REPAINTING YOUR BIKE

The pictures above was my bike a few months ago. Some weeks ago, I looked at my bike and decided I was tired of the color. I wanted something new. Maybe something that would rekindle my dying love for her. Not that the old red color with black stickers was not sexy. I had gotten bored with it and needed something fresh.




My first step was to think of a new color and theme. I decided to check on the internet, and of course no better place than google. I searched "2011 Yamaha R6 paintjobs". A lot of image results were thrown at me. I found a lot of creative ideas. There was a custom Captain America themed paintjob. There were the flame themed paintjobs too. They were captivating enough for me to consider them, but then I wondered where in the four walls of Owerri I would find a painter skilled enough and  has the equipment to pull it off. I decided to stick with something easy. Searched harder on google and it finally came to me. Black and gold!

Black and gold was easy and looked badass. I thought to myself which painter can’t paint black? I printed the picture to give to the painter who will handle the job. Then I hit my first challenge. I noticed the “Yamaha” and “R6” brand stickers on the bike fairings were in gold too. I imagined how rough it would look if I told my painter to paint the letters on. Later, I was able to find the custom gold stickers on eBay and Amazon. The stickers came in a set containing Yamaha, R6 and the tiny tuning fork logos. I bought them for $20. Not a bad deal in my opinion. I am  a fan of the Punisher marvel comic, and so I got a gold Punisher sticker for my windshield for $4. I also got smoked headlight lens for $5 to tint my headlights.

When my stickers arrived, the next stage was to scout for a painter. I heard of the guys who do oven baking paintjobs in Lagos and Abuja. I did not have the money to spend on transporting my bike to Lagos or Abuja to get it repainted. Its not like I have an oven baking my money for me. I decided to look within Owerri. Someone was recommended and I called him to see the bike. I showed him the picture of what I wanted and pulled his ears not to mess the job up. The fairings, shock absorbers, rims, fuel tank and footpegs were removed from the bike for painting. I had wanted to also paint the bike’s chassis, but decided against leaving my actual bike at the painter’s shop. Now, I feel some regret for not doing so.

Painting took four days. They had to scrape off the old paint and smoothen all surfaces before applying the paint. I was pessimistic of the outcome of the job. The painter exceeded my expectations. He did a perfect job. The first picture below was the picture I found online. The rest are my bike after painting.

Looking at the picture above with the old paint job, I miss it a little. But then that’s why we are human. We have an endless pit of desires which can never be filled. Before I forget, the cost of painting was 15,000 naira. Thanks for reading.

Meet the "Black Mamba"!