it looks good

 

Its nice, I like it!!!

 

looks great. i've been wanting to do something like this for a long time now but was afraid of the turn out. now that I see yours, I may just give my idea a try.

what type of vinyl did you use?
where did you get it?
and does it come in different colors other than black?

I have a ton of questions about this so I hope that you can indulge me.

so you put the vinyl on and 'cut' into it when its on the bike with the blade?

is there a way you can mount the vinyl mark off your design and then take it off to cut? or does that just not work very well?

sorry for all the questions. just thought your bike looked great. and would like to see my bike look the way I've been envisioning it.

 

also...when you did the sides of the headlights, did you have to remove the headlights? how did you get the vinyl into the crack between the lens and fairing?

do you have pictures of how it looks on the backside of the cowl? I'm mainly concerned with if you wrapped the edge in vinyl or did you just cut it off there at the edge between the front and backside.

 

IN REPLY TO SMARTERBEN:

Thanks for the complements. I liked the way it turned out too. To answer a few of your questions......

- I used Vinyl that comes in 2 foot wide rolls that you usually get at graphics shops. Find a place that does window tinting and vinyl graphics. They should sell you some vinyl for cheap. I got it from a local shop and they only charged me $5 for a 2x4 foot piece. Trust me, you'll make MANY mistakes, so get AT LEAST a 2x4 foot piece.

- Yes, it comes in any color you can imagine. They even have a really REALLY realistic looking carbon fiber vinyl that is more expensive than solid colors, but it looks very realistic. They even have metallic vinyl that looks like metallic paint from a car.

The way I did my design was pretty simple. Every piece with the exception of the center buldge I did like this.....

Use electrical tape, clear tape, masking tape, etc. to mask off and "create" the design onto the bike. Mask the shape of the graphic you want to put there. Overlap the tape, and when completed, pull the tape off in one piece. Then transfer that onto the vinyl backing (remember that the vinyl is stick-backed....kind of like a regular sticker, BUT it goes on different, I'll explain that later on.)

After you stick your "designed tape" onto the back of the vinyl, trace the rough design onto it, and cut it out. Doing this will "mirror" the graphic, so test it on the opposite side you designed from. Meaning: If you masked the design on the left, it's now mirrored to go on the right. You'll know what I mean when you get to this point.

Hold the rough piece and trim if nessesary. Get it perfect. Once you get that done, trace the finished piece onto another piece of vinyl. Now that image is mirrored to fit on the left. Cool how that works. lol.

Once your pleased with it, pull the backing off, revealing the sticky backed side of the vinyl. Make sure that you cleaned (VERY VERY CLEAN) the area you're going to apply the vinyl onto. I used foam glass cleaner and a soft cloth. Next, you have to mix up some soapy water and put it into a squirt bottle. Lightly mist the soapy water onto the clean area. Then place the vinyl onto it.

Now, you notice that you can move and position the piece around, so it's forgiving. Get it in the right place, take a soft cloth, and start rubbing the vinyl piece to squeeze out the soapy water. The more and more you go over the vinyl, the more it'll stick to the paint. I usually finish with a blow dryer to heat the vinyl and make sure there's no bubbles. This will take some time, so be patient.

Now, flat surfaces are easy to do. BUT cured surfaces (like the edges of the headlight) are a pain. So I did the above, cut my pieces out, got them right, put them on and squeezed a little bit of the vinyl so it stuck, but not permanently. Then I took the hairdryer and forced it to conform to the contour of the bike. After it sticks pretty good, I usually go over the entire thing to make sure it's perfect.

Now, this all sounds hard, but trust me, that's why you get extra vinyl. I re-did the sides of the headlights about 3 times on one side before I really got the hang of it, then the rest was cake.

---------NOW---------

As for the middle hump, I couldn't get a piece cut that would fit right from all the curves, so I just pressed on a large piece, squeezed and blow-dryed it all down. Once satisfied with it, I masked the lines I was going to cut with masking tape. I got a very sharp razor blade, and lightly scored the vinyl in the shape I wanted it.

WARNING: You are most likely going to score the paint underneath by doing this. So if I take off my vinyl, I'll have two small score scractches on my paint. Not a huge deal, but it will most likely score your paint too, no matter how careful you are. Just to let you know.

About the sides of the upper cowl. Yes, I did wrap the vinyl a

 

Very nice work!! Thanks for the tips too.

 

Just wondering, where did you buy your HID lights?

 

I bought them from an eBay store. There are a few people here on the forum that sell newer models. I paid $119 bucks for two bulbs, ballasts and ignitors. The drawback to the price is the fact that they're generic (but claim to use high end parts) and the ballasts and ignitors are FREAKING HUGE! The newer models (usually $100-$150 more per kit) have the ignitor built-in and the ballasts are much smaller.

But, being the cheap bastard I am, I went with the cheaper ones just to give them a try, and they're incredible (so far).

Being the ballasts are so big, I had to locate them in the compartment under the rear seat. They "just" fit into the sides. I had to make custom harnesses to re-locate them to the "trunk" area. Not hard at all, just time consuming. When you're done, you feel very accomplished, which is what I get high off of. LOL!

I'm compiling a very detailed write-up for people with BBS (big ballast syndrom) with pictures, custom harness details and so on. I'll get the write up posted as soon as I can.

Here's the link: http://stores.ebay.com/HID-Outdoor-E...QQftidZ2QQtZkm

SUGGESTION: I found out that a motorcycle kit is actually 1 bulb, 1 ballast and 1 ignitor. You will want to get the car kit version to do both bulbs. They're the same components, but the motorcycle kit is only for 1 headlight. - Just to let you know so you don't make the same mistake I did.

 

damn...that looks awesome as hell. id love to do somthing like that but i dont have the abilty to do so..lol i kno id mess it up..haha but i give u props man..looks good

 

Honestly, I've never used vinyl in my entire life before this project. Just buy a few extra feet of the stuff, and play with it. It's NOT permanent, and you can remove it at anytime you want. That's the great thing about it. If anything, you'll discover a hidden talent you never knew you had. Go for it, if it turn out horribly, try try again. If you still can't get it, then take it to a shop and have them do it.

I tried, and saved myself $140.00 that the shop was going to charge me to do it. (and I KNOW they wouldn't take the time or care that I took). Honestly, it only cost me $10.00 worth of black vinyl, a few hours of time, a squirt bottle full of soapy water, soft cloth and a hairdryer.

GO FOR IT! If you need any help, let me know. I just know that I take pride knowing NO OTHER 600RR out there has this look.....(well, at least not yet anyways) And even then, it would flatter me that someone liked it enough to put it on their bike.