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Can't make my mind up so perhaps you can help me decide again. My bike will be all in black (i.e. tank, side panels), fenders and wheels will be chrome or stainless so please keep this in mind. So my choices are polished engine and black downpipes, or stainless exhausts and black painted upper of engine, I'll be using the same engine as below 450/500t. Appreciate your thoughts and why you like them!
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Bear in mind the bike above is a little tatty so I've shown another bike from this forum for the idea:
I personally like a black painted engine with machined fins. Throw in a little bling with polished case bolts. I'm all about the all black look. When buying my triumph I looked high and low for a Bonnie black. Current build is going to be all black too, save for fork lowers and shocks.
I personally like a black painted engine with machined fins. Throw in a little bling with polished case bolts. I'm all about the all black look. When buying my triumph I looked high and low for a Bonnie black. Current build is going to be all black too, save for fork lowers and shocks.
If you deffinetly want your wheels silver I would do the head in black with a stainless exhaust, the head would into the black bodywork.
An all black motorcycle (bodywork AND engine) only really work if you keep the silver to an absolute minimum, ie silver nipples and bolts, filed fins and maybe a small decal - details, and mix up the gloss and flat black, gloss bodywork and flat engine and wheels.
A nice example of a relatively clean all black bike, I would however have kept the inner front hub and instrument bezel black as well.
When I look at a bike and squint, I tend to just see muted dark, light and colours. A balance front to back and up and down tells the tale for me.
Interestingly, of the bikes shown so far, only the little Kawasaki Triple fails the "squint test" because of the aluminum front hub and the chrome exhaust head pipes! All nice bikes though!! 8)
The only thing thats putting me off painting the head black is the CB500t/450 actually has quite a nice looking engine for a Japanese bike and painting it black will make it lose that definition that you get with the fins.
A big reason I painted my engine was to mute it in tge frame. I like having a little definition (silver fins) but for the look I wanted, the bulky 4 banger was just to much. Ill likely paint it on my current project too.. but pretty engines should be showed off. 500t, xs650, etc should be shown..
I'm not a fan of the murdered out look. Painting everything black is uncreative and is a lazy shortcut to looking cool. Black is the absence of contrast and contour which are primary components of design. The 450/500 has some beautiful castings like the clutch and rocker covers. They really pop when buffed up. I don't even paint my cylinder fins, I leave them bare to optimize heat dissipation.
Yea all black is out of the question. This is what I'm getting at, here's a photo from someone on this forum, it's a nice job but the black and black engine really draws away the definition it previously had:
That said a little bit of black does seem nice, like the central fins:
Although again (same photo) this upper black painted and the rest silver look is really tempting:
I go for a finish on the engine that is best from an engineering and performance view. An engine will best get rid of heat if it's parts are not polished and not coated with paint or powedercoating etc..
But this is largely ignored by those who are more interested in being part of a fashion movement than having their machine function the best it can....
I go for a finish on the engine that is best from an engineering and performance view. An engine will best get rid of heat if it's parts are not polished and not coated with paint or powedercoating etc..
But this is largely ignored by those who are more interested in being part of a fashion movement than having their machine function the best it can....
I have been trying to decide what I was going to do with my 450 engine as well. The black painted jugs really accentuate the size and complexity of the cylinder head. The BCR bike looks good to though because there are so many covers on the motor that can be polished for the contrast.
On my bike I like to alternate black and shiny the best I can. I think an engine looks best with polished (not painted) covers and the body of it black with sanded fins. That said once the black chips a bit it looks kind of shoddy. If I had to do it again I probably would consider painting the engine in a aluminum wrinkle and still polishing the cases. The little knicks the engine is destined for aren't as stand outish that way. And no offence to anyone but I really hate when an engine is completely blacked out. IMO it looks awful You want to showcase the engine not black it out.
I go for a finish on the engine that is best from an engineering and performance view. An engine will best get rid of heat if it's parts are not polished and not coated with paint or powedercoating etc..
But this is largely ignored by those who are more interested in being part of a fashion movement than having their machine function the best it can....
not a fan of all black engines, but planning on just painting the covers on my 450 like the Hansen motor below. and if i win the lottery, maybe the dry clutch kit as well
On my bike I like to alternate black and shiny the best I can. I think an engine looks best with polished (not painted) covers and the body of it black with sanded fins. That said once the black chips a bit it looks kind of shoddy....IMO it looks awful You want to showcase the engine not black it out.
Yea agree with this black engines with chips in them don't look great. The BCR bike does look good agree with the contrast but also the one with just the middle fins looks good as well. So many choices!!
Off topic: I don't think there is another bike that can pull off the black/silver contrast engine like this one below:
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