Honda Spree and Elite 50 Forums

Today I pulled the wheel bearings and began prep for painting the wheels. Also got clear coat on some parts and cleaned the starter motor. First they were cleaned with purple power, than aircraft paint stripper, now they are soaking in sodium hydroxide (lye). Everything I have read says that the wheels are steel so the lye should just eat all the dirt, rust, and paint away. It has a pretty violent reaction though. The area near the bath is filled with a gas and the mixture is bubbling and smoking. Here are some pictures and a video.









http://youtu.be/hHssxUwtEXQ

Turns out the center of the wheel is aluminum and not steel. So now I have a nice black coating on them just like the carburetor. I tried dipping them in boiling soapy water but it didn't really do anything. I'm going to have to find a place to have these blasted or ultrasonic'd.

Greetings:

I urge caution using any critical Aluminum parts subjected to the Lye treatment.
The damage may be more than cosmetic. Lye (NaOH) LIQUOR is used to extract Aluminum Oxide from Bauxite on the way to smelting.
The cast parts may be weakened - honeycombed - by your soak.
Google Bayer Process Alumina to confirm. Good luck with the rest of the build.

I saw those wheel hubs in that bath and thought no good will come from this. I hope it has only done minor cosmetic damage to the hubs. Paint stripper won't attack aluminium, same goes for non caustic based spray-on oven cleaner (I've discovered this method can work wonders with cleaning grimy engine parts) It's a learning curve...

geezer101 wrote:I saw those wheel hubs in that bath and thought no good will come from this. I hope it has only done minor cosmetic damage to the hubs. Paint stripper won't attack aluminium, same goes for non caustic based spray-on oven cleaner (I've discovered this method can work wonders with cleaning grimy engine parts) It's a learning curve...

I knew of the affects on the aluminum.. I just assumed that since everything I read stated the wheels are pressed steel that the hubs would be as well. The outer wheels soaked wonderfully in the lye and are very clean now. It was stupid for me to not test the metal but live and learn.

You just gotta admire the time and work gone into this restoration. I have rebuilt/restored bikes in this condition and some worse. Really satisfying when the job is finally finished. Sure is a labour of love though, the cash don't come into it.. Well Done for even attempting it and look forward to the finished bike.

I went on vacation for a while so I haven't had many big updates.. Wheels got finished though, and I ordered bearings and seals for the engine so I need to get that ready to slap back together. Here are a few photos:






I am having a problem with this bushing though...Its on the back of the right engine side. Anyone have any advice? I tried to press it out and it just broke the metal rod out...

New wheel bearings & fork bearings came in today:



I'm ready to get this thing on the road...Just waiting on some engine bearings & seals

Nice work! Look forward to seeing the finished product.

Got the tires mounted:


Also got the tank sealed with POR-15. I'm going to do 2-3 coats so I'll post pictures of before and after later. Also I picked this girl up on craigslist just for fun:



1979 Honda Express II 49cc 2-stroke
All she needed was, well...nothing. Either way I changed the gear box oil for some Mobil1 synthetic 10W-40 motorcycle oil, gaped the spark plug, found a gas cap replacement which was an oil cooler cap for an old american car at advance auto for 3.99, did a feel squeezes of the air filter in 80-90 gear oil, and put fresh 93 octane / Lucas semi synthetic 2 stroke racing oil blend. Also sprayed some lithium grease all over random joints and stuff. Everything is completely original! I might replace the intake for something less restrictive and do a muffler mod to let it breath more. I've read I can get it up to 35-40mph by doing those things. Right now I top out around 28 on a flat surface. Me and my friend rode it about 10 miles together and it ran no problem. Our combined weight was around 275. She named her Creamsicle, I would say the name fits.
More pictures:

Got the engine goin back together now. Here's some pictures:

How is it going?
You are right at the fun part, hooking the chain on the crank sprocket.
I used to use one of those long flexi-stemmed magnets to fish it on.

Amazing job! Can't wait to see it finished