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Our dearly departed brother Breeze was a huge fan of the Yamaha YSR 50 as many of us know. He had a couple over the years, and raced them competitively at tracks in the southern OH/PA area.
photo courtesy of woobie
A few years back, dad(superbike) and I went to Columbus to meet Rob and other KR members at Iron Pony for one of the meet and greets Rob used to set up and graciously host. Well, rob brought his YSR on the trailer for everyone to check out. Dad fell in love with it, and Rob knew it. Here's the photographic proof of it...
Well, years go by, Rob ends up working a job putting in massive hours each week, finds time for friends and family, not so much for the YSR. Throw in a couple out of state moving ventures, job changes, illness, and life in general, and the YSR is sidelined for quite some time. Fast forward to a mere 6 weeks ago, May 31st, 2013. Rob lists the YSR for sale due to his illness. Within 45 minutes dad has a promise to buy it from Rob... http://katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=131013
So, dad and I venture to Columbus to help Rob get the 750 motor in his katana and pick up the YSR. We chat and have a great day bs'ing and wrenching with Rob and Tracy, pack up the YSR, hugs all around and head home. Little did we know it would be the last time we see Rob...all the while on the way home discussing what exactly we should do with the YSR. It's a race bike, showing some signs of wear and age as any race machine would. We decide a full blown teardown and rebuild/repaint is the best route to take. We even decide that a Kenny Roberts inspired paint job would look stellar on it, and when we proposed it in another thread here, even got Rob's endorsement on how kickass that would in fact look on the YSR.... http://katriders.com/vb/showpost.php...9&postcount=40
So, here we are today, all reeling in the grim fact that we have just lost our brother Rob to that vicious bitch of a disease called cancer. Just last night I had finished up sandblasting the frame for the YSR, and tonight I knew that even though working on a bike was furthest from my mind, leaving that frame bare would make it start to oxidize in a hurry. So, I mustered up the strength to go out to the garage and put etching primer on the frame of our friends former bike. Once I started, it was the most natural experience I have had painting in a while. I got centered, focused, and realized the true meaning of what I was doing at that moment.
Healing.
So, my friends, this is truly where the healing begins for me, hopefully dad, and possibly even for some of you as we venture on to make Rob's old bike new again, to honor his memory. It will take a while to do, because I know how bad I want it to be perfect, and I know how bad dad will want it to be perfect, and to be quite honest, it deserves no less. I'll get some pics uploaded here shortly of the frame blasted and in primer, and we shall go from there...
nice and bare
fresh etch primer, ready for a quick scuff then some 2K Urethane Primer/Sealer
photo courtesy of woobie
A few years back, dad(superbike) and I went to Columbus to meet Rob and other KR members at Iron Pony for one of the meet and greets Rob used to set up and graciously host. Well, rob brought his YSR on the trailer for everyone to check out. Dad fell in love with it, and Rob knew it. Here's the photographic proof of it...
Well, years go by, Rob ends up working a job putting in massive hours each week, finds time for friends and family, not so much for the YSR. Throw in a couple out of state moving ventures, job changes, illness, and life in general, and the YSR is sidelined for quite some time. Fast forward to a mere 6 weeks ago, May 31st, 2013. Rob lists the YSR for sale due to his illness. Within 45 minutes dad has a promise to buy it from Rob... http://katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=131013
So, dad and I venture to Columbus to help Rob get the 750 motor in his katana and pick up the YSR. We chat and have a great day bs'ing and wrenching with Rob and Tracy, pack up the YSR, hugs all around and head home. Little did we know it would be the last time we see Rob...all the while on the way home discussing what exactly we should do with the YSR. It's a race bike, showing some signs of wear and age as any race machine would. We decide a full blown teardown and rebuild/repaint is the best route to take. We even decide that a Kenny Roberts inspired paint job would look stellar on it, and when we proposed it in another thread here, even got Rob's endorsement on how kickass that would in fact look on the YSR.... http://katriders.com/vb/showpost.php...9&postcount=40
So, here we are today, all reeling in the grim fact that we have just lost our brother Rob to that vicious bitch of a disease called cancer. Just last night I had finished up sandblasting the frame for the YSR, and tonight I knew that even though working on a bike was furthest from my mind, leaving that frame bare would make it start to oxidize in a hurry. So, I mustered up the strength to go out to the garage and put etching primer on the frame of our friends former bike. Once I started, it was the most natural experience I have had painting in a while. I got centered, focused, and realized the true meaning of what I was doing at that moment.
Healing.
So, my friends, this is truly where the healing begins for me, hopefully dad, and possibly even for some of you as we venture on to make Rob's old bike new again, to honor his memory. It will take a while to do, because I know how bad I want it to be perfect, and I know how bad dad will want it to be perfect, and to be quite honest, it deserves no less. I'll get some pics uploaded here shortly of the frame blasted and in primer, and we shall go from there...
nice and bare
fresh etch primer, ready for a quick scuff then some 2K Urethane Primer/Sealer
This is a beautiful thing.
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