First time wrenching today!
 

I'm super excited! Abarth is heading over in about an hour to help me take apart the Shogun. We elected to skip driving way North to the co-op, and are going to attempt this in my family room with some cardboard on the floor. It's going to be great. Then I'm feeding him turkey.

I know, I know, Pics or it didn't happen. Wish us luck!

Sounds like a blast. As a relative n00b to wrenching I predict you will love it. :thumb:

Good luck. Wrenching your own bikes is one of the most rewarding aspects of cycling.

Couple tips:

-proper tools go a LONG way toward keeping your sanity. IOW's, don't try to remove the headset with a screwdriver. ;)
-Technique comes with experience. While you may be real handy with tools, if you haven't worked on bikes, there is a learning curve. Just be patient and think each step through before proceeding. Its easy to install a bottom bracket but it's a bit harder to do it without leaving wrench marks.
-Unless you are using a hammer and an impact wrench, its hard to truly mess something up beyond the point that a good shop mechanic can't fix.
-have fun...enjoy the experience AND the results.

55/Rad

55/rad offers excellent advice. +1 about having the right tools for the job. sometimes, they might not be the recommended tools for the job, but you can find out good shadetree tool info online, either on our own BF mechanics forum, sheldonbrown.com, or about a million other spots online. I look back on all of my worst mistakes and they mostly can be chalked up to impatience: not waiting til i had the right tool, rushing thru a job and temporarily misplacing small parts, not doing the smart thing with getting BB threads retapped when needed, busting aluminum chainring bolts by being too imprecise while tightening, not using a torque wrench in critical situations. Wow, i sure used to be a hack.

Good news is, you don't have to be. Sounds like you have a good helper coming to keep you at a safe pace, if you aren't patient by nature. I agree that most stuff you do wrong will be repaired, but do be careful with crossed threads/stripping threads. I haven't done too much of that, but many of the old bikes/components i pick up have at least one damaged threaded fitting. Just remember: your bicycle is a relatively simple machine; you can explore it and learn all about it, if you take the time and effort. =D

-rob

PS- remember to grease everything that needs grease, and try to use quality grease! I'm sure you've read the horror stories of stuck parts on old bikes here and elsewhere. Don't be that wrench.

Have a great time with Abarth - he'll teach you well.

I'd like to just tell you that I've wrenched on/rebuilt vintage Jeeps, motorcycles, mopeds, scooters and countless bicycles,yet I still manage to occasionally let the wrench slip and punch myself in the face.

Don't be stupid like me.

Sounds like a blast. I did my first ever on a Sting Ray (bendix brake and all) 40 years ago. Haven't stopped yet.

Be ready for the unexpected.

i absolutely love wrenching on bikes. throw on some damien rice, radiohead, and/or mumford and sons and enjoy.

+1 A very rewarding and satisfying experience working on your own rides. Bikes are a great deal more open than cars and motorcycles, therefore wrenching is easy to see and more straightforward. Once again, with the right tools, less cursing and a job well done in the end.

Nice combo, roast turkey and Phil Wood grease. Mmmmm. ;)

Right! Never use a hammer and a screwdriver when a Wald seatpost and a mallot will work just fine!

Well, we're all done for now. Abarth was lovely, and turned down the turkey (!). I'm not sure if he uses his real name here, so I'm keeping his celebrity status under wraps for him :). The Shogun is completely apart, except for the freewheel (which is an early freehub, I've learned), as he didn't have the Shimano part for that. I'm going to take it down to the LBS and I'm sure they'll take it off for me for free. They're nice that way. We had no problems, except at the headset, where we had to, um, use a screwdriver in one of the slot-thing-ies on the ring-thingy to get it to move. And then the big nut-thingy wouldn't come loose from the fork to release the fork from the frame, so we had to dig out the BF's big adjustable wrench thingy, but that worked.

My BB threads where the left crank goes in are a bit stripped, but Abarth got if free anyway with the BB-wrench-thing and some gentle persuasion, without further stripping. At one point, trying to free something I can no longer remember that required his delicate touch rather than mine, I heard him bemoan the lack of a vise, but he got it.

It's all a bit of a whirl now, and I can hardly remember everything we did. We're going to regroup when I get everything cleaned, and put things back together. I'm still waiting on my saddle and bar tape anyway, as the saddle is backordered at Wiggle and the bar tape is coming from a friend. Abarth thinks this bike will fit me and not the BF, so I'll have to slap some fenders on there and get the Shogun rolling!

There's rust and bare metal on parts of the frame, so I'll have to decide what I want to do there. Abarth suggested mixing up some enamel paint, but I'm more inclined to get the rust off and then put some sort of clear coat on those spots and leave 'em. I don't mind the patchy look, but I want to keep the frame safe from additional rust damage. Suggestions on how to clean it up beyond lemon Pledge and Meguire's, which I already have at the ready? What should I do with the bare/rusty bits? Abarth mentioned a sanding "pen", which sounds like a good deal for small patches.

Photos to prove it happened:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5050/...9eaf5d28b5.jpg
shogunrestore06 by snarkypup, on Flickr

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/...73e193945a.jpg
shogunrestore07 by snarkypup, on Flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5287/...77afd13e37.jpg
shogunrestore04 by snarkypup, on Flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5128/...f46a0bb8d7.jpg
shogunrestore03 by snarkypup, on Flickr

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4127/...779a2d5cf1.jpg
shogunrestore09 by snarkypup, on Flickr

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5289/...40b94b938c.jpg
shogunrestore08 by snarkypup, on Flickr

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/...36fa8fe115.jpg
shogunrestore05 by snarkypup, on Flickr

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4087/...b1cbea61c2.jpg
shogunrestore02 by snarkypup, on Flickr

Welcome to the C&V wrenchers club Snarkypup!

We ride to wrench ! That's our motto!

+1 to your ideas to just get the rust off and clear-coat those spots. If it were black I might go for a touch up but matching blue, and especially a metallic blue, is - I don't want to go there. . . Bad match is worse than no match IMO, but I'll concede that some guys may be better at it than I.

My Shogun responded well to Wal-Mart's Rust Remover, in the auto section with the body repair stuff. It kills the rust, then you can simply clear it with hobby clear if you don't feel like touchup/patching.

Wrenching is fun when you're clueless, better when you're experienced enough to be a danger to yourself and your bikes. It's really a blast when things go like they should, which is sometimes.

The 4 hours today were the best of the holiday season, by far, and there's another frame in the trunk of my car.

Those sanding pens are nice but the one I had wasn't an indoor tool. It had a fiberglass core that would wear away and you'd have a real itchy spot on the carpet for years to come.
I've been bold enough to carry a frame down the fingernail polish aisle to get a satisfactory match. Try it somewhere it won't show first and see if you like the results.
I suppose I could have carried the fork instead.

today, i had an unexpected day off of work. i took the fork from my current bridgestone project into the right-aid, and found a nearly perfect match of nail polish. Filled in all the chips. Might work for your shogun, if you can stomach such a blue-collar solution to the problem.

-rob

+1 nail polish. I have found that some tend to come out smoother than others, proportion of solids to solvent probably, but there are so many colors available a close (enough) match to that blue shouldn't be hard to find.

It was nice meeting Snarkypup. She was a very good student and very eager to get her hands dirty. I am impressed by her understanding of mechanical things. It didn't take a lot of explaining for her to understand how things work. This Shogun 500 is her third bikes, I think she is following the N+1 rule to the T. :thumb:

benjamin, you are correct about the sanding pen being an outdoor tool. Very itchy...definitely long sleeves and gloves.

I do like the color combo on that bike. It'll be brilliant all polished up whether you patch it or not.

To be honest, I kind of like the beat-up-ness of it. Seriously. I like the places where the frame shows through. I know, that's weird, but it's true. I wouldn't want that on my pretty purple and white Panasonic, that's for sure, but this is a different bike. I keep thinking of the beautiful 1920's bike someone posted here recently that was just gently polished in the rough spots, and the patina kept. I know this is not that bike, by a long shot, but somehow, I like it the way it is. I don't really want to put blue nailpolish that doesn't quite match on it. It would look great from a distance, but crappy up close. I think polished, with many of the scratches gone and all the rust taken off, it will be a cool old bike. I'll get some sweet fenders and a rack, and I think it will really haul. The Panasonic can then rest its dainty feet when it's wet.

I just want to protect the frame as it is. I will try the Walmart rust remover, but what do I put on the frame when I'm done?

I have a nice reproduction suede Turbo saddle coming, and my best friend is sending is me some VO leather bar tape. It's probably too nice for this bike, but it'll all be good when it's done. It is definitely too small for the BF, so it's all mine and I'm going to ride the hell out of it. Abarth has kindly offered to let the BF try out some of his bikes when we rebuild this one, so then I can get him one that fits and have no guilt over owning three bikes for myself!

I used to have a scar on every single knuckle on my hands. Most of them have worn away, but yeah.

^ My face is intact, as are my knuckles. I think someone tried to work on the Shogun not that long ago. Most everything came off easily. But Abarth warned me to be careful frequently, and helped me steady things to be safe.

Quick question: so I bought these NOS Dia Compe levers about six months ago, when I first bought the Shogun and knew nothing. They were perty, and I liked the way they looked. They were to replace the Shimano ones on there, which have clearly gotten to know the pavement a little too well (they are actually sharp in places, they are so gouged up). The Shimanos have Cane Creek replacement hoods that are pretty beat up as well.

So, now that I am going to put brake levers back on this bike, I'm wondering... did I do good? Do I buy hoods for them? If so, what ones? I'd want brown. Can I get them for these levers?

The Dia Compes were cheap (I think I got them with shipping for about $10). If they aren't good levers, or I need hoods and can't get them, or they can't take hoods, I can get different ones and not feel like I'm out much. Advice? Photo below of the old Shimanos and the "new" Dia Compes.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/...38914d74ba.jpg
levers by snarkypup, on Flickr

good work snarky - only suggestion is to sandwich bag little parts and label as to make it easier for rebuild - at least that helps me - i did my first teard down and rebuild of a schwinn varsity and it was very rewarding - def times were i doubted my ability - but usually it was the case of tooling up, being patient and asking questions - nothing like good forum members to help you - also - might i rec picking up this repair guide:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/051...&sr=8-1&seller

Good work Snarkypup, No hope for you now, this is a serious addiction!

Your bike looks great. See what you mean about keeping the "battle scars" that give a frame character, plus from the nicks and chips shown in the photos, none are that bad.

Not being sexist but you may have the answer on your dressing table. Clean out the rust from the base of the chips with the point of a metal nail file or similar and just touch in the exposed metal with CLEAR nail polish (the stuff that goes on bare nails or to give a gloss over coloured nails, if I understand my wife correctly). It's quite a tough finish and easy to touch in quickly at any time on new chips. I borrow my wife's clear stuff to coat over water slide decals, which are otherwise fragile.

That way you keep the character, have no mismatched colours and it's practically free.

If you can't find the brake hoods, will the black ones fit your new levers?

Good job, keep the photos coming!

Hi Snarky !
It appears that you bought the generic DiaCompe levers. I like them and one of the reasons why is that cheap hoods that fit are readily available for them in both black and brown.

They also polish up well with Mother's polish.

BTW - it looks like you purchased them w/o the lever end-buttons. The Shimanos may not fit, but don't despair, since they are also available at Niagara.