I have been repainting my bike all week here are the results...











Time to Celebrate!!!

After a good long ride of course.

Next I am going to change the color of  those white rims to red.

i really like that front nose piece. where did you get it and how much? not to bad on the paint job either. What did you use to paint it? so why did you paint it in the first place?? just bored with the old paint? LOL

I'm glad you like it I do to.
The front pieces are the OEM cowl and lower fairing. they don't make them anymore but you can find them on eBay like I did they went for $46 for the cowl and $20 for the lower fairing, but it was busted up pretty bad and required a bit of work.

I repainted it because the stickers were faded and the pant was scratched and chipped from the sun.

...can you give me the what's up? Thanks.

yeah i can understand that. When i bought my bike it was primer grey, and the dumby just primered over some flame stickers and junk like that. it took me about 48 hours total to sand( by hand) the stickers and primer off,and I had to do it all. i just went ahead and sanded the tank down to the metal. Then just painted it flat black primer. looks good for now  

Yea, I actually prefer the flat black look.
I sanded down all the plastic and fiberglass pieces and used paint stripper on the tank.
I used Krylon rattle cans to paint it. A few layers of primmer, Ultra Flat Black color coat and then a few Layers of Satin clear coat to protect it.

You need to hit that front fender with the flat black too...

I've done some metal painting before and I always seemed to gut some runs.How do you stop that from happening?

It's looking good  

thin "brushing" strokes back and forth about 8 inches away.  looks pretty good man.  you just need some fork gatiors.

Quote from: Recreational_AnxietyYou need to hit that front fender with the flat black too...

yea after I took the tank off I just wanted to get it all back together so I could ride again. It will get done later this week. I think I will also do the chain guard while I'm at it

Quote from: pslamp32I've done some metal painting before and I always seemed to gut some runs. How do you stop that from happening?

Just like Davipu Said. I did lots of thin coats, it takes a long time to wait for every layer to dry but its worth it.
I don't know about the gaiters though davipu.

looks like shaZam!  :lol:

If it wasn't for bad taste you wouldn't have any at all.

Quote from: 97gs500elooks like shaZam!  :lol:

you come off like a jackass or a moron in a good 80% of your posts :lol:

Quote from: Jazzzzz

Quote from: 97gs500elooks like shaZam!  :lol:

you come off like a jackass or a moron in a good 80% of your posts :lol:

You're right, Jazzzzz; actually, I think he qualifies as both a jackass AND a moron, but you left out the fact that he's a racist, too. If you missed his "Driving While Asian" comments, here's the link to his post:

http://www.gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19844&start=26

These are for you, 97gs500e:

:guns: :guns: :guns: :guns: :guns:

I don't know what your malfunction is, 97gs500e, but if you were in my platoon in the Army, you'd be scrubbing the shitters for a month. :nana: :nana: :nana:

Bluebellylint:

If you're really going to paint the wheels red, buy some red fork gaitors (as has already been suggested), and have the wheels painted to match. Most of my motorcycles (both dirt and street) have fork gaitors, though when I began (more than thirty years ago), fork gaitors were STOCK on most street bikes (like my old '76 Honda CB550F), along with most other British and Japanese models. Red gaitors and matching wheels would look GREAT with that nice black paint. Beers for a job well done (so far)!

Keep us posted, and let us know what you decide to do; good luck!

well I already have the paint for the wheels and I don't really like the gaiter look so I don't think I will be getting any. but show me a picture of one of your street bikes with gaiters maybe it will change my mind.

Well, since I HATE cameras, I don't have photos of ANY of my motorcycles, past or present. The only photos I've had taken in the last forty-three years have been for my military ID, my passport, and driver's license. I have no pictures of my old girlfriends, none of my cars or pets, and damn few of my nieces and nephews (I have those ONLY because the kids send them to me unsolicited).

Here are some links to photos of bikes with and without fork gaiters. Notice how the gaiters hide the wimpy fork tubes and make the front end look much stronger. Of course, it would be even better if you grafted on a set of Katana / GSXR forks; if you got the USD forks, you could forget about gaiters entirely. The cost of such a conversion being what it is, you'll probably decide to save the money and just install the gaiters.

What can I say; I'm an old-timer, and I consider the cafe-racer look to be the pinnacle of street-bike evolution. I love my '97 VFR750, but I prefer motorcycles WITHOUT all the damn Tupperware and attention-whore graphics, not to mention the damn disco white wheels on so many motorcycles of the 80's and early 90's; does that ring a bell? Your GS500 doesn't have a full fairing, so those wimpy forks just hang out there in the breeze; even if you installed either a Lockhart-Phillips or Maier universal (cafe-racer style) fairing, the gaiters would really tie everything together visually. See for yourself:

http://www.chaparral-racing.com/Chaparral/productr.asp?pf%5Fid=L107%2D445

http://www.chaparral-racing.com/Chaparral/product_family.asp?family%5Fid=6222

FWIW, the Lockhart fairing costs less than the Maier, and it is the one I use, because the Maier has that early-80's GPz550 look (in fact, the Maier fairing is the one Kawasaki used for the early GPz line), while the L-P fairing is more in keeping with the cafe-racer / streetfighter style. The differences between the two are subtle but obvious to the people who know the score.

Check out these photos; some are thumbnails, so you have to click on them to enlarge them:

http://www.bellacorse.com/motorcycles.htm

http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/graham_c/Reference/r_Ref.shtml

Also, you can read the following how-to for a step-by-step breakdown of how simple this mod really is, and you'll also understand why this guy decided to install fork gaiters on his BMW.

http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcycle-technical-articles/fork-gaiters/installing-fork-gaiters.htm

Color-matching the wheels and gaiters will tie the entire motorcycle together visually, since you don't have any other red components on your bike. Of course, they're very easy to remove, if you decide you REALLY dislike them; all you need is two minutes with a Buck knife and you're done, no disassembly required.

Both Acerbis and Daystar make forkboots (gaiters) that will fit the GS500; I prefer to buy Daystar, because they're made in America (or were, the last time I bought any, about three years ago).

http://www.gnarlyparts.com/index.php?cPath=31_195_265

http://shop.thumpertalk.com/catalogs/White_Brothers_2005/default.asp?p=173

http://www.p3racing.com/daystar/daystar.html

This is your choice; I'm not trying to spend your money. Fork gaiters protect the fork tubes from dings and dents, which in turn protects the fork seals and dust covers from damage. Leaking forks are a pain in the ass, especially if you're as addicted to riding as I am. If you do eventually decide to install gaiters, do one fork leg at a time. That way, you'll still have one fork leg in place to use as for a reference point during the reassembly.

Admittedly, installing red fork boots will give your bike more of the streetfighter / hooligan look (as I've mentioned, that will really tie the entire paint scheme together visually), but for all I know, you might be trying to avoid that. I simply think the plain-vanilla GS500 looks too pedestrian right out of the box, but your black-and-red color scheme will really make the bike look almost sinister.

Think about it; for about $25, you can make your bike much more distinctive than the fifty million other GS5s on the road. More importantly, it will no longer be Suzuki's GS500, it will be YOUR GS500.

Good luck; post more pics when you get the painting done, fork boots or no fork boots.

Quote from: Hugh Jardon

Quote from: Jazzzzz

Quote from: 97gs500elooks like shaZam!  :lol:

you come off like a jackass or a moron in a good 80% of your posts :lol:

You're right, Jazzzzz; actually, I think he qualifies as both a jackass AND a moron, but you left out the fact that he's a racist, too. If you missed his "Driving While Asian" comments, here's the link to his post:

http://www.gstwins.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19844&start=26

These are for you, 97gs500e:

:guns: :guns: :guns: :guns: :guns:

I just post about everything I like or think is great.  If you disagree with anything I say, you are wrong.

Bluebellylint: your bike looks like mine now!  I like it.  

I am going to re-paint soon.

Orange will be involved, especially with regard to the wheels.

(And those modded Triumphs in that link are so cool.  I'll be really cool when I have the "Bobbed Bonneville America" in my garage.  Now if I only had more money. )