Ugly Betty, got a make over...or rather ugly Barbie got a make over!
#1
Ugly Betty, got a make over...or rather ugly Barbie got a make over!
This is the Barbie Deam Machine that I bought 2 months ago for $800...it didn't run because it had been sitting for over a year...I assumed it only need the carbs cleaned...I was right...regardless, for $800, I figured, I couldn't go wrong...it had a clean title...
I took the carbs to a shop to have them cleaned, while I got a few body parts so the maier side fairings would fit right...got a few more pieces (ie. seat cowl, windscreen, new shift pedal, petcock, turnsignals/license bracket, etc....little things). While the carbs were being soaked and cleaned, I took the pieces to a paint shop to see about getting the pink Barbie Bike painted Silver....After the guy told me how much, I picked myself off the floor (he told me 2500-3500). I remembered people talking about painting their bikes with spray paint (rattle can)...not a fan, but, at 2500-3500 to get the bike "professionally" painted, I was going to give it a shot...I went and picked up a dozen cans of rust-o-leum metallic silver and a dozen cans of clear coat and I started to paint...I'm not a fan of solid color bikes; I wanted some graphics to set the bike off. I had seen a bike with a graphic decal set from tapeworks.com...I called them and ordered a complete set for my F2. This was the biggest purchase, not including the bike.
BTW it was the carbs...the bike needs a tune-up or carb sync because it runs a little rough at idle, but it runs pretty damn nice..
This is the result of my rattle can job...I'm a fan of the results. Hell, anything would be better than the Barbie Dream Machine...plus, if you add everything up, I spent less than $1500...
I took it for it's maiden voyage, today...what a blast...All my wife said was "It runs?"...I think she was hoping it wouldn't..oh well, she'll have to live with it...
I took the carbs to a shop to have them cleaned, while I got a few body parts so the maier side fairings would fit right...got a few more pieces (ie. seat cowl, windscreen, new shift pedal, petcock, turnsignals/license bracket, etc....little things). While the carbs were being soaked and cleaned, I took the pieces to a paint shop to see about getting the pink Barbie Bike painted Silver....After the guy told me how much, I picked myself off the floor (he told me 2500-3500). I remembered people talking about painting their bikes with spray paint (rattle can)...not a fan, but, at 2500-3500 to get the bike "professionally" painted, I was going to give it a shot...I went and picked up a dozen cans of rust-o-leum metallic silver and a dozen cans of clear coat and I started to paint...I'm not a fan of solid color bikes; I wanted some graphics to set the bike off. I had seen a bike with a graphic decal set from tapeworks.com...I called them and ordered a complete set for my F2. This was the biggest purchase, not including the bike.
BTW it was the carbs...the bike needs a tune-up or carb sync because it runs a little rough at idle, but it runs pretty damn nice..
This is the result of my rattle can job...I'm a fan of the results. Hell, anything would be better than the Barbie Dream Machine...plus, if you add everything up, I spent less than $1500...
I took it for it's maiden voyage, today...what a blast...All my wife said was "It runs?"...I think she was hoping it wouldn't..oh well, she'll have to live with it...
#3
#6
RE: Ugly Betty, got a make over...or rather ugly Barbie got a make over!
I live on MD's Eastern shore, and he was the only person near me that was willing to paint it...I was expecting 500-800 to paint it, but I was WRONG....I took a two weeks to fit and prep the pieces...I did a piece at a time, until I painted it...once the pieces were painted (color and clear coat), I polish compounded everything (this took a few days), a friend that helped me get the bike, asked if I had it painted, I told him the story and that I did it...he asked how...I told him with spray paint...he laughed...he came over a few days after (our discussion) and he couldn't believe that I used spray paint...I'm actually impressed, it turned out alot better than I though it would...