misadventures in painting

jeremy_nash · May 02, 2009, 12:04:06 PM

while prepping my tank for paint, it fell off my porch leaving a huge dent all the way across the top

so I said oh well, I wont worry about the filler, I'll just spray it, make the whole bike one color again, and deal with it this winter, so I hang the tank up to paint it, and after the 5th coat, I leave it hanging to dry. come out a few hours later, and gas is running out of the gas cap, through the vent I imagine. the whole front of the tank is missing its new coats of paint!!

so this time I got really mad, wiped the dripping paint off with a paper towel, and just laid one heavy coat where it had all been wiped off. here are the end results

PaviSays · May 02, 2009, 12:48:31 PM

Eep. Your tank looks pretty beat up there. The color's sweet though, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles green or something.

wladziu · May 02, 2009, 12:55:17 PM

Man! That IS a huge dent.
I was expecting something the size of a walnut or something. Jeez. Looks like you pulled off a Leap of Death.

I feel for you, too, man. Seems like the worst body damage happens while you're trying to lay down paint.

Gonna blame this one on the kid, the dog, or the neighbor?

Weston · May 02, 2009, 02:01:27 PM

Ouch.

joshr08 · May 02, 2009, 02:02:57 PM

was your porch on the second story of the house? man that sucks

DoD#i · May 02, 2009, 05:48:26 PM

Word of advice too late for you (but might help others) - have a gas can handy and DRAIN THE TANK before painting.

It's not that his porch is on the second story, Josh, it's that a tank full of gas weighs quite a bit, so it makes a good solid dent when it hits. Though it does look to be a good 3 feet above the ground, and the tank was probably on the rail, at a guess.

Empty cardboard boxes can be handy for supporting parts while painting.

Bluesmudge · May 02, 2009, 06:00:02 PM

Ouch...Well, just ride it now and fix it later right? Besides...its just a GS

This is a little off topic, but I'm in the long process of painting my bike right now and I'm wondering if you can remove the front fender on an F model without messing with the forks/hadelbars/etc. I'd like to change the color of the fender but it will have to wait if its not an easy removal.

The Buddha · May 02, 2009, 06:03:54 PM

Its ... well trying to be a kawi.
As we all know, kawi tanks have dents in them from when the onwers hit them in frustration when the sheite craps out and they cant get to the part that crapped out without pulling 1/2 the bike apart. Somethign like, you wanna fill air in the tires eh ... OK for that you need to get the motor out of the frame and then fill air and then remount the motor. but its cool on a Kawi, you have to pull the motor many times anyway, it die often.
Cool.
Buddha.

XealotX · May 02, 2009, 06:54:43 PM

I've heard of shaving the edges of tires to get rid of the "chicken strips" but did you shave the center of the rear tire?

jeremy_nash · May 02, 2009, 07:11:09 PM

color is grabber green, the rail it fell from is roughly 8 feet off the ground. it did happen to fall on a lanscaping timber, so that sure didn't help it any.

jeremy_nash · May 02, 2009, 07:12:13 PM

funny you mention that, buddha, as the ninja sitting next to it needs a new motor, lol

DoD#i · May 02, 2009, 07:24:12 PM

Quote from: Bluesmudge on May 02, 2009, 06:00:02 PM
This is a little off topic, but I'm in the long process of painting my bike right now and I'm wondering if you can remove the front fender on an F model without messing with the forks/hadelbars/etc. I'd like to change the color of the fender but it will have to wait if its not an easy removal.

As far as I know, fender is the same on both models. You don't have to mess with any of the parts you mention, so long as you don't regard yanking the front wheel as "messing with the forks". Annoying design, but that's the way to do it - takes 5 minutes if you know what you are doing, 30 if you are trying to figure out how to get the fender off without having to yank the front wheel. Keep track of all the spacers and washers and where they go on the axle, and don't touch the brake lever with the wheel out (actually, dropping the front caliper also makes it easier to pull the wheel, come to think of it).

The Buddha · May 02, 2009, 07:39:18 PM

Quote from: jeremy_nash on May 02, 2009, 07:12:13 PM
funny you mention that, buddha, as the ninja sitting next to it needs a new motor, lol

Yea kawi needing motor, it only happens on days that end in "ay".
BTW more commong than that ... kawi needing a fuel tap.
Even more common than that, kawi needing a petcock, that floods fuel into the chamber, and when you hit the start button the hydrolocked cylinder jams and bends a rod. ... that happens 3-4 times a day.
Cool.
Buddha.

LOUiE · May 02, 2009, 08:55:36 PM

QuoteEven more common than that, kawi needing a petcock

idont think us GS owners can razz a kawi owner about this one

jeremy_nash · May 02, 2009, 08:58:01 PM

on the first motor, It was running fine, shut it off, went to ride it the next day, and locked up motor, pulled spark plugs, and all 4 cylinders where dry. pulled head, and motor still locked.

put another motor in it, rode it less than 200 miles, and it threw the number 4 rod through the case

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misadventures in painting