With a little bit of time to spend on the R60, it was time to clean things up and see more clearly what was needed for the frame. The hard decision had been made, I was not going to restore the bike, but would rather clean it up and touch it up where needed. It is very tempting with the bike stripped down this far to just go all the way, but I wanted a rider and so it will follow the path of almost all of the vehicles I have owned. That said, the frame, earles fork, and swingarm were all covered in dirt and grime which could be hiding a multitude of sins. Greased Lightning was sprayed liberally along and around the aforementioned parts and left overnight. The floor was a bloody mess the next morning. Armed with shop towels, I went over the bike and wiped away most of the grime. Then I doused it again, and took a toothbrush (the secret weapon of all vintage restoration shops – be sure to get hard/firm) to the crevices and the more baked on stuff.
The result was revealing in a couple of ways. First, the frame’s paint was in remarkably good shape on most of the bike. It was thick and glossy along the majority of its area. Second, the areas where it looked like there was surface corrosion were mostly brown dirt. There are several chips and the sidestand clamp area has no remaining paint, but what remains exposed is good shiny metal. My plan is to prep the larger areas and apply some eastwood high quality chassis paint. It doesn’t look like much got done, but it was a very good session.
