One thing I’ve been struggling with on this project since the very beginning is the fact that unless I dump serious money into this restore, it will never look like it did when it rolled out of the factory in 1973.

Certain cosmetic and coating features obviously need to be done in resto-mod style in order to achieve results on a low budget.  Do the usual and paint shit black?  Nah…not yet anyway.

So, I decided to try out a stainless look, starting with the really rusty taillight mount.  The picture shows it kind of half sanded….just so I can get a feel for how it will look.  So far I like it.

I’m thinking I’ll try to buff the steel as much as possible to get some amount of shine to it, then clearcoat it.

I’m trying to ponder how it would look with cobalt blue sidecovers and gas tank (the tank will need to be painted because it will need some filler to smooth out a few dings), ceramic coating in place of any chrome, and maybe a bare or stainless steel look on parts that were previously black.  By the way, I’ve already decided that the exhaust heat shields will get painted a flat black on the outside, or possibly powdercoated.

Just kicking around the idea for now.  I can always remove the clearcoat and paint it black later if I find I don’t like it.

I really kind of want to stay true to the bike’s intended appearance and purpose.

New brake light switches should be in Monday, by the way….then it can be at least bolted up and ridden.

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