My 1988 ATK 406 Restoration

I striped this old steed down to the bare frame and started all over again to bring her back from the edge of the salvage yard back to what I think is better than her former glory. First I had the frame powder coated Pioneer Blue, the rear shock spring was powder coated black while the after market pipe was being ceramic coated black at a local shop and the parts began pouring in from various sources so I could return this machine back to her natural habitat at the May 4th bike ride at the White Rock National forest in Madison County Arkansas.

The front and rear suspension was rebuilt at a local shop while I tore into the engine to see how the heart of this old beast was and found it to be in fair condition, replacing only the rings with a nice hone and some fresh gaskets and seals and a lot of TLC and paint. The clutch was slipping before I tore it down so I filed the basket down until the clutch actuation was smooth and the inside of the engine was thoroughly cleaned out.

Going together was a long process as I cleaned and polished all the nuts and bolts as well as the bigger parts getting a good blasting from a sandblaster at 125PSI then covered with a fresh coat of paint, all parts were cleaned, painted, greased then installed on the bike, while assembling the bike, in the back of my mind I was trying to decide how to finish the final part of the assembly as it was a dirty tan color from dirt and from years of the sun beating on it, yes; the gas tank. I spent hours grinding, sanding and scraping to remove the dirty plastic but I was still not satisfied until I had it painted, at last I had found satisfaction J&B Auto Body in Rogers Arkansas guaranteed me the paint would not peel, chip or flake off or he would repaint the tank, now a month later and 30 miles of trails and one wipe out the tank is still holding up TS Custom Cycle seats in Fayetteville Arkansas put my aftermarket seat cover on and did an awesome job Tom at TS is a great guy to work with and knows how to get you what you want for your project, the man is simply awesome, he also cut out my number plate stickers and applied them. His seat covers can be lettered with a silk screen printing process that will give you the original look you want like, ATK or CEET and they do custom decals, numbers and lettering as well.

This bike was a joy to build. If I can be of help to anyone who has a notion to undertake the restoring of an old motorcycle, please contact me on the ATK riders forum under Airborn406, I would be delighted to help in anyway I can.



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