Macho maroon or Gloss Black?

[Stralya]

Hey troops,

I'm seeking opinion here. At long last I have found a specialist motorcycle painter who can eye match Macho Maroon. He will paint the tank, side covers, tail cowl, the lid and side panels on my Vetter trunk, the lids of both Vetter bags, apply new decals on everything (I have a full set of new decals for the bike and all the Vetter bits already) then clear coat the lot for $1000.00 For $600 he will do the same job but in gloss black. Now my first thought was, macho maroon, here I come', but thinking about the future, gloss black might be the sensible way to go in case of any damage that may occur in the future, easier to touch up. So instead of dangling on the horns of my dilemma all by myself, I thought I'd open it up for discussion and go with what the majority think. I'll set up a poll and see what the general consensus is among the purists and practical.

Dan.

[DGXSER]

Look at it this way. What color do you want to see when you look at your bike? Any paint is going to get imperfections over the years. Besides, he can give you a code for the mix, or a small can for touch ups. Paint it the color you want it to be.

[JeffH]

Paint it the color you want it to be.

+1 Whatever color makes you smile!

I'd be real curious though on how close the painter can match the Macho Maroon. I've been goofing around with CMYK computerized color mix (not very accurate) to get some ideas about matching Macho Maroon for my 11E. If you choose to go the Macho Maroon route will the painter share blend #'s used with you? So far I've got C:7 M:100 Y:70 K:30 that is at least starting to look fairly close. I'm sure other riders have tried to match Macho Maroon but I've never seen any color blend numbers that they have used or info how the paint job turned out. Maybe somebody can give us some advise from previous experience.

In either case, a new paint will make the bike look great.

Jeff

[jwhughes3]

$400 extra to match paint?

I would go black and buy $400 worth of fuel and tires or maybe add some custom pinstriping.


Remember, you asked!

John

[fredintoon]

Black with gold pinstriping, just like a Vincent.

[Courtney]

Black with gold pinstriping, just like a Vincent.

There is a guy with a Vincent in my neighborhood, but he's very stealthy as nobody ever sees it come out of a house or go back. It just appears all of a sudden puttering along my street and heads off for a country drive. One day I'll have to follow him and see where he lives. Even wears the old style British helmet and goggles. Pretty cool.

[Stralya]

I've already got the gold pinstriping with the decal kit. I'll ask him about sharing the paint code but I imagine he'd want to keep that to himself, trade secrets and all that but who knows. My trailer goes into the fibreglass fabrication workshop Monday and will be finished in gloss black, no choice there. I've also found a two-stripe gold pinstripe kit on ebay that closely matches the gold pinstriping on the bike. If I were to go with gloss black on the bike, I could carry the theme through to the trailer with that gold pinstriping. I could also go with having the trailer re painted Macho Maroon as well but the cost starts to get a bit too high. I've also secured a new number plate (license plate) for the trailer. It's in black with white lettering and there's no way on earth I could ever get the plate in any sort of Maroon so all things considered, gloss black is starting to look the goods. By the way, the new plate is XS.1100.

[Cuda 69]

I'll second the gloss black w/gold.But ,hey, that's just me,and it's YOUR bike.Do what makes you happy.

[Stralya]

Thanks John, I'm leaning more and more towards gloss black. I guess the purist in me needs reassuring from my fellows that gloss black wont be the cardinal sin I always thought it was.

Dan.
Possible Cardinal Sinner.

[MaximPhil]

$400 extra to match paint?

I would go black and buy $400 worth of fuel and tires or maybe add some custom pinstriping.


Remember, you asked!

John

Hi John,
For a guy who rides Longhorn Orange and white stripes I find your Black suggetion a little strange

The Cheap Bastard in me would go with Black too but as a I am currentlysaving up to paint my tank blue i must go
+2 for Colour that makes you Smile
Phil

[Cuda 69]

Seeing's my SG is still original paint,Shiny Black w/Red flake,I have a real soft spot for black. Although my new bike,the Strom, is silver flake,oh well,I am flexable.

[XJkid]

Question

On the Macho Maroon bikes, did the frame and the wheels get the color as well? I was wondering if the Macho Maroon would stand out against a black frame . I had my tank painted blue pearl over black and the tank stood out like a sore thumb against all the other black. It is back to the painter to put a little blue pearl in the black to give it just a hint of blue at the right angle.

[Stralya]

The frame is black. The only things on the bike that are Macho Maroon are the tank, side covers and tail cowl. Macho maroon may be winning my poll but I'm leaning more and more towards gloss black.

[jwhughes3]

Hi John,
For a guy who rides Longhorn Orange and white stripes I find your Black suggetion a little strange

The Cheap Bastard in me would go with Black too but as a I am currentlysaving up to paint my tank blue i must go
+2 for Colour that makes you Smile
Phil

I painted mine myself and did not spend $400 total on the paint OR the beer that went between coats! More like $100.

[DGXSER]

I painted the fenders and side covers on my SH with rattle can paint and rattle can clear. Then I bought a spray gun and did the tank in 2k color and clear. I bet I spent maybe $100 total including the gun.

I recently bought an HVLP gun set at HF. Then painted the SG tank and side covers with it. Got the paint at my local Sherwin Williams auto paint store. Guns were about $50 IIRC, and $20 for a 1/2 pint of paint, which was plenty to cover it all three good coats or more. Had the reducer, clear and hardener left from when I painted the SH. In fact, I screwed up on the first round of painting the SG, went back for another 1/2 pint of the color and they gave it to me free. Said they like to see DIYers figuring it out, gave me the mixing cups as well. I was impressed and happy of course. As you can see in my project begins ...again thread. The end result is pretty dang good for a beginner painter.