Modding the new bike- Stickers, PlastiDip, and other insanity...

[FacePalm]

Well, got her last week. New/Used with 3k miles in pristine condition. Original owner was an LAPD Motorcycle cop. He added lotsa good stuff when he bought it this summer-
-Givi crash bars
-Yami Skid pan, air deflectors, panniers, & headlight protector
-TouraTech brake pedal

I've got Jesse Odyssey II Panniers & Vstream sport windshield on order, and Fiamm Freeway Blasters sitting in a box.

I have this sickness wherein I love to farkle almost as much as I love to ride, soooo...

1st things that always go are the stickers- Yellow Tenere nose stickers & tank warning sticker GONE!

Next up, a little PlastiDip treatment. I've decided to black out as much of the bike as possible. For those that are not familiar, PlastiDip is spray-on rubber originally designed to coat the gripping surfaces of tools. They started selling it in spray cans & someone got the bright idea to paint their car/bike/dog with it, and now there's this mini-cult thing going on with it. Google if curious.
Starting slow I picked off a few of the more ugly silver bits- the two small metal shields near the pegs, the ButtFugly exhaust cover, and the wind deflectors.
So I pulls them off, cleans them up, and gets to sprayin'.

After many several coats, and several many more, they start to look presentable. The "WindWings", as they foreverafter shall be known, get sprayed on both sides. The other three are coated on the outside only. Since the windwings are smooth plastic, I notice the plastidip doesnt adhere as well, but I manage to make it work. As it dries, the "dip" attains a rough, rubbery texture that looks nice.

Pics of the items installed...

We'll see how it holds up. The plates above the pegs are high-wear areas, but the coating seemed to adhere best to them. The exhaust cover is high-heat, so curious about that as well. The wings are a smooth surface, so we'll see about that to.

Plan to get 3M reflective YAMAHA logos for the nose area on each side, as well as some other reflective badging. Stealth black 3M reflective tape will be used liberally yet tastefully.

Much more to come...
::008::
-Face

 

[kenbike]

Looks much better, some guys have had sprayed with truck bed liner and that holds up very well.

 

[terrysig]

not so sure about the wings (to each his own) but the aluminum shields near both pegs look great and seem to match the paint/texture of the swing arm?

I see some wear on mine when using motocross boots but like the fact that they can just be repainted.

Well done and thanks for the idea.

 

[STPanther]

I was very skeptical about dipping on vehicles, but my 17 yr old son recently dipped the chrome badges on his VW GTI black and it actually looks nice. I actually like the stealthy look and your bike looks good. There is half a can left so I may spray some of the silver bits on my moto now. Thanks for sharing and enjoy your moto.

 

[gbergma1]

Rear sub frame came off in about an hour...I was able to take it to a local guy who powder coated it matte black for 100 bucks. I agree with you, the silver stuff has to go.

 

[JaimeV]

Well i have the same sickness … : (see my bike “slightly” farkled: http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=4157.msg114485#msg114485 )

I paint the subframe and other silver parts an look great but the silver OEM metal shields near the pegs but my MX boots scratched very soon so I’ve changed from some Touratech ones, I hope your paint last more than mine.

By the way, your bike looks great! ::012::

 

[mingo]

Looks better! Let's see the exhaust cover! ::008::

 

[FacePalm]

Thanks Guys,

Well, after a nice little 240 mile round trip through the mountains, the lower guards are scuffed up & have started to peel. The windwings & exhaust guard are holding up great. I think I will look into either coating them with bed-liner or maybe picking up the TouraTech guards.

More pics & info to come...

 

[Bundu]

Looks better! Let's see the exhaust cover! ::008::

^this

 

[JaimeV]

Thanks Guys,

Well, after a nice little 240 mile round trip through the mountains, the lower guards are scuffed up & have started to peel. The windwings & exhaust guard are holding up great. I think I will look into either coating them with bed-liner or maybe picking up the TouraTech guards.

More pics & info to come...

The Touratech work fine but in a while they lost the paint as well. I've solved putting the same decals I have to protect the tank. You can see it is a bit scratched but I ride a lot with it.
I’m using this material in a lot of places (see red arrows), I like the look and protects the paint a lot.

 

[FacePalm]

Looks better! Let's see the exhaust cover! ::008::

More pics as promised...

::022::

 

[FacePalm]

One thing I've noticed with the PlastiDip is that it shows scuffs/dirt more than a coat of paint. I think its due to its more porous properties as compared to paint. The upside to the dip is that it is easily removed, pretty much just peels off supposedly. I just bought some Rustoleum spray on bed liner and will try this on the guards next.

JaimeV: Love what you've done to your bike! I've been watching your threads closely for the last few months- you had me convinced on getting a white S10 and I actually went to my local dealer to order one. Funny part is they kinda ignored me when I told them what I wanted to do. The sales manager brushed past me and said he'd rather sell me one of the bikes they had on the floor. Ended up finding mine a day later on Craig'sList. I guess they really didnt want to make a sale.

Anywhoo, more picks to come as I also attempt the Driver's seat "tilt" mod.

 

[Bundu]

One thing I've noticed with the PlastiDip is that it shows scuffs/dirt more than a coat of paint. I think its due to its more porous properties as compared to paint.
/snip

would they not wash off? I was under the impression the PlastiDip stuff is washable

 

[FacePalm]

It is washable.
If you notice from the first picture of the exhaust cover, those smudges are from handling with semi-clean hands. It wipes down cleanly tho with soap & water.

Actually, it seems that once this stuff cures, its pretty stout. I think part of the reason its peeling/ gouged is because I applied it about 15 hours before I went on that ride, and it was a cold night. The instructions call for a 24 hour cure time, so I was prolly too rough too early. The windwings (the smoothest surface) seem really well cured and very durable.
::008::

 

[Bundu]

thanks!
I would imagine the durability would also depend on the number of layers sprayed on

 

[tpak]

It is washable.
If you notice from the first picture of the exhaust cover, those smudges are from handling with semi-clean hands. It wipes down cleanly tho with soap & water.

Actually, it seems that once this stuff cures, its pretty stout. I think part of the reason its peeling/ gouged is because I applied it about 15 hours before I went on that ride, and it was a cold night. The instructions call for a 24 hour cure time, so I was prolly too rough too early. The windwings (the smoothest surface) seem really well cured and very durable.
::008::

I like this idea for the wingdings as you call them. I have some on my mine installed by the original owner so I'm not sure how much they really help with wind etc. That being said during the summer I found the glare from them annoying as all get out - it may just be my height and riding position - I'm sure they are fine for others. I have been contemplating a very fine sanding and black spray paint to get rid of the glare - or I may do this or just remove them and see how things are without them.

 

[FacePalm]

I like this idea for the wingdings as you call them. I have some on my mine installed by the original owner so I'm not sure how much they really help with wind etc. That being said during the summer I found the glare from them annoying as all get out - it may just be my height and riding position - I'm sure they are fine for others. I have been contemplating a very fine sanding and black spray paint to get rid of the glare - or I may do this or just remove them and see how things are without them.

I've read similar complaints about sun glare from the wingdings/windwings ;D That and the fact that I think they look MUCH better blacked out was my motivation. They are easy to remove so I'd try a freeway ride without them first. I happen to think they work great.

Next up...

::007::

 

[FacePalm]

So in my quest to make this bike LOOK as BadA$$ as it rides, I am eliminating as much of the cheesy looking silver bits as possible...on a limited budget.

Paint being semi-permanent, I wanted to experiment elsewhere and try PlastiDip due to the fact that it is durable & easily removable. So far it seems to work well in low-wear areas, but for rugged use I need something else.

RustOleum makes a spray-on bed liner that I wanted to try, and it comes in any color you want as long as its black. I wanted black, so I guess I lucked out.

So after I yanked all the silver bits off, the first step was to remove the idiot stickers-

Luckily for me Yamaha uses nuclear grade adhesive, so the old hair-dryer trick must be followed by the old Goo-Gone trick.

Stickers gone, the parts get a thorough cleaning in the kitchen sink, then a soothing rubdown with some 0000 steel wool to rough the surface, then another thorough cleaning.
I know, I know- this is now a permanent mod, unlike the PlastiDip, but the silver really looks like Ass so no reservations there.

Next up: Spray-Spray-Spray

 

[FacePalm]

So after applying several coats, and letting each dry in the warm SoCal sun, a few things have become apparent:

1. A large spray can of RustOleum, costing upwards of $8, does not go very far.
2. The texture, once dry, is similar to fine-grit sandpaper.

Knowing this, it may not be the best stuff for the passenger grab handles, or anything that may contact your sensitive bits. Of course, we all ALWAYS ATGATT, so not really an issue, right? ::008::

...and just for reference, the rear of the S10 with almost everything removed...

So now I get to relive my time in the Military and practice my "hurry up & wait" skills whilst I enjoy watching the paint dry.
::014::

 

[DubbleJay]

Cant wait to see how this looks... Headed to a Line-X guy tonight for some quotes for a similar project.