PowderToastMan_imp
Been there
Battle scars... I bought the bike to ride and enjoy. Yes it hurt a little at first that I have some scrapes and dents, but it doesn't bother me one bit while I'm riding, so I'm over it!
Do dings and scratches drive you NUTS???
- Thread starter Rebel73_imp
- Start date
It kills me every time! But I fix any scratch with scratch remover or touch up paint. It's never perfect ever, but I do take care of it. Dents I fix every time. I just can't look at my bike if it's damage. I like to keep my bikes in very good running condition but also very clean. You'll think that I'm nuts but I never put my bikes away dirty, and I clean them (at least wipe down) before each ride. My way of checking that everything is tight, and in good running order, before getting on the road. That's when I find rock chips, and anything else that needs attention. I'm much happier when the bike looks amazing even after a few years of use, but yet with imperfections that no one would notice, or know about but me. If it bothers me that much I get it fixed, and move on.
Finding the first ding/scratch is always a bit of a bummer as far as I'm concerned. I just found my first paint chip on the lower frontside of my tank the last time I washed my CB1100. Strangely, I didn't even flinch. That's a bit out of character for me.
There's a place here in town that specializes in antique tools - a vendor inside one of those "antique malls" actually. I first happened upon it a few years ago when I was out with my wife and we made a stop there. She made it all they way through all of the other vendor booths before I even stepped out of the booth with the tools. Now I'll stop by there on my own every so often. Usually just to kind of looks things over but every once in a while I'll find a good buy on something that I have a use for. The booth isn't that big, but it's chock full of beautiful old tools of all different sorts. The likes of which are hard to come by these days — each one a great display of craftsmanship made from high quality materials. These are tools that have been well used as intended by their manufacturers. It might seem odd to describe old tools as beautiful, but to me these truly are just that. A big reason for that is the the patina of honest use that they've picked up over time.
That's sort of how I've come to look at motorcycles as well — vintage bikes in particular. The fully restored examples are great to look at and are a nice way of honoring the designs just as they rolled out of the factory. But in their own way the bikes that exhibit a patina of honest wear from use are just as beautiful, if not more so. So it goes with my bikes. My Hawk GT is in really great shape. It's almost completely original although I've replaced a few parts here and there, mostly with OEM units. But it has 25 years on the CB1100 and up close it looks it. You can tell the bike has been used and enjoyed. The CB1100 still pretty much looks like new. There is some wear from my key fob on the top triple clamp and the engine shows signs of interacting with flying road debris (along with the previously mentioned paint chip on the tank). It's inevitable that my CB1100 will end up with more of the same. Fortunately there has been no real major damage to either of my bikes needing to be addressed so far.
The first 19 years that the Hawk spent on the road was with someone other than myself. The wear exhibited by the CB1100 has all come from my use of the bike. It is, and will continue to be, a rolling story of the time I've spent with it, and that's pretty cool.
There's a place here in town that specializes in antique tools - a vendor inside one of those "antique malls" actually. I first happened upon it a few years ago when I was out with my wife and we made a stop there. She made it all they way through all of the other vendor booths before I even stepped out of the booth with the tools. Now I'll stop by there on my own every so often. Usually just to kind of looks things over but every once in a while I'll find a good buy on something that I have a use for. The booth isn't that big, but it's chock full of beautiful old tools of all different sorts. The likes of which are hard to come by these days — each one a great display of craftsmanship made from high quality materials. These are tools that have been well used as intended by their manufacturers. It might seem odd to describe old tools as beautiful, but to me these truly are just that. A big reason for that is the the patina of honest use that they've picked up over time.
That's sort of how I've come to look at motorcycles as well — vintage bikes in particular. The fully restored examples are great to look at and are a nice way of honoring the designs just as they rolled out of the factory. But in their own way the bikes that exhibit a patina of honest wear from use are just as beautiful, if not more so. So it goes with my bikes. My Hawk GT is in really great shape. It's almost completely original although I've replaced a few parts here and there, mostly with OEM units. But it has 25 years on the CB1100 and up close it looks it. You can tell the bike has been used and enjoyed. The CB1100 still pretty much looks like new. There is some wear from my key fob on the top triple clamp and the engine shows signs of interacting with flying road debris (along with the previously mentioned paint chip on the tank). It's inevitable that my CB1100 will end up with more of the same. Fortunately there has been no real major damage to either of my bikes needing to be addressed so far.
The first 19 years that the Hawk spent on the road was with someone other than myself. The wear exhibited by the CB1100 has all come from my use of the bike. It is, and will continue to be, a rolling story of the time I've spent with it, and that's pretty cool.
holy666diver_imp
Running like a top
i just found a big chip from a rock on my tank yesterday. I was a little bummed but I figure at some-point I'll probably get a different tank. And with my black model scratches are unavoidable on that color. Especially with my knees. I need to get some tank pads
the Ferret
Road warrior
Good lord Guth, you are on a roll today lol. Comes with age. :rofl:
lukeduck_imp
First service completed
Nope. Really like the CB1100, but it's still just a motorsickle.
Headbanger02_imp
Been there
I'll confess, on my matching red side covers theres a very light 3 inch scratch on top of the paint above my cb 1100 emblem, that I can almost wax out, I must have had something on my cleaning rag. 
Rebel73_imp
Been there
Thread starter
When is someone going to invent invulnerable paint?
We can put men on the moon but we can't invent tougher paint?
We can put men on the moon but we can't invent tougher paint?
ClassicVW_imp
Road warrior
I think the stuff I used recently was called Scratch Doctor. In an orange squeeze bottle. As long as the scratch isn't all the way through the paint, it does a nice job of removing it without dulling the paint nearby.
I look forward to the first scratch or dent so that, like others have already said, I can stop worrying about it. I scratched the heck out of the frame putting the headers on and even scratched the tail pipe a bit and you know what? I don't really care. Thank God because now i can roll it in and out of the garage without worrying and stop worrying about the perfect parking place!
JustPassinThru_imp
Been there
Wisdom, this.redbirds_imp said:
Would that the rest of us could live it.
I've got the whole nine yards. Latent OCD; I'm an inherent slob. AND I'm accident-prone and bad luck follows me like bad body odor.
So. I get this new, immaculate, clean machine...and of course, first run out, I'm behind a bucket of dirt (loaded dump truck; they seem to smell me out) spraying dust. Wunnerful.
Then...in my apartment-house carport, there's crows nesting in the rafters. Over MY space. Of course I have to deal with THAT.
THEN...some butt-head gets on my bike while I'm in the county office building...ironically, getting the title for it. He's apparently got a chain-drive wallet or a button fly...because there's a deep ding in the paint.
And I KNOW that no matter how hard I try, I'll never have the machine as clean and as wonderfully virgin as the day I picked it up...not without paying some detailer the $BIG BUCK$ to go over it with a small brush.
It shouldn't bother me...but it does.
Rebel73_imp
Been there
Thread starter
[/QUOTE]
It shouldn't bother me...but it does.
[/QUOTE]
I feel ya, man.
It shouldn't bother me...but it does.
[/QUOTE]
I feel ya, man.
Henrik_imp
Been there
I don't worry much about it. At the end of the day, they are just objects that can be replaced or fixed most of the time. That does not mean I don't love them and care for them all the time.
What I do hate though is when somebody else knocks over one of my bikes and then does not have the courage to admit it. I think I have now had five bikes been knocked over while they were parked in proper bike parking spaces, and there has never been a note or anything. Accidents happen, and things can get sorted out, that's what we have insurance for.
What I do hate though is when somebody else knocks over one of my bikes and then does not have the courage to admit it. I think I have now had five bikes been knocked over while they were parked in proper bike parking spaces, and there has never been a note or anything. Accidents happen, and things can get sorted out, that's what we have insurance for.
Papa Weeley_imp
Road warrior
They all destroy me. The first one's unbearable. The second's no better. The same for anything else afterward (God forbid).
As unrealistic as it may be, I somehow expect everything I own to look brand new for its entire life span. Granted, I take such good care of (nearly) everything I own that I can often pull that off, but unfortunately, that sort of thing is just - luckily only occasionally - out of my control. :-/
As unrealistic as it may be, I somehow expect everything I own to look brand new for its entire life span. Granted, I take such good care of (nearly) everything I own that I can often pull that off, but unfortunately, that sort of thing is just - luckily only occasionally - out of my control. :-/
Setchman_imp
Running like a top
I guess that's one nice thing about getting old. My eyesight (or lack thereof) makes it harder to see all those annoying dings and scratches. All I have to do is take two steps back and she looks beautiful all over again.
Rebel73_imp
Been there
Thread starter
Since we're both in So Cal, how about we start the CB1100 So Cal support group?Papa Weeley_imp said:
BestStandard_imp
Running like a top
Factory-Matched Automotive Touch-Up Paint | Official Site
Has anyone ever tried this stuff? A friend at work swears by it, you order by paint code.
Has anyone ever tried this stuff? A friend at work swears by it, you order by paint code.
Rebel73_imp
Been there
Thread starter
Don't see anything on there for motorcycles.
I wonder whether, if you provided them with the colour code, they could match it in their kit?
BestStandard_imp
Running like a top
Pretty sure all they would need is a paint code/brand to get a match. An auto body supply place near me can mix paint to match bikes, yard/farm equipment, etc. if you give them the code and brand.
