Attempt at restyling

[deilenberger]

Don,

Like the last one a lot. I like the layout and colors - besides looking cool it makes the bike more conspicuous - which is always a good thing. As you said - it's hard to know when to stop - the last blue one went a bit beyond that point IMHO.

[Don C]

The classic stripe is still bugging me, even though it is covered up. Its awful. I think that it should have looked like this instead. Photoshopping stripes onto bike is fun. Addictive even. You guys should try.

[celticus]

That is MUCH better than the stock BMW stripes. I wish I knew how the use my Photoshop to do that sort of thing.

[deilenberger]

That is MUCH better than the stock BMW stripes. I wish I knew how the use my Photoshop to do that sort of thing.

I'd be curious what the other side would look like since the tank is asymmetrical.. The advantage of BMWs stripes (on the original Black/mit/stripes 07-08's) is they are above the asymmetrical part, so they match side to side.

Funny thing - no one ever noticed the tank is asymmetrical until I actually point it out to them, and even then - some don't get it.

[Don C]

I've been thinking that this latest stripe looks good from the side, but it might not look so good from above. Following the bulge of the tank, it would be curved up instead of curving down if you are looking down at it. Still, it would be hard to make it look worse than the original stripe. I'm going to go have a look at that asymmetry. This is only passing the time while waiting for the black paint on the fairing to dry, and waiting for orange stripe material to arrive in the mail. I need to think about a stripe for the fairing.

[celticus]

That is MUCH better than the stock BMW stripes. I wish I knew how the use my Photoshop to do that sort of thing.

I'd be curious what the other side would look like since the tank is asymmetrical.. The advantage of BMWs stripes (on the original Black/mit/stripes 07-08's) is they are above the asymmetrical part, so they match side to side.

Funny thing - no one ever noticed the tank is asymmetrical until I actually point it out to them, and even then - some don't get it.

As you are not going to see both sides at once and the asymmetry is hard to notice I doubt it would be of much concern.

[Don C]

The only asymmetry that I noticed is along the bottom of the tank, well under the area covered by this stripe, so it's not going to need any changes.
I've got the fairing painted black and remounted today, so it's less of a distraction from the stripes.

[Don C]

More photoshop.

[Don C]

Mixing some ideas from the older design with the newer design gives me this.

[Don C]

I wanted to see how the white stripe looked in person, because it's possible to make something look good in Photoshop, while it may look bad in person. So here it is. This is just white electrical tape that will be removed immediately. You have to pretend that the blue squares are not there. It's not as good looking from other angles as it is from straight on at the side, but I think its OK.

[Newportcycle]

+1, without the blue. How do you like the fairing?

[Don C]

Plenty has been written here about the Scout, please search. The short version is that its nice. Here's what I wrote about it after installing it and fooling around with the mounting:
viewtopic.php?f=20&t=27595
Lately I've been thinking that I should have an extra inch of height, as it's usually a bit quieter if I dip my head lower.

[Don C]

[celticus]

Very Nice.

[ron prior]

I like both the "M" stripes & the Rockster stripes. But being a 'blue favorite color guy'...The blue Rockster stripe version is my favorite

[Don C]

I'm getting some feedback from Beemer fans here at work that the orange is a bit much. It's even brighter in person. At least you can see this bike coming. My runner up idea was to have metallic titanium squares with violet and yellow highlight stripes. It looked pretty good in photoshop.

[Don C]

I've made a few new stickers again. Trimmed a bit on top to straighten the line and to keep the stickers from folding over the crease on the tank. A small improvement. Hopefully I'll be able to leave it alone for a while now.

[celticus]

I'm getting some feedback from Beemer fans here at work that the orange is a bit much. It's even brighter in person. At least you can see this bike coming. My runner up idea was to have metallic titanium squares with violet and yellow highlight stripes. It looked pretty good in photoshop.

I like the orange just fine.

[roger l]

Don:
I really like the latest look. Are you still using the 3M ScotchPrint 1080 Styling film? If so where are you buying it? Is it easy to work with? Does it stretch? DO you float it on like window tint?

Thanks
Roger L

[Don C]

This lastest version is using Avery supreme color wrap film. It is just a bit thinner than the 3M. I picked this film because I liked their orange better than the 3M version. It's hard to choose, there are a lot of cool colors available. The color stands up fine to wiping felt pen marks off with alcohol, but you have to clean it soon after marking it or it will hold a stain. The film stretches easily. I find that I have to be careful not to stretch it though, as this makes my straight cuts look wavy. There is no problem making it conform to curves. The trick is to not try anything too large, if you start making larger pieces that have to cover contoured areas of the tank, it will end up with wrinkles. Cutting out little squares and narrow strips is simple and works well. You have to be willing to tear it off and make a new piece if it comes out wrong, it never seems to come out right on the first try. The tank surface is a complex curve and it screws up the fit. The film is cheap enough to throw some away. Save the backing paper, you can just flip it over and use it as a pattern to make the sticker for the other side of the bike. I needed several new razor blades, a good strong straight edge to cut against, and a smooth cutting surface to scratch up. I found a piece of melamine shelving in the garage that I sacrificed for the project. I am putting the sections on dry. If you do want to try larger areas, wet application may help, but I'd just avoid that.

Here are some eBay links:

The store.

http://stores.ebay.com/MetroRestyling/C ... 34.c0.m322

Orange film.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5ftx1ft-Avery-S ... 58a2b0f48b

Red film.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/5ftx1ft-Avery-S ... 5d426e0ecf