Vinyl Wrap instead of paint - results

Hi gang

A while ago I posted to ask what people thought about wrapping my tank in carbon fibre as an alternative to getting it painted. A number of people suggested I look into vinyl vehicle wraps instead, and I did. Thought you might be interested in seeing the results.

I ended up wrapping the tank and the rest of the bodywork in 3M Gloss Metallic Red. It's possible to do it yourself but I had mine done at a shop that specializes in it - Top Wraps. Their main business is doing vehicle wraps with advertising graphics but they are happy to do a solid colour or any design you can come up with.
Cost for labour and materials was $300 compared to a quote of $1200 to paint the same items with quality paint. I know, some of you have had great results painting bikes yourself but I don't have enough faith in my painting skills to risk it myself. For the wrap, I did the basic prep, took the pieces into the shop, and let them do.



The trim piece around the headlight is 3M Carbon Fibre (vinyl).


This was a long-delayed cosmetic upgrade to the old bike, consisting of some modifications to the tank to correct some interference issues with the X engine and carbs, adding the 5-valve trim pieces, trimming the side covers to fit the 5-Valve pieces, and getting a Russell Day-Long seat.

Mechanically, I adjusted the valves, cleaned and rebuilt the carbs, did an overall inspection on everything else, and the bike is running great!

 

looks good. ive been thinks about wrapping mine instead of paint. but i have to get more of a budget and find a good local shop

 

First time I see a Seca with an X engine. Do you feel like you have the best of both worlds?

 

Thumbs up on your engine - - (how do you keep the front wheel down ??)

But $1,200 for a paint job ??

I might consider moving to Canada for that money !!

 

Thanks. I always wished that Yamaha had put the X engine into a Seca. Guess it would have cut into sales of the FZ that came out at the same time.

 

Looks nice!! What did you have to do to fit the x engine in that frame? I didn't think there was enough clearance because its taller.

 

The engine went into the frame easily enough. It wasn't until I went to put the tank on that I realized the engine is taller and the seams on the tank hit the valve cover and the carb hats.
This was in about 1989, and my "short term" solution was to bend the tank seams over and shim up the back of the tank by 1/4". That worked adequately and I just left it that way until this past winter when I finally got around to fixing it properly. Trimmed the seams off in the areas where they hit, made some small changes to the underside of the tank, got it welded up and then lined. And that of course ruined the original paint and triggered the whole paint/carbon fibre/vinyl wrap discussion.

 

Is there a clear coat over the vinyl wrap? Just curious how it will hold up if gas splashes on it

 

There is a clear coat. They say that it is not affected by gas splashes, but time will tell.

 

did you just have the tank clear coated? or all the wrapped parts? how is it holding up?

FU

 

All of the wrapped parts got a clear coat. Not sure if it's necessary but they did it anyway. I'm always careful not to spill gas on it, and immediately wipe up any drips if I do. So far no blemishes.
Overall it is holding up well, except for one small scratch which was my own fault.