Technical & Reference Section > Tech and Restoration

Manuel The Bandito. 2001 S&M Dirt Bike NG

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Midschoolfool:
2001 Dirt Bike Next Gen.

I originally bought this at the end of the summer last year. I paid £120 for the frame, fork, headset and a new pad set.





Original Pitch Fork. However don't let them fool you, they suck :( I will get around to why in a bit. I didn't have any more parts, then I bought a Huffy MJ12 that arrived with the wheels loose which had destroyed the paint. So these parts cost me a total of £60. I got a Metal chain ring (uber rare), a set of MK1 Hoffman Jump bars (cut 1" longer on one side ffs) a decent set of era correct wheels that are nice and straight, a headset, a bottom bracket and bearings, a mint (it was replaced and looks brand new) 990 and god knows however many other goodies.

This is how the bars looked with the very tatty decals removed.



I can't remember if they were cut even before that pic or after. Any way, I smoothed out all of the scratches and stuff.

Degreased and hit with alcohol.



And then rust treated, sanded and primed.



Wet sand, and paint.



Very happy with that. I got some Bone Deth grips and bar ends, and a DC lever (going righty, single rear brake)

I did order a decal set directly from Hoffman, but sadly the twat in the flat below me had a thing for pilfering mail and parcels. So they got half inched. Was wanting to smash his fingers with a hammer bur realised that may be a bit extreme (he's lucky I'm not 25 any more). I ended up finding this cheap enough decal on Delcals for about £3. Looks good too.



OK, restored wheels from the Huffy donor that cost me £60.



They came up nice. Time for some rubber. I want this to be trails AF, so I got these.



Skin wall, 60 PSI and very light and sticky. Big shout out to Steve for the £15 early FIT cranks.



BB I already had.



It's not sealed but it is era correct. That said on a bruiser like this you'd be hard pushed to notice. The decals I found for the "Not old school bmx applied tax" rate of $13 in the USA. Cost me about bang on a tenner, minus the PF decals which were about £8.



They were a bit of a mystery. It turns out they are "Lo Rider" decals. However, there is no such thing as a "low rider" Dirt Bike, so these were a S&M limited run set for Hispanics to use on their Dirt Bikes. After a year I translated the decals yesterday and had a good chuckle. Seems S&M still have their SOH.









Seat post is a Cult pivotal (again big shout out to Steve)



Even though it is alu it came smothered in rust from the frame it was in. Vinegar bath, scuffed with a pot scourer and a lick of paint.



Bolt on the Bone Deth seat, another job is finished.



And that is another job done. More cleaned parts.



And the head badge.



I've got S&M resin pedals (in the pic with the tyres) and so on. Basically I bought every single part last year, even the paint. Talking of the paint.



beige, eggshell. I like that finish. I already have the primer and all of the prep stuff too.

I started working on the fork. I figured I could do what I did to those original Jump bars. No chance. Whoever painted this destroyed it. Like, I wondered why there were so many imperfections in the paint right. So I started sanding at the clear coat, which was still stickyish. Meaning it was cheap crap. It just clogs alu oxide. Then I got a bit deeper and the horrors started to show themselves.



Like, you can see big scratches and funny looking areas. Yeah, that is because whoever did this atrocity with paint did not even give the fork a courtesy lick with some sandpaper. So when you finally get through the three layer finish (those drops took me nearly two hours with dremel drum sanders) you hit the horror show of the rust and original paint and it starts flicking up and hitting you in the face. The guy literally put on two coats of primer, black and clear without any prep work whatsoever. It's a horror show.



Having gotten quite good at painting over the last 30 years I am usually loathe to bust out chemicals. They burn, they stink and it's just not a nice experience. I usually prefer working with the original finish then painting on sealer and doing it that way. Fat chance here.







This gun get messy.

I also have these in the wings. Not sure what if any I will use yet mind.



Back to the Covid waiting game.

Oh yeah, why Manuel The Bandito?

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bobafett:

Great thread.

Top skills on them bars mate - nice resto save  :coolsmiley:

Looking forward to episode 2 of the forks  :popcorn:

 :daumenhoch:

BMX1973:
Looking good.  :coolsmiley:

Midschoolfool:
Still waiting on the materials I need fgs.

I am not using the Metal sprocket or Bone Deth seat on it now. Those are going onto another bike. I will look for S&M parts as and when. Oh and the cranks are not going on it either, as those are going to be restored for another bike.

Things are kinda frustrating at the moment. Everything is so slow.

Avro:
I really fancy having a go at something like this, keep it coming.

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