In contrast to the super small blinkers that are very popular as custom parts these days, the blinkers of the discontinued model feature a large size with a strong presence. Many of the indicator bodies of old motorcycles are made of heavy die-cast, and many of them are oxidized by aging. However, there is no need to give up. It is possible to restore the beautiful luster by continuing to polish with sandpaper.
The popularity of discontinued motorcycles makes people more particular about OEM parts.
The older the motorcycles, the more damaged the stock blinkers tend to be, with scratched, cloudy or cracked lenses, deformed or rusted bodywork. Many discontinued motorcycles have had their blinkers replaced with external parts when they were still in service, either to repair damage or for customization purposes. This is fine if the motorcycle is a popular model like the Kawasaki Z, for which reproduction parts are available, but if not, it is difficult to find genuine parts.
This image shows a blinker for a Yamaha moped in the late 1960s. The lens packing was still alive, so there was no corrosion inside the body, and there was no distortion caused by standing gossamer. The blinker bulb wiring goes through the blinker stay and the negative is body ground. If the wiring is added to the bulb holder and co-tightened with the battery terminal as a dedicated ground wire, the conduction resistance can be reduced.
Every motorcycle enthusiast wants his or her beloved vehicle to reflect his or her own unique style. That's why there are a variety of custom parts and dress-up parts to make this happen. However, the current situation of discontinued motorcycles is that after going through all the modifications and modifications, people decide that they prefer the factory stock style.
At the time, no one would have imagined that people would be looking for genuine parts such as mufflers, handlebars and steps, which were the first to be replaced during the motorcycle boom decades ago. Nowadays, however, there is a tendency to be grateful for having genuine parts, no matter how bad they are.
The blinkers are also the same, in the past, the main point of customization was how to reduce the size of the blinkers without being noticed. Now that ultra-bright LEDs have become widespread, even blinkers the size of a one yen coin can pass vehicle inspection, and the degree of freedom for customization has expanded greatly.
However, for discontinued motorcycles, reproductions of stock style blinkers with the design of the time are very useful, especially in the world of restoration, so you never know what is popular in the world.
However, the fact that many of today's motorcycle fans who admire discontinued motorcycles were not yet born or old enough to ride a motorcycle when the motorcycles of the late 1960s and 1970s were in service is an aspect of the driving force behind their obsession with stock style. For riders who were old enough to buy a '70s motorcycle new nearly half a century ago, the stock parts of that era were probably wild and unfashionable.
On the other hand, it is only natural that riders who don't know anything about those days and are interested in discontinued motorcycles would want to start with the stock style and then add their own personal touches. It's not just a matter of using a used motorcycle because it's cheaper, but it's not unreasonable to want to ride a motorcycle that's close to stock because of your obsession with discontinued motorcycles.
- Point 1・The more attention is paid to discontinued motorcycles and old motorcycles, the more the value of genuine parts is increasing.
- Point 2. With the increase in the number of users who do not know the motorcycles of the 1960s and 1970s in real time, the longing for and return to the normal state is inevitably respected.
Plated finish is not polished even for die-cast body.
It's not as bad as a cratered corrosion hole, but the surface of both the stay and the indicator body are rough and crumbly. I repainted part of the frame side and polished the indicator body to match.
While spraying anti-corrosion lubricant to prevent the sandpaper from clogging, I scrape the rough surface with the sandpaper. The hand that manipulates the paper does not scrape with force, but only caresses the surface. After rubbing roughly with #400, gradually increase the fineness to #600 and #1000. The body of the aluminum shines even if it makes it fine in one step, but a deep wound is hidden from view.
For motorcycle blinkers before 1980, bodies made by die-casting method, in which alloy materials such as zinc and aluminum are poured into metal molds, were generally used. Die-casting is also used in the manufacture of miniature motorcycles and superalloy robot toys, taking advantage of the massive feeling unique to metal. Since then, it has been replaced by resin-molded products that are lighter in weight and can accommodate complex designs.
Die-cast indicator bodies can be roughly classified into chrome plated and polished finishes. Chrome-plated finish is more costly than polished finish, so it was mostly used for mid-sized motorcycles and above, but it is also used for mopeds and small displacement motorcycles. In terms of materials, zinc alloy is a good match for chrome plating finishes, while aluminum alloy is lightweight and has good castability.
Plated body is attractive because it has good luster and luxurious feeling, but it becomes difficult to repair when it corrodes. There are innumerable small invisible holes on the plated surface, and if moisture penetrates through these holes due to prolonged neglect or the like, rust is generated inside, and the chrome plating layer cracks and peels off like a scab. In this case, there is no other choice but to peel off the plating and re-plate, but re-plating of die-castings tends to cause pores, and it is a difficult job even for specialists. Therefore, if you can find a good used or reprocessed indicator body that has deteriorated to the extent that the plating peels off, it is better to install that one. If you cannot find an alternative, you may be able to re-plate the die-cast material by applying a thick copper plating, followed by nickel plating and then chrome plating, although this may increase the reproduction cost.
On the other hand, if the indicator body is made of aluminum alloy that is not plated, it may be relatively easy to recover from deterioration caused by rust. The term "aluminum alloy die-cast products" is a bit of a roundabout way of putting it, but simply speaking, they are similar to point covers and alternator covers of engines. Therefore, even if they are rusted due to aging, it is possible to restore their metallic luster by polishing them with kneaded paper and metal polishing chemicals.
- Point 1: If the indicator body is chrome-plated, corrosion that causes the plating film to peel off is difficult to regenerate and costs a lot of money.
- Point 2・Aluminum alloy indicator body is likely to remove the oxide film by polishing work.
If it's just covered in an oxide film, sandpaper and metal polish will make it shine again.
Even if the same #400 paper is used, the actual amount of scraping differs depending on whether the paper is new or not. If the paper is new and deep scratches appear, it is necessary to respond flexibly by reducing the rubbing force or replacing it with #600.
I polished it with the compound on the soft cloth after making the sandpaper finer to #1000, and it was finished to the luster like the aluminum alloy with the grain of the paper not standing out. If you want to make more mirror finish like plating, you can polish it with compound after making the grit of paper finer than #1000.
If the surface of chrome plating is scratched by sandpaper, it is almost impossible to remove the scratch. On the other hand, even if the surface of the indicator body made of aluminum alloy without plating film is a little rough, the situation can be improved by steady polishing work.
To polish aluminum parts, metal polishing chemicals are effective, but using chemicals on corroded surface is not effective, so use sandpaper or metal scrubber like Bonstar to remove dirt and rust on the surface.
When using sandpaper, cut out a small spiral of paper about #400 coarse enough to follow the complex shape of the indicator body, and rub it lightly while spraying penetrating lubricant. If the paper is pressed hard enough to cause deep scratches, change to a finer grit. If #400 doesn't scratch the surface, then after removing the roughness of the surface with #400, go to #600, #1000 and finer grits, and that should bring out the gloss.
When sandpaper is applied, the scratches made by the current number of papers are crushed by the finer number of papers, so the level of fineness is determined by the desired gloss and the current condition. In the case of the work introduced here, we started with #400 and polished up to #1000, and finished with a paste compound, aiming for a pure correct style finish of a 1960's small displacement motorcycle, not like buffing. If you prefer mirror finish, you can crush the polishing scratches of #1000 with #1500, polish it up with #2000 super fine grit paper, and then use the compound. However, the order of polishing shown here is just an example, because the way of gloss is different depending on the composition of aluminum alloy.
In the past, genuine blinkers that lost their luster were destined to be replaced, but now that the importance of original parts is being emphasized, it is becoming more and more valuable to repair and reuse them instead of simply replacing them. However, now that the importance of original parts is being emphasized, it is worthwhile to repair and reuse the original parts instead of simply replacing them. Because the indicator plays a small but important role among the exterior parts, it is important to practice refreshing the genuine parts.
- Point 1: When polishing the indicator body with sandpaper, be careful not to use too coarse a grit because it will leave deep scratches.
- Point2・By combination and adjustment of sandpaper and compound, you can get a wide range of finish from genuine parts style gloss to mirror surface.
