Im tempted.

650ed and I had a similar discussion; I remember the pic of the Beeza.

This is what my KZ400 looked like. Well, it still looks like that but it's not mine any more.

The paint is genuine Rust-Oleum Gloss Safety Yellow enamel from a spray can. Nothing but the best! :laugh:

Once the original paint is fricked up by repainting, the motorcycle has no further value to me. This holds true for 99% of repaints. There are the select few that take the time and/or pay the price to get the job done correctly, and to these I give my blessing, but 99% remainder mostly should go ahead and go direct to the salvage yard in my opinion. So I haven't got much chance lately in expressing my paint attitude. It uasn't changed much the last 50yrs.

SWest wrote: And keep the originals?
Steve

yep

Nerdy wrote: 650ed and I had a similar discussion; I remember the pic of the Beeza.

This is what my KZ400 looked like. Well, it still looks like that but it's not mine any more.

The paint is genuine Rust-Oleum Gloss Safety Yellow enamel from a spray can. Nothing but the best! :laugh:

Looks really good for a rattle can! Im going to have mine painted by a local guy who does a damn good job of painting cars for a living.

if the old paint is dull, before having it repainted, you could try freshening by giving it a good polishing using a buffer or cordless attachment. As an experiment on a 750E side cover, I used Meguiar's swirl remover & a cordless drill buffing pad. It's kinda hard to tell in the pic, but the one on the right does look a lot better than the side cover on the left.

martin_csr wrote: if the old paint is dull, before having it repainted, you could try freshening by giving it a good polishing using a buffer or cordless attachment. As an experiment on a 750E side cover, I used Meguiar's swirl remover & a cordless drill buffing pad. It's kinda hard to tell in the pic, but the one on the right does look a lot better than the side cover on the left.

Thanks for your thoughts. The paint on my bike is excellent. This is more about changing the color entirely.

Thanks. This is more about changing the color entirely. As you can see from the photo below, my paint is OK

I cant believe my luck! found this for sale:

JWKZ750 wrote: Looks really good for a rattle can!

Thank you! I am still a bodywork n00b so this was mostly for practice (and for the swanky hi-viz color). There is no clear on it and I didn't do any polishing/buffing/cutting, but did pay at least a little attention to surface prep (white primer and 800 grit).

Im going to have mine painted by a local guy who does a damn good job of painting cars for a living.

That's probably the right answer. I checked with a local body shop (good reputation) and they wanted over $200 just for the tank. That seemed excessive when I paid only about $1000 for the whole bike.

Nerdy wrote:

JWKZ750 wrote: Looks really good for a rattle can!

Thank you! I am still a bodywork n00b so this was mostly for practice (and for the swanky hi-viz color). There is no clear on it and I didn't do any polishing/buffing/cutting, but did pay at least a little attention to surface prep (white primer and 800 grit).

Im going to have mine painted by a local guy who does a damn good job of painting cars for a living.

That's probably the right answer. I checked with a local body shop (good reputation) and they wanted over $200 just for the tank. That seemed excessive when I paid only about $1000 for the whole bike.

$200 to paint a tank? Here in NYC they (proper shops) want $300-$400. Thats CRAZY.

Ive decided to leave the bike stock. The original color is cool.

$400 or so is a reasonable price. painting parts is a lot of work.

650ed wrote: Seriously, if the original paint is in good shape I would not recommend painting it. Instead, you might want to buy a second set of tins and paint them. That way you could switch back if you like or get a better price for the bike one day if you sell it. Good original paint is becoming quite rare. Ed

Good advice.