since this Hercules is so further gone than most of the bikes i have been picking up
i have decided to use it as my 1st tear down.

before i get anywhere near ready to tackle it
i want to collect as many tips and hints as a i can.




This particular bike has much rust and oxidation to the finish, that one would swear it was painted flat black instead of glossy. Those 4 'reflector?' strips seem to be original. I am hoping once i strip the frame i can get away with just a deep clean and perhaps a coat of poly - i am not interested in repainting her - but would like to replace the cable housing and grips with black ones. The seat is already a goner. I think an All black bike would be wicked.

I know this will take some time and i may have it disassembled in my living room all winter.
but i hope it will be a good learning experience. since i only have 20 bucks into it, i can afford to make all the mistakes i want.

I DO intend to take complete before photos and make diagrams of what goes where
i found that once you take something off it quite often doesn't WANT to go back where it should fit.

Please respond with your best advice?, worst case scenarios, what have you..
many thanks