My maxim makeover....

Its been sitting in the garage for about a week waiting (felt like forever) for my fork seals and oil (finally got it today!) and in the mean time I though I would add a stripe... which turned into lets pull the tank and side covers, fill the holes from the emblems and new paint....

I have new rear shocks on the way (red anodized with black spring), LED dash lights just got here today... I did bars and grips a couple weeks ago, bar end mirrors should be here in a couple days so all thats left is my new paint!

The plan is to do white with red stripe (yes, like the ducati monster) red wheels and possibly bronze engine paint because I havent seen it on an XJ.

Here is a pic of my tins in primer... still some bondo touch ups to do...

 

Some graphics on the side covers... I had a few sharpies and some of my tattoo flash art I drew up was laying around and then BOOM! it hit me I was going to do my side covers with graphics...

Let me know what you think. Feedback is good.

 

They still have to have a clear coat before they are going on the bike, but I dig em.

 

very cool....nice artwork

 

Thanks!

 

Looks good. I'd have never thought about sharpies on the paint though.

 

Careful with the clearcoat.. Sharpies can run and bleed.. Shame to spoil that great artwork.. Do several VERY light clear coats to seal it in before you start putting it on thicker, then if it reacts with the clearcoat, it'll only bleed a little bit..

Hope it doesn't.. I like what you put..

 

Very very cool artwork!

 

Wish I had gotten back here before I sprayed the clear! One of the side covers ran, so Ill have to try to fix it when it dries. Still have to do the tank after the red stripe dries.

The gas cap has been skull'd out too.

 

I scuffed up the fenders and sprayed white on them.... should I stripe them like the tank?

 

maybe taper the stripe from a point on the front to wide in the back of the front fender then wide by the seat and taper to a point at the rear.

 

Thats a possibility... Ill have to look at it tomorrow after I wet sand the fenders tomorrow and see how well the paint holds... hopefully I scuffed enough.

I have to do the tail light housing and the license plate bracket, and also the headlight bucket and bracket because if I dont I will feel like I overlooked the details.. its all important to me. lol

 

Very clever to put a skull on the gas cap. I like it!

 

almost there!! I need to make my own seat pan still (or mod the original). But its almost where I want it. New shocks came in today, and went on the bike.. Stiff ride so far in the 150 feet I rode it in my driveway but its all dirt and gravel so its hard to tell.

I am having problems with my blinker light on the dash now though... For whatever reason its on solid until I turn on the blinkers, then it flashes, but its LED now and its burning my retinas at night and kills my forward vision when its on solid. Any help on that matter is greatly appreciated.

Hope you all enjoy it!

 

WOW...that bike looks cool as shit. Where did you get those shocks?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... MEWNX%3AIT

Those are the shocks.. Great quality and strong build. I was going to go with these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HONDA-SH ... 3f002f7ad9

but I dont have $400 to spend for rear shocks.

 

Will those shocks hold up? Being for a 70cc pitbike? I was thinking about those as well, going with cutting down some midnight maxim shocks instead though.
Great job on the bike!

 

They are actually super strong. A little too stiff.. Feels almost like I am riding a hard tail now, but the bike handles phenomenally now. Its like a whole new bike... Way easier to toss into a corner hard and fast. Although any bumps make your corner a little hairy!

 

I really do like those shocks better than the 10" ones I got. I'm not digging my yellow coils. I wonder how easy it is to paint them and how the paint would hold up?

 

Do you really want to trust your life to a pair of $39 shocks? Remember, shocks aren't just for comfort, they're designed to keep your tyre in contact with the road. Personally, I wouldn't. Hagon make some excellent road shocks at about £100.. That's the LEAST I would be prepared to pay for something as important as a set of shock absorbers.

 

Well these shocks are meant to stand up to off road abuse from grown men on small bikes.

The type of "abuse" the paved roads are going to put on them is quite minimal. It actually IS more for comfort than keeping my tire in contact with the road, as gravity does that for me.

They will hold up under my weight plus the bike and a passenger of at least 250 extra pounds if I wanted. Each shock is rated for about 300 pounds, and since the bike weighs 500 total and half of that is riding on the rear shocks, I am not worried in the slightest.

 

Dere hiss nudding wong widd hairing chi-knee shoggs causing oh-nee for-ee darrah.

Tree - hunnah - darrah Hong Kong.

 

Ha! Rick, I didn't get that the first few times I tried to read it. But after a few Budweisers, I could understand it just fine. Ved-ee ved-ee foon-ee!

 

UPDATE: after a couple hundred miles on the shocks, they are holding up just fine. Still a little stiffer than I want but its ok.

Looks like I just saved a few(hundred) dollars and came out on top. Oh Darn!

 

How about a pic of the bike with a seat on it?

 

Ill have to load some up tomorrow when I get home from the hospital...

My wife and I had our first child on June 14, 2010. I had to drop what I was doing on the bike to leave for the hospital at 3am so... Tomorrow my son comes home from the hospital at about 30 some hours old and when I get him and his momma back home safely I can pick up where I left off after I get some much needed sleep.

Currently I took the tank off to touch up, decided the gas cap skull, although original, looked like shit to me, didnt like the red headlight ring because it looked too cartoon-y and decided to do away with the artwork on the side covers in favor of a red stripe on white background like that on the tank.

I had made a fiberglass seat pan, and padded it and it still needs leather or vinyl.

 

Were home and I have been super busy.. I did take one after paint and I had forgot I took it...

Still working on seat. Pan got vinyl but it looks like shit so I am re-doing it. This kid is keeping me plenty busy so I dont have much time to work on it, or even ride. Sucks but I am still happy.

Ill add a picture of the little guy too just cuz he is holding me up.. lol

 

NICE!!! Kids are great. Mine are 8 and 6 now. I miss the little tiny ones

 

Good luck with the Bike.
It looks like an "Original'

Not as important as "The OTHER Original" there.

Happy Father's Day.

 

you lied to us thats not your bike its his lol best of luck with both of them

 

you can put child seats on bikes, right? My wife is still sketchy letting me take the kids out of the development on my gsxr

 

Any child still small enough too require a Child Seat does not belong on a Motorcycle.

A Child Seat fastened to a Motorcycle?
No way!
That would be a gross and flagrant violation of adult responsibility.

The only thing WORSE is giving a tiny kid a ride on a Lawn Mower.

If you love the child, ... DON'T DO IT!

 

hahahahaha... I was just joking Rick

My kids are 8 and 6 and I've only taken them for a max of 2 miles on the bike ONE time. I was suggesting that he take his newborn on the bike in a car seat. JUST joking

 

I'm relieved to learn you were just joking.
Thank God for that.

But, people DO pull stunts like that.
Oblivious to the possibility of a tragedy and a lifetime of grief.

 

now I'm going to go on a search for motorcycles and car seats. I can't beleive anyone would ACTUALLY do that

 

That sounds like piss poor parenting to me.. Who the hell would ever do that?
This little guy wont be riding on this bike for a long time, and wont have anything like it for about 16 years.

Maybe when he is 3 or 4 I can give him rides on our driveway but thats about it.