Finally got around to painting my 2000 VFR after reworking the mechanicals. Some pics.
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The PO did an awful rattle can job, covered up broken bits with stickers....ugly stickers. I patched up the body work, got the dumbo ear turn signals off and repainted with urethane in Tempest Gray, a Honda Hawk color that I've always liked. The decals came from Malta, the paint from TCP Global. Prepping all this bodywork, given the crappy soft silver paint, that was a LOT of work but now I can approach my bike for a ride without throwing up a little in the back of my mouth.
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The turn signals are Lockhart/Phillips from Chapparal.
I shall post a few more pics after I put the wheels back on when they dry. I painted them in a copper color this morning. I had my Honda Hawk done up the same way. My SO didn't appreciate me selling it, but we're looking to get her a EX 500 to replace it soon.
Here's some better pics of the paint job and turn signals. I also made the solo seat cowl after not finding one for less than $60+ shipping. I shaped the cowl a little lower profile than the stock item. This bike is really coming together. The wheel color quickly mellows to more of a bronze/gold in a very short time..
I am quite pleased with the paint. In a few weeks, a light once-over with a buffing wheel will really put the finish on, though I'll probably never do that...it looks great as is.
Track day coming soon.
Ok, what do you think of the wheels? My SO says she doesn't like that, but I think they look kinda sharp. If you check up on the thread you can see the color they fade to on the pic of "our" now gone Honda Hawk. Poll? Just for grins. Don Hanson
Thanks for the compliments. I agree, Honda did do a great job with all the VFRs. It's not really a customization...my modifications....more like doing some Cosmetic Surgery to enhance the existing beauty.... ...I thought the seat cowl on the Gen 5s looked a bit like a Hayabusa's. (or Barbra Streisand's nose, maybe) A little too sharp for my taste so when I made this one (mainly because I have more time than money and needed one) I made it to please MY eye rather than just copy the stock one. The Dumbo Ears turn signals I also found a bit awkward looking...to me... and since I had the epoxy and carbon fiber out already and I was itching from sanding already, I just back-filled the holes and put some more stealthy turnsignal/running lights on in place of the stock ones....
I do really like the color, more in keeping with the "Gentelman's Sportbike" personality I am coming to atribute to my VFR than the stock bright yellow of this year, or the silver sear-sucker paint the previous owner slathered on it between the patches and stickers...
Next step is some front suspension and to de-link the brakes... I miss having the option to trail brake a little in corners at warp speed and I am still uncomfortable riding downhill on gravel with the front brake linked in... I find the VFR works pretty well on unpaved smoother back roads (other than the linked brakes)....once you get used to just letting it just wander around and learn to not fear the overall weight of it and learn to trust it will actually keep it's wheels under you.... I also like the 200 mile (+/-) range on a tank of fuel..
Don Hanson
It looks great! BTW, I agree with with your SO, you should have kept the Hawk. I've always liked them. They would have made a great complimentary pair.
I like the wheel color on the bike, both new and the faded shade on the Hawk. The bike would probably look even better if you could match the decals with them.
Once the VFR came, the Hawk kind of lost it's appeal as anything other than a track bike. It was just too high-strung for a casual rider like my S.O. and I don't do enough track days to justify a specific bike just for them.
I could have just kept it as a track bike, I guess, but as long as it was ' just sitting around' my S.O. could see no reason why she should buy a more appropriate bike for her own use. Meaning: Every ride I had to worry about her endo-ing on it, or flooding the flatslides, or whether she would 'blow it' on the sketchy (really high compression, no chokes) starting proceedure and I would then have to bump start the thing for her...
So now, after some diplomatic manuevers, I'm looking for an EX 500 or something like that for her use..... a little more modern and a bit more suitable for a rider who doesn't really know or care about the 'why' or 'how' of a motorcycle...but just loves the ride after pushing the button and hearing it go..."vroom!"
I like the wheel color and very much like the cowl. You should detail how you fabbed it.
I would also like to see the second color on the wing and VFR grahics match the wheels but preferaby via the application of the current wheel color in the graphics (which, after painting is not likely) rather than trying the more gold color of the graphics on the wheel.
good job!
End of thread · 20 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 24 May 2012