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Myrtleblast
| Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 - 05:09 pm: |
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http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q118/breyona3/m ybuell.jpg Ok. So here is my new to me blast. A stock 05' in blue. I want the bike to look like it came out of the Mad Maxx movies. I don't know the first thing about working on bikes as this is my first one, but I hope I can figure things out. The first thing I'll be doing is putting on new bars. I just ordered a black street-fighter style handlebar and will hopefully have it installed by this Saturday. The biggest thing I'm going to need help on is the painting part. I've read through a lot of the forums and think I have a good idea of what to do, but would like some input from you guys before I get started. I'll first tackle the headlight fairing as it is the easiest to remove and I can still ride my bike in the event I screw it up too bad. OK. let me know if this sounds right. 1. remove the fairing. 2. wash the part in simple green and very hot water. 3. scruff up the surface with a piece of steelwool and Comet house cleaner. 4. rinse and let dry. 5. apply flat black paint in light even coats. maybe 7 or 8. I hope this is all I need to do. Also, does anyone have any recommendations for the brand and type of paint I should use? Thanks in advance!!! |
Gearheaderiko
| Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 - 05:33 pm: |
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Welcome MyrtleBlast! My first question is why not just acquire some black bodywork? Black in poor condition should be easy to find. (I think I still have an extra black tank cover-maybe trade for some blue parts?) Krylon fusion paint works well. My opinion is not to use Simple Green, Comet and steel wool. The Comet and steel wool will probably hide in the small scratches you create and the simple green may also not come off completely.Light sanding (wet or dry) should be enough and wash with soap. Sanding might not even be necessary with the Fusion paint. While I havent painted Blast bodywork, I've painted other smooth plastic (IE race fairings) and they've come out nicely without sanding. If you dont get a response, do a Badweb search and e-mail the people directly for advice. It could save you time in the long run. |
Imadreadhead
| Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 - 05:37 pm: |
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Hey Myrtle...I live in Myrtle Beach..lets get together sometime..and ill help you with your blast wutangflav@yahoo.com Cobie |
Imadreadhead
| Posted on Monday, February 18, 2008 - 05:39 pm: |
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Did you buy the Blue Blast at Myrtle Beach Harley in Barefoot landing? I was looking at that one the other day. |
Myrtleblast
| Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 - 10:28 am: |
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yeah, thats the one I got... |
Leashrn
| Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2008 - 09:29 pm: |
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Have a handle bar question. Can I replace the bars that came stock on my 2001 with stock bars for an XB12S. Is this what is known as the 'streetfighter'? Want a lower bar, my husband calls my bars 'baby ape hangers'. Any help would be well, helpful. |
Gearheaderiko
| Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - 09:02 am: |
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If you get the bars cheap they will probably fit, as long as they are 7/8" bars (which they probably are). However, 'superbike' bars from ChaparralMotorsports.com are very cheap, come in chrome or black (last I checked) and fit. |
Leashrn
| Posted on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 - 03:03 pm: |
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THANK YOU Gearhead! Will try those. |
Slowhand96
| Posted on Thursday, February 21, 2008 - 05:08 pm: |
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Myrtleblast I'm in total agreement with Erik. If you are going to paint it anyway scrounge up some used and abused plastic on the cheap, try Ebay, scratched stuff is on there going cheap all the time. Black plastic seems plentiful blue is rare. Sell the blue or save it to put back on when it comes time to sell, you might even make a profit on the deal. |
Ezblast
| Posted on Thursday, February 21, 2008 - 11:17 pm: |
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Cut the super-bike bars down 3" total (1 1/2" per side) - you'll love the difference even more and even with bar end mirrors you can easily split lanes. Myrtle - Post a pic or three - sure like to see it finished. EZ (Message edited by ezblast on February 21, 2008) |
Myrtleblast
| Posted on Friday, February 22, 2008 - 11:39 pm: |
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slowhand, thanks for the advice. I'll give it some thought. everyone else seems to like the blue also and tell me not to paint it. we'll see. after looking through the pics thread, I've come to the conclusion that A LOT of people have blacked out blasts. That's not a bad thing, but i found this pic and would love to incorporate this color scheme onto my blast. http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q118/breyona3/s ilvertheme2.jpg I've been doing some crude photoshop work, but the problem i'm running into is there is too much black on the engine. it just doesn't look right. I got my new bars today and dred will be helping me put em' on. I'll post pics sometime tomorrow night. |
Myrtleblast
| Posted on Friday, February 22, 2008 - 11:52 pm: |
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I'm horrible at photoshop, but here is as far i got with it. is it possible to paint the back brake calipur like that?
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Maximum
| Posted on Saturday, February 23, 2008 - 12:26 am: |
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I believe that you need special caliper paint...I saw some in the auto parts store the other day, but don't know what colors are available. |
Slowhand96
| Posted on Saturday, February 23, 2008 - 12:56 am: |
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Myrtleblast Thanks for the thanks, but I was just echoing what Erik said. He made a good offer to trade you the blue for a black set. Black sets command highest buck. My experience with painting the plastic body parts is that the paint flakes or scratches off kinda easy so it is a good thing if the plastic underneath is close in color to the paint. I like the look you are going for. Thats one of the best things about a blast. Around here they are almost like snowflakes, no two are alike. I don't see any reason that you can't paint that caliper, then again... I'm no expert. White? I thought your bike was blue? |
Berkshire
| Posted on Saturday, February 23, 2008 - 01:21 am: |
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I've had good results with using regular engine enamel on (heavily used/abused!) automotive brake calipers. Way cheaper than caliper paint and way more colors. I think caliper paint is just a scam to rip off the "fast & furious" (rice & ridiculous) crowd. Somewhere here there is a pic of a yellow Blast with red highlights, including red wheels with polished lips, similar to the black rear wheel above (done w/ plain glossy paint and holding up fine). Yellow/polished wheels on a silver bike might look pretty good, but... how to paint the motor? Probably take a lot of work to do a good job. |
Myrtleblast
| Posted on Sunday, February 24, 2008 - 02:14 pm: |
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thanks for the posts guys. Just my got streetbars in and installed yesterday (thanx dred). It's a little cloudy today, plus my bar ends should be in tomorrow, so I'll hopefully get up some pics then. slowhand, that pic above isn't my bike. it's a pic i snagged off of here. sorry, can't remember who. But the bike was yellow as well as the back half of the seat. I just like how he (or she) painted the spring yellow so I been photoshopping it to try different looks. as far as the paint scratching off easily; did you clear coat it? I'm thinking of putting on a lot of layers of clearcoat. 10 or 12. That might help protect the paint. |
Myrtleblast
| Posted on Sunday, March 02, 2008 - 09:50 pm: |
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Ok.Took forever but here are some pics of my new mirrors and grips. I hope to have my V&H exhaust on this weekend. I'll post more pics after the exhaust install. I love the traction grips from buell. One piece of advice though, don't use KY jelly to slip the new grips on. It's too slippery and the left grip rotates as much as the throttle!!!!!
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Myrtleblast
| Posted on Sunday, March 02, 2008 - 10:48 pm: |
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here's a close-up of the "chocolate milk leak". I noticed it after riding hard on a highway for about a half hour. It appears to be coming out of the silver nipple looking thing with the rubber hose attached to it. Any idea's on what it could be from?
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Ezblast
| Posted on Sunday, March 02, 2008 - 10:58 pm: |
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EPA spigot turned away from carb - just wipe out the air box every now and again. EZ |