Planning Paint, Need Opinions

[Damian]

Within the next month or so, I'm going to be painting my bike. I talked to some guys this weekend who said a small local shop will powdercoat wheels for $35-$55 per wheel (lowest price I'd heard of, but they swore it was true).

Anyway, I'm going to be painting my tank, front fender, and rear plastics a dark, flat blue. I'm trying to decide if I want to powdercoat the wheels black or white. The seat will be re-covered in black.

Here is what my bike looks like now (except, I've repainted the black part of the pipes).

Here is a quick mock up with the blue body and white wheels:

Same thing, black wheels:


I know the photoshop job is cartooney as hell, but any opinions on whether it looks better with the black or white?

I'm actually going to add a pair of stripes to the tank and front fender, similar to what this guy did to his Seca:


Thanks!

[Black_peter]

Quit being so lazy and just put the fairings back on..

[Damian]

Quit being so lazy and just put the fairings back on..

Oh yeah? Well...uh...I hope your new brake calipers are all screwed up!

[Black_peter]

Oh yeah!!! Well I hope you need a set of calipers and I have a freshly rebuilt set sitting on my bench!!


Oh that was cold..

Hey I've been looking for some photos to discribe this, but what about an antique look? (something I have been toying with) Wear through the top coat showing under coats, maybe even all the way to bare metal (artificially rusted?) then cleared up.. So you get that unrestored custom look..
Like this:

[Damian]

Pfft. You want that unrestored look? Let's just trade bikes and we'll both be happy!

Seriously, I do know what you're talking about, but that's a look I never really got in to. I can see the attraction to cherry-restored bikes, but the intentional "weathered" look It seems like a lot of work just to make something look..."old".

[Black_peter]

That's it!! You're shut off...

[Damian]

That's it!! You're shut off...

Oh, no. You don't shut me off! I do the off-shutting! You're shut off!

[Black_peter]

You can't shut me off.. I shut you off first!!

[steves]

[Damian]

BP, you're about to lose your Texas privileges. We'll seal the border and you'll live out the rest of your days north of the Mason-Dixon line without your bike!

Dude, the Mods are going to move this to the Lounge, then the Canadians are going to jump in with their jokes and accents and I'm never going to get any input on my powdercoating question!

[Black_peter]

OK.. *baby*
Keep me informed on your powder coat, That sounds like a good price..

OK Black_Peter's how to on concept bikes:

1. what is your guiding philosophy?
Mine is Cafe`Racers. Like the "real" choppers, these guys took of everything that didn't make the bike handle or go faster. Then mix and matched the best components. (Tritons, Triumph engines, the best, mated to Norton frames, the best..) I also want people to ask me "what is it??" then not believe me when I say "Katana.."


2. What is the bike you would most like to to look like (or what design elements would cause you to buy a bike)
Me? one example is a Ducati 851 Strada.

3. How long are you willing to wait?
I hate the exhaust on a pre98. But I haven't done anything because I want dual exhaust. (851 Strada!)
So I'm thinking, looking, plotting on how to get an better looking header while maintaining the dual exhaust. I have purchased some items but other might take years. I'm ok with that..

Summery:
*Take the elements you like. Jot them down (I use excel) and collect the images you need. For example working off the Strada image, I would choose; black forks, White rims and Silver swing arm.

*Think about a mod. Then think about it more. Then think about how you are going to do it.. Then think again. I worked on my first custom dash for weeks, looking up photos, designing the dash in AutoCAD, etc. Actually doing it took just a few hours.
I hated it. But I forced my self to "stare" at it for months. I made a list of what I hated, looked up more pictures, went back to AutoCAD, and while I still have a few issues I'm 80% happy with the current version. I've been working out what to do with the Air box for 2 years now. I have made many prototypes, thrown them all away.. Time is not on your side..

What do you want this bike to be, what do you want it to represent?

And where the hell do you live.. You have never told me..

[Damian]

I don't have a grand plan right now. I got an ugly bike (ugly in that it had seen more than a couple low-speed drops and skipped a few bike washes) because I didn't want to cry too hard if/when I drop it, figured it would save me a few bucks, and give me a chance to learn how to work on bikes. I've liked the cafe racers and "less showey" streetfighters and bobbers since I first started cruising Craigslist. I'm not too interested in making it much faster right now, it seems fast as hell to me. But I've been very attracted to the philosophy of removing all the BS that doesn't contribute to performance or function.

I liked the dual headlights and bar-end mirrors seen on some cafe racers, so I went with those. Now I've been focused on making it safe and knocking the ugly off. I think a paint job will help a lot with the latter.

I do need to get organized with my ideas and pictures. I actually spent about 45 minutes searching a few XJ sites for that picture of the Seca. I saw it once and the stripes have been stuck in my head ever since - I should have saved the picture when I saw it the first time.

Thanks for the advice!

And where the hell do you live.. You have never told me..

Allow me to quote myself from a PM to one Black_peter from yours truly on March 15, 2007:

Where in Texas are you at? I'm northwest of San Antonio

OK, yeah I guess that could include Lubbock and El Paso... I live near Bandera, about 30 minutes NW of SA.

[Black_peter]

And where the hell do you live.. You have never told me..

Allow me to quote myself from a PM to one Black_peter from yours truly on March 15, 2007:

Where in Texas are you at? I'm northwest of San Antonio

OK, yeah I guess that could include Lubbock and El Paso... I live near Bandera, about 30 minutes NW of SA.

See still I'm hearing a lot of "near to".. "over by" So I didn't know where exactly.. SO now I "kinda" know where you are
I guess we will have to meet in Fredricksberg some time..

Or there is that Harvest Classic bike show, that is near you right?

[Damian]

And where the hell do you live.. You have never told me..

Allow me to quote myself from a PM to one Black_peter from yours truly on March 15, 2007:

Where in Texas are you at? I'm northwest of San Antonio

OK, yeah I guess that could include Lubbock and El Paso... I live near Bandera, about 30 minutes NW of SA.

See still I'm hearing a lot of "near to".. "over by" So I didn't know where exactly.. SO now I "kinda" know where you are
I guess we will have to meet in Fredricksberg some time..

Or there is that Harvest Classic bike show, that is near you right?

LOL. Pipe Creek, Texas. A little turd of a town. According to Wikipedia, it had a population of 66 in 1990 - and that number seems a little high to me. That's why I have to use all the "nears".

And because I have a little piece of trivia that I picked up from an article the other day that I'll never have another opportunity to use, I'll tell you how this backwater burg was saddled with the Pipe Creek name. The creek and town that sprung up around it came to be known as Pipe Creek because some schmuck in the 1800's lost an iron pipe in the damn creek.

I've never heard of the Harvest Bike Classic, but I've only recently tuned in to anything bike related. So it could have been a monthly event held in my kitchen and I might not have noticed.

[Black_peter]

Wow.. Thats a big kitchen...