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Lots of good advice here, especially all the reasons not to ruin your bike with bedliner. Here's one more reason: ever see a truck with year old bedliner? It looks like crap. Clean and buff what you have and you'll be much happier down the road.
Test compression and spark.
Go through the complete fuel system from the tank to the intake seals.
Clean and take care of the tank, whatever it may need.
Pull the petcock and clean or replace the screen (this is the fuel filter) or replace the the whole petcock if it's original.
New fuel hose, including cross over hose at front bottom of the tank.
New vacuum hose on the VOES.
Disassemble and clean carb.
Replace intake manifold seals.
Harley Texture black is a match for the engine and holds up well,
Texture Black, not wrinkle black.
No need for primer, just sand a little, clean and dry, mask and spray.
You can spray the cylinders, then scrape or sand the paint from the edges of the fins after it dries.
That paint is the only way to go for freshening up the motor/primary/trans. The results are phenomenal.
Years ago at an HD dealer I saw a customer's bike that was "painted" with black bedliner. The bike's owner was in the bed liner business. To this day, that was the ugliest motorcycle I've ever seen. YRMV.
Back when Covid first hit I bought a 1980 Yamaha SR250 as a project. The previous owner was a young guy who had painted the tins, fork legs, and all of the chrome bits with bedliner about 2 years before I bought it.
I cant tell you how many hours it took me to remove all of that stuff, but I will tell you that it looked like crap and it is tough as nails.
I did it all by hand using steel wool so as not to scratch up the chrome. I think I wore out both of my elbows, but in the end the bike looked pretty good.
Thank you all for all this great advice! As I go through this project I'll keep posting pictures.
I'm sure to everyone's great relief, you all have wildly succeeded in talking me out of the bedliner paint job. My intention may have been noble but hiding the hard earned wear now seems to me like that would disrespect the years and years of joy it's given me.
I will definitely use your solutions for re coating the engine case and jugs. THANK YOU for the advice!
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