[The CyberPoet]

Duh! I forgot the obvious:

Good looking gear!
A pretty bike doesn't make up for a scraggly rider... good gear is a good way to upgrade the "total" image.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[suzukisportrider2004]

new taillight and front turnsignals and a smoked screen, paint the swingarm and lowers

[Black_peter]

Pre 98 bodywork??

I've heard that before -- that pre-98 bodywork strapped to the outside of the 98+ models make good frame sliders... I've just never been willing to test it. Maybe Jason would test it for us?

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

oh.....
Both of those comments were cold...

[WildKat]

Please dont give him any ideas for the rally

[slayergsxf1]

No front fender ,Humm doesnt look that bad,keep the beer can frame slider though! actually pop a beer open ,(if your able to,21 and all) and look at the bike for a while and ideas will come. Make the bike yours.It appears to me you dont really have far to go.

[h382]

Well, now I got a nice scratch on the side of the bike from falling over I just recently posted about.. It could have been worse, but, it's about 1 inch thick and about 4 inches long. I think it hurt me more than it hurt the bike.

Wonder how easy that is to cover up.. It was custom painted by someone in Ohio from the previous owner. Not sure what color that is to have a body shop try and match it.. How good are they at doing that?

[The CyberPoet]

Not sure what color that is to have a body shop try and match it.. How good are they at doing that?

Unfortunately, custom colors can be hard to match perfectly by anyone less than a truly skilled painter. A typical automotive paint supplier should be able to match the color in general (using computer color matching systems that scan the old piece), but such issues as the amount of hardner in the paint mix will alter the colors slightly (think shades or tones of the same color), and different paint mixtures & different brands will tend to age at different rates (i.e. - fade from solar exposure at different rates).

Flakes, pearls and other special treatments are also a real PIA to try to match, because not only do you have to match the color and type, you have to match the density/spread of the effect.

Some colors are less susceptible to have problems matching than others (example: a canary yellow is a lot easier to match than a platinum steel gray with metal flake), in part because of the paint and in part because of how well the eye differentiates shades and tones within certain spectrums. Light & metalic blues, greys, various blacks, various whites tend to be very easy to distinguish very minor difference in tones even at a distance; non-candy Reds, yellows and burgundies tend to be more forgiving. Greens & non-metallic blues can go either way (darker is more forgiving usually)

One of the primary reasons people tend to stick with stock paint colors is that they know they can match it almost perfectly at a later time simply by buying from the same vendor. If the original painter is in your area, you might want to see if you can track him down. Otherwise, you may want to consider the obvious choices:
(A) Live with it;
(B) repaint the whole piece (or entire bike) however you want; OR
(C) Find decal work or an air-brush paint scheme that will readily cover it up and still fit in with the rest of the bike.

A lot of people on KR have taken to learning how to prep and paint their bikes, and if you pay close attention to the tips from those who did good write-ups, you can get very excellent results painting the entire bike, provided your location is good for it (i.e. - low humidity rates, not lots of dust or bugs blowing around).

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[SweetLou]

the beer can slider idea?

yes,he has the best ideas.lol

What can I say. Ever since I started drinking, I have felt that Beer has raised my IQ by atleast 26 points. I think I must be up to about a IQ of 83 by now!!!

Did you know they make 16oz beer cans down here... thats right, EVEN MORE PROTECTION!!!!!

[The CyberPoet]

Did you know they make 16oz beer cans down here... thats right, EVEN MORE PROTECTION!!!!!

You taint been here in the south long enough... we have 32, 33.8 (1 liter), 40 and 44 ounce cans too! You also get 4 and 5 liter cans of some of the European imports



Totally unrelated online-dating early warning signs

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet