[RyanGlass]

I recently read a thread on this forum where a member asked about doing a custom color on his Ninja. And the responses were almost entirely. No, that's a bad idea. It kills the resale. And a lot of, people will think it's wrecked.

I can understand it harming the value in certain situations. But overall I don't think it does. It only hurts the mass appeal, so you may have to take less to move it quickly.

Unless your custom paint is beautiful. And the part I couldn't disagree more with was the crazy notion that it makes it appear wrecked. People saying they wouldn't even look at it.

That's just dumb for lack of a better word that isn't super insulting. If you go off the paint at all to determine if it's been wrecked. Man, people selling wrecked bikes must really appreciate you.

I mean, if so many people think a custom paint job must mean it's wrecked. Then so many people are just getting it painted original.

Custom paint is a great idea. And if done by right can even add value to your bike. Obviously to people who know bikes and know what to look for when buying a bike. Just make sure to have it done by someone who knows what they're doing. Takes the bike apart, no masking off. Disassemble and reassembles it correctly without breaking anything. And uses a high quality paint and clear. Because the manufacturer is extremely stingy with paint and clear. And the use of pearls and metallics.

And it's your bike. You should love it, and it should represent you. And as long as you keep it classy and make it look better. There will be people out there willing to pay you exactly what it was worth previous to paint. Just don't expect to get more because of the paint. Unless it's a work of art.

I'm a little biased I suppose. I paint motorcycles. I've painted several of my own and sold them. I've purchased them for 6k and sold them for 8k. There's something about Soul Chrystal Red and Candy Blue Metallic that makes people drop cash in your hand.

 

[Eagle Six]

Welcome to the forum. How about posting some photos of some N1K's you have painted?

 

[Eagle Six]

Well....I was thinking I was going to have some fun with this, but now you have probably scared him off....

 

[RyanGlass]

This isn't a ninja 1000 owner. This would be someone who searched "custom motorcycle paint" and found our thread. Probably not even a sport bike owner. He might paint a Harley and sucker someone out of an extra 2k, but he didn't do it in a Japanese sport bike. Any of us would know the bike was a crash repair.

Even people who are picky about a Japanese bikes color wrap them so as to not destroy their value. Especially when you start painting Kawasaki sportbikes red. That's not someone who knows the bike or the brand very well.

You don't know what you're talking about. They are plastic, mass produced plastic body bikes. I agree, obviously there are people who think, a bikes color should be dictated by the manufacturer and the manufacturers reputation and what they're known for. Like Kawasaki Green.

But there's this entire other group of riders who love their zx10 or R1. But want more. You can buy a new zx10 today at the dealer in black, or green. Boring.

Destroy their value? That's in my opinion is not familiar with sport bikes talk. If painting the bike makes you think it's crashed. You might want to take a class or something. Because as I said previously, that makes zero sense. A person can have it painted oem color, then I suppose it doesn't say crashed then?

Me personally I look at the frame, I look at the forks, the wheels. I put a magnet on the tank and move it all around. I'll take off some of the plastics to see if they're aftermarket and see if damage is hidden underneath. But the color has no bearing on whether I think the bike is crashed or not. The quality of the paint job might.

This isn't a ninja 1000 owner. This would be someone who searched "custom motorcycle paint" and found our thread. Probably not even a sport bike owner. He might paint a Harley and sucker someone out of an extra 2k, but he didn't do it in a Japanese sport bike. Any of us would know the bike was a crash repair.

Even people who are picky about a Japanese bikes color wrap them so as to not destroy their value. Especially when you start painting Kawasaki sportbikes red. That's not someone who knows the bike or the brand very well.

Welcome to the forum. How about posting some photos of some N1K's you have painted?

These are my wife and I's. The blue one isn't finished. Neither are crashed. I have another 07 zx10r that's tore down that I haven't had time to paint yet. Im working on a 07 650r for a customer that's almost finished. Blue and Orange that I'll post when completed.

 

[rcannon409]

I'm not sure there was a potential for much fun. If he would have said Green, candy green, something that fit, maybe we could have done something.

Otherwise, all we did was explain how real life works. I saw a really nice Yamaha r1 in the classified. The guy had painted it gray, the trendy military gray to match his trendy gray car. I don't know if he ever sold it, but it was thousands under value, even in COVID times.

 

[rcannon409]

I thought you had nice work that added value. The decals are cheap, ebay.....or homemade. The scale isn't correct and they don't look good. It would concern me when a professional painter thought they did.

The red windshield is especially trailer park level .

It's sad because rather bike would look halfway professional if the decals were quality. I also notice neither bike has any meaningful mods. It looks as if both bikes are old enough to where painting them may have needed to happen rather than want.

 

[OK1000SX]

One tell-tale sign I look for on used bikes is damage to the lever ends and/or bar ends. Damage usually indicates ground contact.

 

[jjscsix]

I’m okay with a good, classy aftermarket paint. And if no evidence of crash damage and the bike runs well I would look at it as any other used bike.

The quality of the paint and design would tell me a lot. It’s not likely someone would spend much on a paint job of a wrecked bike. And if they did, I would look at it as someone who fixed it right.

 

[RyanGlass]

I thought you had nice work that added value. The decals are cheap, ebay.....or homemade. The scale isn't correct and they don't look good. It would concern me when a professional painter thought they did.

The red windshield is especially trailer park level .

It's sad because rather bike would look halfway professional if the decals were quality. I also notice neither bike has any meaningful mods. It looks as if both bikes are old enough to where painting them may have needed to happen rather than want.

Lol You're a tool.The decals are painted. I do admit pictures don't do it justice. Most of the paint and decals color shift, a effect the camera doesn't capture. Nor does it actually capture the color. Meaningful mods. Lol That says it all. I know my bike and my work look good. I've won awards, I do cars and bikes for distributors for raffles and fundraisers. And I'm booked for months. I didn't paint my bike to add value, I like the colors.

But I'm in a entirely different world than you. Nobody I associate with trys to throw shade on someone else's bike, especially talking about mods. And decals. Lol I mean dude, your bikes body is plastic. So even though they put a big price tag on it. It's probably is made out of my old Legos I threw away when I was younger. Or wall plates from some demolished hotel. You must be unbearable, and walking around with a constant shiner. Or, your internet cool. I'm more the owning a bike is about yourself, you're more the guy who won't ride because your meaningful mod's emblem flew off and nobody will know how much money you spent now.

 

[RyanGlass]

One tell-tale sign I look for on used bikes is damage to the lever ends and/or bar ends. Damage usually indicates ground contact.

Ground contact isn't the same a crashing. That would be like calling a truck wrecked because it has door dings. That particular bike I painted like 12 years ago. And I'm fairly certain that damage is years of squeezing it in the garage. But I don't disagree, it can tell you if it's been wrecked. But any meaningful contact would bend and gouge.

 

[rcannon409]

One way to tell if a business, or a person has class is that they will pay the money to become a real, legit advertiser before they use these forums to advertise for their "award winning business".

I look at used bikes, online. If something is in a shop, you have to drive all over town to maybe see 2 or 3 machines.

If I'm online any bikes I would be interested in need to have stock paint. Although it's possible that the current owner liked Teal, I would scroll past it and never invest enough time to try and determine it's crash status.

 

[skant153]

the ...white? pale pink? pearl? one looks like a matte finish. is it plasti-dip? could be the camera/lighting.
that might be a good option when painting a late model bike that way it can be removed for people like RC who are sticklers for oem paint. It'll also protect the oem paint till he buys it.

I know my bike and my work look good.

obviously, everyone likes different things. as long as you like your bike, who cares what others think? personally, i don't have a problem painting a bike fresh off the showroom. it's your bike, do your thing.

I've won awards

so has pabst blue ribbon....

Ground contact isn't the same a crashing

how does a lever and bar end scrape the ground while riding and not crash?
personally, i look at levers, bar ends, foot pegs and crank/primary covers to determine if a bike has been down. i would assume your wife's bike has been down and adjust the price i'm willing to buy at accordingly. i could be wrong, but that'd be my perception and we probably wouldn't come to an agreement on price, which is fine.

i also don't buy, mod, or paint bikes with consideration of resale value. i do those things with consideration of how happy they'll make me. ride your ride, do what makes you happy. you disagreeing with RC about him not liking aftermarket paint is trashing his view of bikes just as much as him trashing you for not having oem paint. so.. yeah.. all that stuff about him being fun at parties kinda goes both way...

 

[rcannon409]

When a bike gets to a certain age, does it matter? I'm wanting stock, but on a 15 year old bike, that might be a lot to ask.Assuming I had to ride my bike to work, everyday, I doubt the stock paint would last more than 5 years of I was outside on a regular basis.

Also, a blue zx10 and a white, small ninja isn't anything custom. Both bikes have been available in those colors. His blue/ white work does look good. If either bike was solid color, no big deal at all. Maybe I over reacted with amputating both hands? One hand would send a message and still allow room for redemption?

 

[kenors]

When a bike gets to a certain age, does it matter? I'm wanting stock, but on a 15 year old bike, that might be a lot to ask.Assuming I had to ride my bike to work, everyday, I doubt the stock paint would last more than 5 years of I was outside on a regular basis.

You must be thinking about Kawasakis. My 9 year old 125k mile VFR800 daily commuter/touring bike looked very nice when I sold it. It was never coddled like some folks do (see other threads). Simple Green wash now and then and a thorough cleaning and paste wax once a year. The windscreen was newer and the headlight face was starting to get just a bit hazy but the paint was amazing. The black on the tank is magnetic material. The pic below is what I took and posted to sell the bike.

 

[rcannon409]

Kenors, I was thinking about my ninja 1000 paint. It's pretty thin. I'm not sure its as high quality as what the VFR had?

 

[skant153]

I'm willing to bet paint from 98-01 was a lot higher quality than paint now. I know a bunch of companies are starting to switch to water based paints now. Honda cars are only offered with water based paints.

Having said that, this bike was repainted in 08. Still looks.like the day it was painted

 

[rcannon409]

Maybe I've misjudged how durable my ninja 1000's paint would be, but it is so incredibly thin, it's difficult to touch up any rock hits, or scratches.

I know the VFR isn't impressive with any of its specs, on paper. As compared to today's bikes, it's not powerful and it's not very light. But, it's high quality level was always a selling point with that machine.

I don't mean to complain about my ninja paint. It does look good, and something has to give. My bike is ten model years old. The bike has added a lot of expensive features, and it's retail price is only a thousand more than it was in 2012. If thin paint helps in that regard, it's probably worth it .

If Ryan comes back, what do you recommend for brake caliper paint? Is there something a person could apply, at home, that would deal with brake fluid drips. Not that I would ride with leaking calipers. This would be fluid during the bleeding process.

 

[skant153]

what do you recommend for brake caliper paint? Is there something a person could apply, at home, that would deal with brake fluid drips. Not that I would ride with leaking calipers. This would be fluid during the bleeding process.

there's no paint easily accessible that will stand up to brake fluid. your best bet is probably powder coating. if you have or find an old over, you can get a powder coating gun from harbor freight (or probably amazon) and bake it in there. i started with an old electric oven that didn't have a working range. i kept collecting them then built a small powder coating oven using the heating elements and potentiometers. it's enough to fit a motorcycle frame.

 

[rcannon409]

That bike in the picture looks good. Custom paint looks appropriate on a cruiser.

I have a guy who does real powder coating. Let him do it, if I go that way? I like to do things myself, but I know paint is a topic where you need equipment and talent. I'm not sure I can fill both of those needs. Especially at the same time.

 

[skant153]

if you're airbrushing you need talent. if you're going a solid color, not so much. i wouldn't start with brake calipers because all the corners could make it more difficult. powder coat is much more forgiving and if it wasn't for the oven requirement, much more accessible to the average person. you'd have to over charge it to put too much on and just need to not bang it around to prevent knocking too much off.