Not the best grinding, I’m getting slightly better at controlling the angle grinder.

I’ll clean up those grinds during the cold months when the bike will be stripped to the frame.

I bought it at Harbor Freight. An inexpensive Chinese made 4 inch angle grinder that I got for $16 bucks.

My friend Clint would scold me for buying cheap chinese tools, but I love them.

I never used one before, so I didn’t know what to expect in terms of safety, so I bought some $1.99 gloves, $1.99 googles, and some dust masks.

My cafe seat came in last week and as I mocked it up I noticed there were two hooks that I needed to grind off so it could fit properly. I decided I wouldn’t post pics of the seat yet…. that’ll be for another post.

The Honda CB550 has a second hook near the tank. I assume its another helmet hook. I can’t think of what else it could be.

They pull off easy by bending them back and forth with a pair of pliers.

I realized this is something that should have been done with the bike stripped down to the frame, something I didn’t plan on doing until this winter. I just covered the bike with a blue tarp. I didn’t know what to expect in terms of debris and sparks. Zero debris, lots of flying sparks. I had to put on a hat.

Er… my first time…

Hook by the tank.

This winter I’ll have the frame sandblasted and powder coated. Until then I thought I’d better shoot the exposed metal with rust preventative primer. I don’t care about how it looks now. The seat will cover this.

Not pretty, but no one will see this.