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Sprectre side cover

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16 Sep 2012 22:18 #549147 by grant_stl
Sprectre side cover was created by grant_stl
This is the side cover on my 83 kz1100 spectre but it is my first try at painting. Used rattle can and plenty of patience.

I did not have a way to match the original greenish gold color of the center (dont know if there is a resouce i missed on the net). The original was a decal that matched the paint on the tank possibly a litte darker that paint on tank. One day I parked the bike next to my wife's dodge and it looked like a close match to the tank. Paint code was PJC. A little lighter but very close. Still need to polish it out. I have a spare tank and fenders so I may go all the way to get the original look.

before
after

83 KZ1100 Spectre, St. Louis elevation 500 ft.
K&N RU-0984 (pods)
4 into 1 Header
Pilots 40 1.5 turns out
Mains 135 (cylinders 2 and 3)
Mains 132.5 (cylinders 1 and 4)
Needles 5ix11 set on clip 2

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18 Sep 2012 10:35 - 23 Jan 2013 00:28 #549422 by martin_csr
Replied by martin_csr on topic Sprectre side cover
[listing expired]
Last edit: 23 Jan 2013 00:28 by martin_csr.

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18 Sep 2012 11:23 #549431 by Del_Herring
Replied by Del_Herring on topic Sprectre side cover
even the maroon ones were also black. They just switched from the red to the gold on the 83's. Makes it easy to tell the years apart, red 82, gold 83. Don't know that there are any other actual differences. That said, I don't feel like my gold is greenish, it is kind of a darker gold though. I don't know where to find it either, but if you find out, let me know, mine could use some paint too.

1983 KZ750-N2 Spectre

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18 Sep 2012 11:41 - 23 Jan 2013 00:27 #549436 by martin_csr
Replied by martin_csr on topic Sprectre side cover
[listing expired]
Last edit: 23 Jan 2013 00:27 by martin_csr.

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19 Sep 2012 14:04 #549678 by grant_stl
Replied by grant_stl on topic Sprectre side cover
Here is a pic of the side cover on the Spectre 1100. As you can see it matches the original tank pretty well. The reason i call it a greenish gold is as you can see on the tank the gold pin stripe is gold but the paint seems darker almost green.

tank/sidecover

83 KZ1100 Spectre, St. Louis elevation 500 ft.
K&N RU-0984 (pods)
4 into 1 Header
Pilots 40 1.5 turns out
Mains 135 (cylinders 2 and 3)
Mains 132.5 (cylinders 1 and 4)
Needles 5ix11 set on clip 2

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20 Sep 2012 15:28 #549907 by grant_stl
Replied by grant_stl on topic Sprectre side cover
yep the Dodge PJC is a very close match. Only in direct sunlight with the side cover held next to the tank can you tell that the PJC paint is slightly lighter. I think it may be because it may have a little more metallic flake that reflects.

On another note about the original side covers, Kawasaki used the same decal for the Spectre 1100 as for the 750. that is why if you look closely at the pic in my above post for before, the original seems to have an odd starting point at the top left edge. I patterned my new paint and pin stripe off that same starting point. The original decal fits the 750 perfectly and follows the contours as expected.

Another difference from 82-83 besides the color, is the decal on the side cover for the 82 has a rounded top left corner for the decal. Something I never really noticed until I got ready to lay out the design.

83 KZ1100 Spectre, St. Louis elevation 500 ft.
K&N RU-0984 (pods)
4 into 1 Header
Pilots 40 1.5 turns out
Mains 135 (cylinders 2 and 3)
Mains 132.5 (cylinders 1 and 4)
Needles 5ix11 set on clip 2

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