So I painted my Ninja...

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Wolfe

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...I had finally had enough of that garish red and purple scheme, and I promised to myself that if I could keep my bike upright all through 2007, I'd reward myself with a new paint job and new fairing pieces. Well, I did it, so I picked up a new upper fairing, tail piece, and turn signals off of eBay and went to my uncle for help. He has an automotive repair shop and sometimes paints his own vehicles, so we worked together over last weekend when the shop was closed.

Because I had my uncle help me and because I worked with him (both wetsanding and polishing the bodywork by hand), the painting part of the project only cost about $50, plus breakfast and a few beers. :cheers: The upper fairing was over $270, while the tail piece and turn signals were both about $20.

I don't have any pics of the painting process, but I do have some from the middle of the rebuilding process.

Before:
250rsidesmallig0.jpg


After:
250ryard1rt0.jpg


Rebuilding:



Just today:




This is going to be a great riding season... :)
 
It looks really clean but I can't see what colour it is, I'm guessing it's some shade of blue though (slight colour blindness). Are you planning on painting the wheels black at all or leaving them their original colour?
 
Thanks. :) It's a medium-light blue; it doesn't have an official name to my knowledge, just the code BS420.

I'm going to paint the wheels black eventually, but the purple matches the blue well enough that I'm not too worried about it at the moment. When I paint them, I'll probably just do a quickie rattlecan job.
 
I like the red and purple better. The blue looks out of place or something.

Are you going to change out those purple wheels?
 
Terribly Sorry, but the standard colors look sooo much better on the ZZR...
 
All you need is some nice big 'Police' decals down the sides now. ;)
 
I saw a Miata a while back that color, with two guys riding together.

Just sayin' :odd:


Actually, I like blue, I just think a little darker would be nice. But then people would think it was a Yamaha.
 
I vote for a nice bronze color on the wheels. Other than that, I like the color. It looks a lot cleaner without those stickers. Nice work. 👍
 
Although I’m not a fan of the original color so much, I'm just not sure about the single color. The blue is fine, I just think it needs some kind of finishing touch.

We have a guy here that makes custom vinyl graphics and putting a one of a kind design on your bike would do it wonders.
 
ROAD_DOGG33J
That would be sweet...if he was 12 years old.
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If he was 12, he wouldn't have this bike, which means he wouldn't have painted it, which means he wouldn't have created this thread, which means I wouldn't have had the chance to suggest that. But we can't change these circumstances now can we?
 
HACKr
If he was 12, he wouldn't have this bike, which means he wouldn't have painted it, which means he wouldn't have created this thread, which means I wouldn't have had the chance to suggest that. But we can't change these circumstances now can we?
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But then he could put one on his folder or notebook ;)
 
Thanks everyone. :) A few responses to your suggestions...

@3-Wheel Drive -- After I had taken the bike apart, I noticed that the taillight cluster's left and right "compartments" were unused. I was considering converting them into turn signals until I did a bit of research and learned that federal law mandates that turn signals be at least 9" apart, a distance the taillight cluster can't provide. I could modify the stock units (making them clear), or not give a crap about the law and modify the taillight, but I think the signals look fine as-is.

@wfooshee -- Actually, I had originally envisioned a deeper blue, like so, but my uncle forgot to warn me that the paint turns out about two shades brighter than the color cards at the paint shop. It's alright, though, because the bike still looks great. This color is a better match for gloss, too; we would have needed to go for metallic to get the most out of that deeper blue.

The way I see it, the fact that the color ended up a bit different from what I wanted adds character to the bike. :)

@Stickers/graphics -- I'm still thinking about whether or not I want to put any back on; my uncle advised me to wait two weeks before doing so anyway, and that'll be this upcoming weekend. I think the bike looks great without them, but they would also add more contrast (a property I admire in car and bike design). If I add any, they'll be black for sure.

@Bronze wheels -- Awesome suggestion, guys. I hadn't thought of that option, and I think it would look pretty sweet. 👍 It's either this or black. I just don't know when I'll get around to it. :lol:
 
High-Test
Paint "POLIZEI" in white on it. :D

Looks top notch. Good job! 👍👍
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I wonder what the laws are regarding impersonating foreign cops? :dopey:

@Wolfe: How wide is the whole tail? It looks like you could put huggers on the sides of the tail itself, as your stalks don't stick out much further. Either way, I'd go clear to match the front better.
 

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