Paint & Seat Considerations

Mar/April, 2016; while paint can be considered one of the later considerations, the identity of the finished motorcycle will in part be derived or certainly influenced heavy by first impressions, including the paint.   And other minor decisions are made more easily when made in context of the overall look (contrasting color(s), chrome or not, etc).  Thus it can be hard to move on with more near-term project elements without getting the paint finalized.  So it was that I decided on what I was looking for and what approach I was going to take.  Also, having decided that the fenders were getting paint rather than staying stock, this was one less thing I had to continue to think about.

Robert Prayther has done bike paint for me in the past, and so I turned to him again for this project.  My understated cafe approach called for a mid to darker base color, but with a few splashes of lighter color/flair.
I chose a metallic gray base color similar to the image below, with white stripes on both fenders and on the top of the tank.  The stripes will include one wider in the center with two narrow stripes on either side.

The tank had been hammered in with knee 'cutouts' from the PO.  While I love the look, the actual outcome was unfinished and dented looking.  Robert noted that the professional process would be to cut the cutouts (hence the name), shape on an English Wheel and weld back on the tank.  We are where we are, thus time to break out the bondo.

Unresolved question - what to do with the frame?  The rattle-can army green (while not a bad color) has to go.  But whether to powdercoat or rattle can it myself, yet to be decided...

The seat is another defining characteristic of the style for this project.  The seat pan on my bike was hammered from aluminum and had sagged into an unpleasing shape over time; although I didn't want to, I felt that I had to toss it and start from scratch.  The above is in the process of being fabricated with a few modifications including slightly steeper lift to the 'hump' and less pronounced backside.  As long as it drops close to the rear fender and keeps flat to the frame rails it should come out right.