Yamaha YZF-R1 1998 (8)

This weekend, I have get rid of most of the parts on the chassis. And all the wirings are alrady setup. a few more parts are to be painted and after the cowlings are polished, this simple kit will be done.

Yamaha YZF-R1 1998 (7)

Last weekend, I have got the cowlings clear coated with Gunze GX-100. Probably I will let it dry for a couple of weeks before polishing. Meanwhile, I have started the painting work on the machineries. Simple gloss black and Gunze SM06 silver paint are applied at most of the machanical parts. Some brass and copper colors are to be painted as well and then the chassis can be assembled.

Yamaha YZF-R1 1998 (6)

I have refine the paint a little bit but still, the blue seems to be far from the M1 blue for 2009... Anyway, I should have the color tested on something else first but it is too late now. Though, I still like this blue color anyway.

A very quick clear coat to seal the metalic and pearl colors, I have start the decal work straight away. Just a few decals have lift up this ride a lot. Hopefully I can have the decal work done with the cowlings and a quick clear seal tomorrow, so that I can allow a full day drying during my tennis course on Wednesday. My plan is to have the clear coat fixed by this weekend and then I can move on a bit with the M1 chassis a bit.

Yamaha YZF-R1 1998 (5)

Finally, special thanks fo Joe as he help me out with this blue paint.
I have got this R1 masked straight a way and the result looks great!



After the paint dry out, I will seal the surface with a light coat of clear. Then simple decal work will be done and this R1 will have completed its duty~

Yamaha YZF-R1 1998 (4)

For a couploe of nights of painting, a custom made pearl white was applied.
I had a foundation Gunza GX-1 white as base before I applied a mixture of Gunze GX-1 white, Gunze GX-100 clear and Alcad II 105. This is actually not a pearl color but a pale metallic white. But the fine powder from Alcad II paint has deliever a fine result. As the main purpose of this building aims to test for the blue, it doesn't matter too much for the white for me.

Yamaha YZF-R1 1998 (3)

At a very quick after work moment, I have managed to get started with the paint work.
This time, it was the main frame being painted with Gunze #33 flat black plus very little #8 silver. I always like this metalic black which turns out to be in matt surface. Some other parts were also painted in this color and some od them are prepared to be CFed.



At the cowlings, I am quite confident with the primer except for this part. I have sanded it a few more rounds to make sure the gaps are perfectly sealed. Hopefully the gaps will all be covered after the night of work.

Yamaha YZR-M1 2009 (12)

Finally I have picked up the chain set and moved on.

After 2 workings for 2005 M1 and RC211V, I have found that 2 document clips will do a lot of help in this. When you have the first hammer, they doesn't do a lot of help. But after that, when the PE started to bend in differnet direction, without the clips holding the PE tight, the tiny pieces tend to fall apart in very slight shaking on the set. So the clips really help a lot in my opinion.

Apart from the document clips idea, I have also learnt that it would be the best to lock up the screws only at the last step right before the hammer step. The screws tend to hold the PEs tight together with the help of the clips. So locking up the screws for each step simply add up additional movement for the stand and directly giving chances that the tiny pieces falling. So I will just lock up the screws at the last step.

After 4 consecutive workings plus a additional 1.5cm length, I have managed to produce a 150mm chain which turns out to be in perfect length for this time. Thanks God! (my eye balls started to turn red......@.@")

Yamaha YZF-R1 1998 (2)

I was originally getting into the M1 chain set this morning, but I really don't know why I was moving on with the R1!

As I started to realise that there are plenty of parts that are left useless with the 2009 M1 transkit, I am trying to implant some of the parts into the street bike. First of all, the exhaust. The original R1 exhaust was enormous. And with the racing exhaust replacement, the ride turns out to be lighter.




I have managed to fill all the gaps over the cowlings today. So what's left will be simple painting works, which is the objective of this side-tracking progress.

Yamaha YZF-R1 1998

If having 2 full detailed kits working at the same time is too much, it is just the beginning of this long-lasting horrible story...

In order to get a nice and matching color scheme for the Fiat Yamaha livery, I have decided to put the paint test on a R1 first!

I have just freshly got this kit tonight afterwork. And at a very very fast assembly, I have worked the parts together. Easy, I have just glue a couple of the parts for now. I have a few M1 experience here but none on R1. And I am telling you this is the first street bike I am going to build too.

So this pre-assembly was just to get the feel and touch of the parts included. I will be working on it a little bit faster just solely to give a trail on the Fiat Yamaha painting scheme.

Yamaha YZR-M1 2009 (11)

Having the major parts fitted on the chassis, I will have to handle some serious stuffs first. This will probably take some time to finish.
This is not the firs time I am doing the Top Studio bike chain set. And I have actually couple of chains already done in my belt. Yet, I don't really feel comfortable before I move on with the paint work as this chain set will probably be one of the greatest spot on the ride.
So I am set this up first in order to get the feeling of a major big step for this kit.

Yamaha YZR-M1 2009 (10)

The chassis is ready, the engine has been examined for details, and tonight I have worked on the cowlings.

Just 4 pieces of screws were enough to hold the cowlings tight onto the chassis. I will have to say, the resin material from Top Studio is very suitable for bike cowlings. It is strong but tangible. And you do not need extra effort to setup the bottom cowling onto the hinges at both side cowlings. Once the hinge is at its correct place, it is locked!

At one point, I was a little disappointed to the bottom cowling's fitting. Since the hinges are at the middle of the cowling, the rear end tends to collapse inwards. And this means the side cowlings are not at the same level. I will have to resharp the both parts to have better leveling. Yet, I have found the reshaping particular easy as the resin are very friendly to sand paper and knifes.
Even I am still rookie to resin transkit, I have found it very easy to touch up.

Yamaha YZR-M1 2009 (9)

Some more update on the chassis. The weldings have been added to the chassis using some AFV techniques. It has been so much easier in 1:12 scale instead of 1:35 scale as the circular weldings are recreated easily.



Unfortunately I have found a part that have been broken.... hopefully will have a replacement from Top Studio soon...


And so, let's set the things up again to check if everythings work tightly together.