To Modify or Original?
Why I turned my old girl into a hottie in a week.
This is my K1300s, by BMW. I think this is the finest bike ever created, crammed full of everything I love about riding. Upright riding position, antilock brakes, single swing arm shaft drive, 175HP at the rear wheel, perfect balance and as pretty as a supermodel in jeans and a tank top. Question is, what year was this model built? Here’s a closer look.
Still having trouble? That’s the idea. Now, here’s a peek at her original skin, before I went crazy in my garage with some Rustoleum Industrial flat black.
Don’t get me twisted, I loved her original color, but…weeeeeeeell…time for a change. Why? Because she’s got about 90 thousand miles on her and more than a few scratches. I suppose I could have had her painted at a shop, but I don’t have that kind of disposable income, being retired.
Soooooo, every time a rock used to kick up and chip her finish I’d cringe, inching ever closer to the 5000 dollars I’d need (at least) to have her repainted. Nope. Time to do it myself!!!
Best dicision I ever made.
Along the sanding, prepping and masking way, I found some innovative avenues to dress her up. Notice the tank guard? Those are grip stickers used for game controllers, among other things. It burns me how much manufacturers want for tank protectors. At anywhere from 50 for cheesy to 200 for bike specific, I just knew there had to be a better option.
As for the how, I pressed duct tape on the non stick side and peeled the stickers off the wax paper, keeping the pattern in the process. I then transferred them to the tank, being careful to press them hard as I went. An hour later, I have what is on the bike now to the tune of 12.99 from Amazon.
Now, if I should catch a rock or, God forbid, drop her, I can simply remove the damaged plastics, sand, prep and repaint. In fact, I may or may not have done just that after dumping my sweet girl in the driveway. Totally my fault, having left the rear brake locking device in place used when tightening the lug bolts. Uuuuug. Such a rookie move.
Seems like I modify another part of her every time she’s down for some other reason.
Ever almost die at the hands of a driving texter? Me too. Even when the bike was orange, I was invisible to the teenaged girls or date-app-tools pounding away on their screens with their better hand, while barely watching the road. Now ignore me! Coupled with my 20K lumen headlight, they’re going to have entire conversations about me, no matter to me what they are. So long as they see me.
“What the hades is that?” they’ll say, peering in their mirrors (and ignoring everything in front of them).
Until next time, stay shiny side up. Peace in.
