Author Topic: Hello fellow Fazers :) (Read 1945 times)

OutofFaze · « **on:** 04 May 2013, 11:18:14 pm »

Hi guys,

I'm just introducing myself as I bought a Fazer last week and love it! I changed from an XT600E which was my first bike. I'm an English guy that has been living in Sweden for the last 5 years. I passed my bike test at the end of September last year (I don't have a driving licence for a car though), and rode the XT through the whole winter.

I got my fair share of crappy weather conditions over the winter- Freezing fog (couldn't see through the visor), hail storms, pea soup fog, icy roads, snowy roads (I fell off the XT on a gravel road in a forest that was snowy. I could have avoided this but in my naivety thought that I could tackle it and busted my knee up a bit). So that opened my eyes a bit, but I'm glad I did because I think a lot more when I ride.

Here is the Fazer after a polish and clean today:

Front

Left Side

Right side

Also, I have a question for you seasoned veterans about the forks... I have the oxidization on my front forks because of chipped lacquer. I want to remove the lacquer and polish them up because I want to make/keep the bike tidy. I have a new tube of Autosol, but what is the best way to remove the lacquer? I'd like to avoid using paint stripper if possible. Wire wool, sand paper? I think this question has probably been asked numerous times before so you'll have to forgive me. I just joined and wanted to introduce myself before I delve into the website for answers.

Here is a picture of the front fork ugliness:

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read my introduction! I look forward to chatting with you and learning a lot!
Oh... here is the XT:

Thanks!
James

bigsteve · « **Reply #1 on:** 04 May 2013, 11:29:34 pm »

Hi
I had same problem on forks of XJR I purchased I polished mine using autosol and scotchbrite pads and a lot of elbow grease

You can get them off fleabay I used purple to remove nastyness then grey to bring them up to a nice shine

took a few hours but well pleased with results

Steve

noggythenog · « **Reply #2 on:** 04 May 2013, 11:29:46 pm »

Hey James, welcome to the forum, nice bike indeed considering it's been out in all weathers, nice xt too, i was looking into the SM version as a second bike for the winter but im still fighting the urge to be honest and hey its summer time anyway.

i cant help you with the fork problem although there will be plenty who can & no doubt you'll start getting some answers in the daylight hours when most are lurking on the site, i have seen a few folk posting about painting their forks black & it does look nice & with your bike being black i dont think it would look outta place.
also, i know you are just introducing yourself at the mo but remember to post up your queery in the FZS600 section inside the forum as your audience on the introduction section will be limited, like you already mentioned theres probably loads about the forks inside the forum so if you go to the search button at the top of the page under the Fazer logo you may get lucky.
Hope you enjoy the site, theres already folk on here from spain, norway & beyond!!!!...even Shetland

chow the now!

OutofFaze · « **Reply #3 on:** 04 May 2013, 11:47:57 pm »

Hi Noggy and Steve,

Thanks for the fast replies.
I'll have a go with those forks tomorrow because I have an "FF" day as they say in Sweden (FF = Frufri = Wife Free)

I'll try Scotchbrite and the Autosol and post the results (in the FZS600 section) if it's successful. Otherwise I might have to resort to more chemically hazardous methods.

Just to clarify... It was the XT that got a winter beating, but I managed to keep on top of it all the same. I basically coated everything with WD40 (except the brakes of course!) and rode it through the winter like that. Worked quite well... the chrome polished up nicely afterwards! I was a little sad to see it go but found myself doing less and less offroad riding and more commuting, so the Fazer makes more sense, and is really fun too!

Thanks again,
James

Chris · « **Reply #4 on:** 05 May 2013, 12:02:36 am »

Hey,

Welcome to the forum! Nice looking bikes

For the forks I used various grades of wet and dry sand paper and the autosol/any other metal polish. I ended up painting mine black though.

Chris

Dave48 · « **Reply #5 on:** 05 May 2013, 07:37:09 am »

Welcome to the "foccers" forum. Nice looking bikes! The problem for all us Northern Hemisphere riders is winter corrosion-they've started to mix road salt with some sort of sticky substance over here & it wreaks havoc with alloy etc. I have found that a product called ACF 50 is really effective in keeping the worst at bay. Enjoy the summer!

nsr500v4 · « **Reply #6 on:** 05 May 2013, 09:14:15 am »

Welcome to the madhouse, I am sure u will get plenty hints/and tips from here. Enjoy the faze

OutofFaze · « **Reply #7 on:** 06 May 2013, 08:52:06 am »

Hi guys,

An update on the forks. I put just over 3 hours of elbow grease into these bad boys with a combination of:

-Wire dish scourer
-Scotchbrite pad
-Autosol

and ended up the the result below. It's not perfect, but good enough to get through this summer. I think better results can only be obtained with machine assistance and dismounting the forks to get access to all bits. As you can see I took the mudguard off in this photo. I did a little more after this to clean up more, but basically these are the finished item.

Chris · « **Reply #8 on:** 06 May 2013, 11:54:32 am »

Excelent work, look much better

Chris