested how you are going to blend this in & replicate the factory anodised brushed finish...

[@stevencorcoran5620]

Maybe a nice Obsession Engineering sticker?

[@obsession_engineering]

🤔😁

[@stuboldy8570]

So what’s the price difference between an sp1 and an spY? I have the spY and am thinking of selling it but I’m getting low or not wanted from the trade ins, not desperate to sell it but wanted to know your thoughts lol

[@obsession_engineering]

No real difference in values between a Y and a 1. More original bikes hold better value too, so any non original bits could be changed if you have the standard parts

[@LowImpedance1]

No, it looks better than the previous gouged out bits. If you like to make it uniform just scotchbrite or very fine sand paper the whole things with a block, and call it. Damn swing arms always get dinged up anyway.

[@roberthall1437]

No, it"s a W.I.P. Good luck

[@kerrydunn7760]

Answer yes should of put a sticker on it 😊

[@cp4512]

I think you need to refinish the whole side of that swing arm, then it will look much better.

[@0x7FFFFFFFFFFF]

rattle can black and some monster stickers IMO

[@obsession_engineering]

🤔😁

[@RetroSuperbikes]

Have you thought about trying to find an SP2 swingarm?

[@obsession_engineering]

Yes, but decided I wanted to keep it standard

[@RetroSuperbikes]

@@obsession_engineering They're stupid prices as well. I think ill stick with an SPY one for mine.

[@gerrievl]

So dave, i have a question. I bought a tuono v4r some weeks ago. Ive put in a new yuasa yt12a-bs battery as adviced by ap workshops. But the bike has problems starting after it gets hot. So last week i went for a ride and stopped to get gas. Afterwards it wouldnt start again and i had to push it back. I checked as much as i could think of after charging the battery. Stator gives gokd load, starting relais works, startmotor has no issues either. Any ideas?

[@obsession_engineering]

Bad earth, earlier v4 bikes weren't unknown for bad earths

[@gerrievl]

@@obsession_engineering the fix for that would be? The dealer i bought it from it going to replace all the battery cables etc for thicker ones etc. So am just gunna let him obv 😄 but what would u advice with the earth?

[@youmisterrob]

You want to buy a Renthal sticker😂

[@frankspeakmore7104]

Put a sticker on it like "Rapid Training".

[@yo3429]

Better a 'Makita Tools' sticker :)

[@icklepob88]

Not ruined, but definitely needs someone that knows what they're doing to sort it. At least it's your own, and not a customers. I'd have tried it on a damaged swingarm off something else first, not on a sp1

[@ThatRandomGuy20]

Yes 😅

[@niallmclean4812]

Yes Dave it's ruined, I will give you 2 grand for the bike😂

[@obsession_engineering]

🤔😁😂

[@kiztime1234]

Yes, you have ruined your swing arm. What's more important is that you haven't permanently wrecked it though. Whilst you're doing more research on fixing it, get it out of the bike, you're going to need to refinish the entire arm to get the new finish consistent. Hopefully somebody in the comments can recommend a metal finisher that can do a reasonable match on the anodizing.

[@motorcycleadventuresofamor476]

Oh no .... I believe its got a finish over it

[@ManxAndy]

Good evening Dave….the missus is made up with her new bobble hat, Thankyou for the timely delivery…..and quality item, she loves a warm head….phnaar 👍😜👌😂🇮🇲

[@gezkemp1263]

Oh dear !

[@BackAlleyBiker]

It’s clear you have no idea what you’re doing with aluminum. Thanks for reckoning your bike. You increased the value of ours.

[@Steve-XTC67]

Scotchbrite pad & WD40, Practice on another piece of Aluminium first though. Good Luck.

[@chrislee7817]

Look at some watch restorers they put the brushed look back on watch cases. It is anodised by the way.

[@astrostrotch]

I'm guessing it was anodised originally, so its never going to look the same 😢

[@mrflores7708]

Metallurgy nightmare! If metal could speak and bleed, that swingarm would be screaming and gushing. I'm still quivering behind my sofa 😱 Please don't do anything like that again 😂

[@ivorgreenplant]

At what point did you wish you had not started ?

[@obsession_engineering]

If you don't try, you'll never know. So I'm not disappointed I tried 😁

[@stevemorris289]

I think yes......

[@Errol.C-nz]

🤕😷🤧😰😨😧 .. oh noooooo.. it won't oxidise away.. they were anodized as with the frame.. BUT.. the pigmenting just like matching metallic paint.. will vary as well as the age colouring.. get another arm

[@sundboy]

I would have left it as was. The Bikes 24 year old and all these little blemishes add to the Bike's History and character. My top yoke on my Bike is blemished thought about sending it off to be redone but not now.

[@gregrsvr3947]

A sticker maybe ?

[@HalfdeadRider]

You haven't ruined it, it just means time to remove it and get it re-coated.

[@jameshendry4208]

The arm is silver anodised . 😮

[@Marky948]

Dave, it’s swingarm not swinging arm. Kind regards, the uk’s most pedantic engineer. 😉

[@spency787]

I totally agree, but there’s no way I’d admit to being that anal about it!

[@DesmoDan]

But an arm that swings... is a swinging arm 🤷‍♂️

[@Marky948]

@@DesmoDan logically it’s only a swinging arm whilst it’s moving back and forward, the part of the mechanism of the rear of the motorcycle is a swingarm.

[@obsession_engineering]

😂

[@DesmoDan]

@SpaceExclamationMarky I thought It would of been quite obvious I was being sarcastic. The part of the mechanism of the rear of the motorcycle?? 😂 I know what a swingarm is

[@theant9821]

Id have found another swingarm, and swap it over, then sell the old one, or get the new one done properly then swap it and sell the old one. or just put up with it, its an old girl, a few wrinkles doesnt mean shes lost her looks just yet.

[@bryansuperduke1290r]

no no no no no STOP

[@obsession_engineering]

I've stopped now!

[@willhorsley2105]

Well that was a job that never needed doing

[@obsession_engineering]

Something had to be done, maybe not the finest job I've ever done though 😂

[@neilwharton720]

Think you should have left it alone bit of a mess now

[@rondellchambers974]

Yes, yuo have ruin the swing arm. It will look like hell untill you refinish the whole swing arm.

[@BackAlleyBiker]

Do not use a goddamn Dremel you WILL wreck it TOO late you can achieve that finish with just a 300 grit sandpaper block

[@flamintasty]

I’ll pass judgement in a few months, when it’s worn in a bit 😂

[@jamesstewart7224]

6-400 wet n dry but dry ?go easy dude 😉

[@terrynicholson9273]

Dude? what are you 14 or a Mutant Ninja Turtle?

[@HalfdeadRider]

To make it even worse, you could do!

[@jamesstewart7224]

@@HalfdeadRider light "brushing" with 400 doesn't polish

[@jamesstewart7224]

@@terrynicholson9273 acting goat sorry.you could enamel the arm in the exact colour and a lacquered finish

[@HalfdeadRider]

@@jamesstewart7224 I know! 🤷‍♂😂

[@classicsuperbike]