Jacko
Grey Hound
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2006
- Messages
- 6,134
- Reaction score
- 41
- Location
- Denver, Colorado
- Bike
- Hildebrand & Wolfmuller (all models)
Ag ja, what can I say? I got bored with Raka’s look. Ek het weer die ‘Geit’ gekry.
As some may know, I started with a bit of a ‘kustom’ job on the HP2 earlier this year. So-called ‘friends’ led me astray and I soon believed that one could paint and pimp your own plastic with Krylon paint. Well, some might have seen the results. At first it looked good. But the finish was quite matt/dull and it was porous, meaning that smudge marks got imbedded in the paint. It also reacted with petrol and soon the stuff started coming off.
I also started dabbing in vinyl decals, convincing myself that I could pull it off.
Then, one day, I had to admit that my bike started to resemble a ‘hond se hol’. It was time for serious changes.
I started phoning around and realised that, because I knew exactly what I wanted (no surprise there, then) it made sense to go to a normal car panel beating/spray shop. I mean, what’s the difference between a car’s plastic bumper and an HP2’s plastic?
To cut a long story short, I got a good, professional paintjob done for the price of three cans of Krylon. I kid you not. Yes, I had to spend two days getting the shit off my bike’s plastic (oven cleaner and elbow grease works), not to mention disassembling everything and kind of working out where every screw, clip, washer or whatever had to go when I put everything back together again.
This is what an HP2 looks like, sans bodywork. As you can see, it consists of a big 1200cc Boxer engine and drive train, tall suspension, lots of blue tubing and even more cable ties. And that’s basically it.
I also got hold of a guy called Nik (he’s an enduro rider) in Table View, courtesy of AntonW, the legendary Snoremeister. Not only were his prices very reasonable, but he was friendly and sharp-sharp quick. He even had the HP2 logo ‘on file’ already. If you want decals/graphics made for your boney, give him a call on 082 895 6285.
So today I got everything together and starterd assembling the panels. I had two sets of two different designs made – the HP2 ‘Megamoto’ theme and another, based on that of the 450X, consisting of a fuck-off big blue ‘BMW’ decal. I might try that out too.
But for now the ‘Megamoto’ look makes me chuffed. In the flesh it looks even more ‘Groovy baby, yeah!’ than a few cellphone shots could ever do justice.
Moral of the story? There are a couple:
1. Do it professionally the first time.
2. Shop around for paint jobs – automotive spray painters are more reasonable than you’d think. I paid 25% less for the total paint job that what I did three years ago to just paint my 1200GSs beak and the little piece of plastic around the fuel cap, also plain white, at a ‘bike paint shop’ in Cape Town.
3. The more you do yourself (stripping and transporting of parts) the more you can save.
There are, I am excited to say, a few other ‘developments’ in the offing. Tomorrow I’m having a very exotic bit of bespoke kit fitted at Fidel, Jan & Martin’s KSP (Kak Serious Performance) Engineering.
Topbox has yet to let me know when my Hyde frame protectors will arrive and Niku, the fellow HP2 aficionado is busy making me and Scalpel some really sexy screens with built-in mounting points for GPSs. Being an architect, his work is of a very high standard.
And now for a MP yellow rear shock, new internals for the forks and....
As some may know, I started with a bit of a ‘kustom’ job on the HP2 earlier this year. So-called ‘friends’ led me astray and I soon believed that one could paint and pimp your own plastic with Krylon paint. Well, some might have seen the results. At first it looked good. But the finish was quite matt/dull and it was porous, meaning that smudge marks got imbedded in the paint. It also reacted with petrol and soon the stuff started coming off.
I also started dabbing in vinyl decals, convincing myself that I could pull it off.
Then, one day, I had to admit that my bike started to resemble a ‘hond se hol’. It was time for serious changes.
I started phoning around and realised that, because I knew exactly what I wanted (no surprise there, then) it made sense to go to a normal car panel beating/spray shop. I mean, what’s the difference between a car’s plastic bumper and an HP2’s plastic?
To cut a long story short, I got a good, professional paintjob done for the price of three cans of Krylon. I kid you not. Yes, I had to spend two days getting the shit off my bike’s plastic (oven cleaner and elbow grease works), not to mention disassembling everything and kind of working out where every screw, clip, washer or whatever had to go when I put everything back together again.
This is what an HP2 looks like, sans bodywork. As you can see, it consists of a big 1200cc Boxer engine and drive train, tall suspension, lots of blue tubing and even more cable ties. And that’s basically it.
I also got hold of a guy called Nik (he’s an enduro rider) in Table View, courtesy of AntonW, the legendary Snoremeister. Not only were his prices very reasonable, but he was friendly and sharp-sharp quick. He even had the HP2 logo ‘on file’ already. If you want decals/graphics made for your boney, give him a call on 082 895 6285.
So today I got everything together and starterd assembling the panels. I had two sets of two different designs made – the HP2 ‘Megamoto’ theme and another, based on that of the 450X, consisting of a fuck-off big blue ‘BMW’ decal. I might try that out too.
But for now the ‘Megamoto’ look makes me chuffed. In the flesh it looks even more ‘Groovy baby, yeah!’ than a few cellphone shots could ever do justice.
Moral of the story? There are a couple:
1. Do it professionally the first time.
2. Shop around for paint jobs – automotive spray painters are more reasonable than you’d think. I paid 25% less for the total paint job that what I did three years ago to just paint my 1200GSs beak and the little piece of plastic around the fuel cap, also plain white, at a ‘bike paint shop’ in Cape Town.
3. The more you do yourself (stripping and transporting of parts) the more you can save.
There are, I am excited to say, a few other ‘developments’ in the offing. Tomorrow I’m having a very exotic bit of bespoke kit fitted at Fidel, Jan & Martin’s KSP (Kak Serious Performance) Engineering.
Topbox has yet to let me know when my Hyde frame protectors will arrive and Niku, the fellow HP2 aficionado is busy making me and Scalpel some really sexy screens with built-in mounting points for GPSs. Being an architect, his work is of a very high standard.
And now for a MP yellow rear shock, new internals for the forks and....
