10. All shined up and no place to go.

It has been awhile since writing, mostly this stems from a lack of inspiration. Oh, I have been working on the bike, cleaning and refurbishing. I have plenty of time to work on the KX as I have now joined the ranks of the unemployed. But, as is the case, more time=less money, that is why I clean and refurbish. All those spicy goodies I was lusting after a month ago must now wait indefinitely for a new home at KXProject.

One of my latest clean ups, the front axle. It too, had the same disease as the rest of the 125, rust and 20 year old greasy oiled dirt lube. Obviously this is not an aesthetic I want to incorporate into the finished bike.

Scrub brush, check, paper towels, check, LA's Awesome one buck super cleaner, check, bathroom sink, check, drill with nylon rotary brush, check. Time to get dirty.

First, I ran a bit of hot water over the grimy axle, then a liberal spray of the LA cleaner. The directions state to let the cleaner soak for two minutes before scrubbing , so for those two minutes I just sat there and watched the process. I must say nothing happened, at least to the naked eye. Out came the scrub brush and I began to lather up. Drippy, dirty, black oil grease slopped all over the bathroom sink and vanity, good thing it is a dark brown counter top. A few minutes with the brush, a rinse and dry, viola, clean.

Some may settle for clean, not I. Clean is good, shiny is better. I wheeled my shop/office chair into the bathroom, plugged in the nylon brush tipped drill and set about descaling. How quickly the beauty from underneath surfaced. The hideous tarnish gave way to a wonderful brushed look. Reaching this stage the little kid in me comes out, when these pieces start to take shape and I can see the future project coming together. This is when I dash out of the bathroom or spare bedroom to dry fit the parts to the bike, wheel, handle bar, etc. and envision that first "bbraapp" off into the woods.

Another great idea popped into my head, Mothers metal polish on the plastic 'outta bring out a nice sheen. Sure enough, a few rubs of paste and like new plastic emerged, well except for a few deep scratches.



After thirty minutes, or so, from start to finish I have a nearly new looking axle. But, no matter of buffing was able to rid the nuts of rounded off edges that some over zealous, ham fisted mechanic so lovingly created. Time to move on to the wheels. Or perhaps the seat, back to the airbox, maybe a touch of painting again, we'll see.