Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Sports Tourer Restoration


Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - After Restoration

Today is the start of Jose's 1983 Trek 620.  In my own list the Trek 620 and Trek 720 are Holey Grail bikes.  My list of bikes started in the 1980's and usually involves Japanese stuff mainly just because my age and when I grew up so often my Holy Grail bikes differ from a lot of people.

Jose's Trek 620 is the first year Trek made the 620 and in this year is considered a Sports Touring bicycle.  Jose also has the 1984 Trek 620 with the cantilever brakes and that is considered a touring bicycle, the touring 620 will also be featured on the website in the future.  I love the Treks from this era.  I did an overhaul on Dave V's Trek 720 about this time last year and it can be seen here.

The Trek 620 is in a little bit of a rough state when you look closer but I am confident it will come back very nicely!  The brake levers are nice Die-Comps and the brake calipers are Die-Comp G's.  The crank is absolutely beautiful Sugino with a 28 tooth triple ring. The front derailleur is a very cool Sun Tour Cyclone II and the rear derailleur is a Heurret that I am a little worried about restoring because they are a very complicated derailleur and can be tricky.  The rear wheel has a cool Helicomatic hub that I like a lot.  

The Trek 620 will get a complete restoration with new bearings, break pads, cable, cable housings, handlebar tape, tires and I think Jose chose new brake lever hoods.  I am very excited to restore the Trek 620, I think its really going to be a cool bike when finished! 

 
Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Before

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Before - Handlebars

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Before - Handlebars
& Stem

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Before
Head Tube

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Before - Front Brake

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Before - Front Wheel Hub

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Before
Front Wheel Hub

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Before - Front Wheel Rim

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Before
SR Stem

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Before - Sun Tour
Shift Levers

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Before
Saddle

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Before
Reynolds 531 Decal

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Before
Trek Panel Decal

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Before
Beautiful Sugino Crank

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Before - Front Derailleur

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Before
Bottom Bracket

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Before - Trek 620
Poor Photo

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Before - Rear Brake

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Before
Rear Derailleur

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Before - Rear Hub
Helicomatic Hub

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Before
Rear Wheel Rim

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Before - Pedal

I broke the Trek 620 down to the frame, there are some chips and scraps in the paint and it is dull but should polish very nice, a lot of the chips will blend into the color of the frame also.

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Before

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Before
Head Tube

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Before
Head Tube

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Before - Top Tube

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Before - Down Tube

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Before - Seat Lug

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Before
Reynolds 531 Decal

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Before - Bottom Bracket

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Before - Bottom Bracket

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Before - Trek 620 Decal

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Before - Brake Bridge

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Before
Brake Bridge

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Before
Drop Outs
Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Before
Fork

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Before
Fork Crown

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Before - Fork Crown

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Before
Fork

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Before
Fork Drop Outs
The frame polished very well, the Perter color polished very nicely.  I will have to mix up a good match to fill the chips and scratches, the chips and scratches stand out way more then I thought they would.  I am happy with the polishing I think maybe a new decal set would really make a big difference in the Trek 620.  The polished Perter color is hard to photograph but you can really see how the paint and finish pops in the down tube photo.

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Polished

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Polished
Frame Polished - Head Tube

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Polished
Frame Polished - Head Tube

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Polished
Down Tube

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Polished
Seat Lug

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Polished
Bottom Bracket

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Polished
Bottom Bracket

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Polished
Brake Bridge

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Polished
Trek 620 Decal

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Polished
Drop Outs

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Polished
Fork

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Polished
Fork Crown

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Polished
Fork Crown

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Polished
Fork Blade

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Polished
Fork Polished

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Frame Polished
Fork Crown

Right now the headset and bottom bracket are in the crock pot soaking.

I am impressed with the bottom bracket, the spindle is surprisingly light.  The headset and bottom bracket polished very nicely, I did replace the bearings and one of the bottom bracket bearing cages, it was to damaged to reuse.

With the new bearings and grease both the headset and bottom bracket spin very smooth and look great!

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Headset & Bottom Bracket
Before
Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Headset & Bottom Bracket
Polished

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Headset Cups
Pressed

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Headset Cups
Pressed

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Headset Bearings - Packed

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Headset
Complete

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bottom Bracket Bearings
Packed

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bottom Bracket
Complete

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Headset & Bottom Bracket
Complete
I like the road champion handlebars, after cleaning and polishing the handlebars will look great installed with new handlebar tape.

The stem had a few small gouges i filled out with a very fine file.  with the gouges removed the stem polished beautifully, I am very happy with the results.

The stem and handlebars look great installed.


Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Handlebars & Stem
Before

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Stem - Before
Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Handlebars & Stem
Polished

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Handlebars - Polished

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Stem - Polished

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Stem - Complete

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Handlebars & Stem
Installed

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Stem & Handlebars
Installed

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Stem & Handlebars
Installed

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Stem & Handlebars
Installed
The brake levers are in good shape, I gave them a good cleaning and then filed down a few gouches in the lever.  I could not remove the gouges completely because they are deep just touched them up a little.  I am happy with the results of the brake lever and they look great installed.

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Brake Levers - Before
Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Brake Levers
Cleaned & Polished

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Brake Levers - Installed

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Brake Levers
Installed
I disassembled the crank and cleaned the grease of the chain rings.  Found what could be a major problem under the grease on the gear teeth.  The chain was badly worn and started cutting into the shape of the chain ring teeth.  I highlighted the wear on the teeth in the red square in the photo below.  This is called shark fins or shark tooth

I don't think this would be a major problem on the crank but if the crank is worn this badly that means the freewheel is probably worn even worse, that would not be a big deal if it was a normal freewheel because that could be easily replaced.  Being a Helicomatic freewheel I don't know how easy they are to find, we will have to tackle that hurdle as things come together.  The chain is shot and completely unusable so we may have a lot of problems coming,

The crank cleaned very nicely and polished very well.  Assembled it is a great crank and looks wonderful I really like this crank now just time will tell how worn it is.

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Crank - Before

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Crank Exploded
Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Crank - Polished

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Worn Teeth
Shark Finned or Toothed

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Crank - Complete

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Crank
Installed
I like the brake calipers, one thing about Die-Comp G calipers is that the caliper arms have a textured finish I have not know how to polish nicely with out removing it and making the finish blotchy.  I have thought about this for a while and came up with a new way of polishing them, I think it work fantastic and couldn't be happier with the results, the caliper arms polished very nice and kept the textured finish.

The small G decal on these calipers are the worst decals ever.  The G pretty much wipes off in cleaning.  Assembled the calipers look fantastic and the new brake pads will help a lot.  The calipers looks fantastic installed, I love it!

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Brake Calipers - Before

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Brake Calipers - Exploded
Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Brake Calipers
Polished

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Brake Calipers
Complete

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Front Brake Caliper
Installed

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Rear Caliper
Installed
The front derailleur is a very nice Sun Tour Cyclone derailleur.  There was slight chrome damage in the front corner that when polished flaked off, I wish that didn't happen but the chrome was very thin and the flake doesn't look to bad polished.  I love how the alloy polished on the derailleur, is shines so well and looks great against the paint.  Lubricating the pivot points and the derailleur functions perfect.

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Front Derailleur - Before
Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Front Derailleur - Polished

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Front Derailleur - Installed


Still working on the rear derailleur.



Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Rear Derailleur - Before


I like the Sun Tour shift levers, they are pretty basic (Which basic means works very well!) but they have such a nice shape to them.  I cleaned and lubricated the shift levers and got to polishing, the levers really polished nice and look great and will work great.

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Sun Tour Shift Levers
Before
Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Shift Levers - Polished

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Shift Levers - Installed







Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Pedals - Before


The seat post was pretty rough and had a good deal of rust.  I did a lot of cleaning and got the seat post to a point I could polish it.  After a few grits of polishing the seat post came back pretty nice considering all.  I m happy with it and with a greased seat tube it won't rust again.

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Seat Post - Before

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Seat Post - Before
Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Seat Post - Polished

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Seat Post
Installed

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle to this Point
The crank showed a lot of wear, the chain is shot, the Helico Matic freewheel shows some wear in the gear teeth.  I won't know if either the freewheel and crank are usable until I install a new chain and am able to give the Trek 620 a test ride.

The wheels are is somewhat of a rough shape to start.  I disassembled the wheels and got on with cleaning, I used a strong penetrating oil to remove all off the grease, dirt and grime from the wheel hubs and they cleaned nice.  With the wheels cleaned I got to polishing, the hubs polished pretty nice, the hubs have a little bit of staining in the alloy but after polishing they look great and have just the slightest bit of patina I would call it and it looks great!

The wheel rims where also in a little bit of a rough shape, I cleaned the rims and did a lot of polishing, there are a few rough spots but over all the wheel rims really went through a transformation and look great!!

I deep cleaned all of the axle hardware and there surprisingly there was very little wear.  I installed new bearings and new grease and assembled the wheels, the wheel spin very nice with the new grease and bearings.  Overall I am very happy with the results of the wheels.

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Rear Wheel
Before

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Worn Gear Teeth

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub
Before

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Rear Wheel Rim
Before

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub
Old Grease

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub
Old Grease

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Freewheel

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Wheel Axle Hardware
Cleaned & Polished

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub
Polished

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Rear Wheel - Complete

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Rear Wheel Rim
Polished
Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Front Wheel
Before

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Front Wheel Hub
Before

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Front Wheel Rim
Before

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Front Wheel Hub - Before

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Front Wheel Hub - Old Grease
Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Front Wheel Hub
Polished

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Front Wheel Rim
Polished

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Front Wheel
New Grease & Bearings

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Front Wheel
Complete

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Wheels
Complete
This weekend Jose and I are going to look for some parts for the Trek 620 at the Harper College Winter Bike Swap & Show, if your around the Chicago area check it out, it is one of the better swaps in the area.  The Swap is this Saturday January 17, 2015 from 9:30-3:00.


We found a few things need at the Harper College Winter Bike swap but still needed to find a few things.  Jose found a fantastic deal for a Helico Matic freewheel on eBay and it came with two rear hubs and a front hub, maybe something can be done with the hubs in the future.  The important thing is the freewheel is in much better shape then the old freewheel.

I installed the freewheel and the new Panaracer tires.  The Panaracer tires look fantastic installed, the perfect look for the Trek 620.

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Replacement Freewheel
& Extra Hubs


Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Front Wheel
Compelte

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Rear Wheel
Complete

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Front Wheel
Compelte

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Rear Wheel
Complete

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Wheels Complete

Next is wiring the Trek 620 and installing the handlebar tape.  I choose the silver/gray Ice gray cable housings, I think the gray is good with the frame color, it won't contrast the frame and stand out.  The blue Cinelli tape was found at the Harper College swap and I think the blue is quit stunning on the Trek 620.

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - New Bits & Pieces

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Wired

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Wired

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Handlebar Tape - Installed
 The seat is a nice Avocet Touring model.  Its a little rough but cleaned nice.  I think maybe a black Brooks would fill out the Trek 620 perfect but we can figure it out down the road a bit.

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Saddle
Installed
 Jose also found a fabulous deal on these pedals, they are in good starting shape and after some cleaning and hand polishing they look good too.

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Pedals - Before

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Pedal - Polished

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Pedals
Installed

That completes the Trek 620.  When the weather clears some hear I will test ride the Trek and make sure we solved all the worn gear and chain problems.  But until then the Trek 620 looks fantastic, it really restored nicely, a true 80's classic,

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Complete

Final photos coming alter today when the day lightens up a bit.

I am a little biased to bicycles from this era just because when I grew up and the bikes I wanted when I could not have them but I love the Trek 620.  The 620 turned out fantastic especially considering it was a little more rough then most at starting point.  The rims are amazing, better then new!  The wheels as a whole are great, the crank is beautiful even with a little wear.  The alloy and chrome have an amazing shine, I love it!!

The final photos may be a little dark being so gloomy here today and all winter.

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Complete

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Complete

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Handlebars

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Stem

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Head Tube

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Front Brake

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front Wheel Hub

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front Wheel Rim

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Stem

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Shift Levers

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front Half

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Saddle

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Seat Lug - Reynolds 531 Decal

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Drive Train

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Crank

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front Derailleur

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Rear Derailleur

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Rear Brake

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Rear Wheel Hub

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Rear Wheel Rim

Jose's 1983 Trek 620 Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Rear

Thank you everyone,
John Z.

6 comments:

  1. Looks absolutely great. I have a 1982 728 that I purchased new. It needs some paint touch up, especially at the cable holders. I also have a 1984 620 that I have been restoring/rebuilding as a 'travel bike'. I would appreciate some information about how you polished things, and how you touched up the paint. Hand polishing? Electric polishing wheel? What? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey! I have a 1984 trek 620 that i have toured on extensively. I would love to know how you did the polishing and cleaning/soaking. The bike deserves a complete rebuild!

    Thanks, peace love and trek

    Matt

    ReplyDelete
  3. Im also interested on how you polish the frame.

    ReplyDelete
  4. do you know if the decals are available anywhere, working on a 1983 620 as well.

    ReplyDelete