1977 GS400 Engine color help

[Bcrusep]

I bought my first bike and i wanna go with the old school look with matt or semi gloss black for the frame and some of the engine but don't know what all to paint without over doing it..Those of you that have black painted engines can you post some pics so i can get ideas..Thanks

[Flyboy]

I would just do the head, barrels and casings, then sand the edges of the fins back to silver.
leave the covers for the clutch, ignition, etc on the sides of the motor silver.
Should look wicked.
Post pics.

[pete]

I painted my crankcases, valve cover, and valve breather cover with POR 15 Black Velvet which is a matte black high temperature paint, and I got the head and barrels done with a process called wet blasting. This is a non abrasive blasting process that effectively seals the outside of the alloy so road grime is a lot easier to clean off, but it doesn't affect things like cam journals etc.

I polished up my case covers too.

[Flyboy]

Jeeez, bloody Auzzies, get off it Pete, any excuse to show off that fancy new pipe of yours, hey.
And not one, but three bloody pics....................don't blame you mate, it is a work of art.

[pete]

Hahahaha sorry Flyboy, I was trying to find ones that just show the engine... honest!

[Nuitdevotremort]

sand the edges of the fins back to silver.

Oooo. Me likey. I think I just found what I'm doin.

[78gs1000]

Looks good, those pipes are amazing! They look a little close to the leg area though

[Ghostgs1]

PJ1 in matte black is good also. Love the exhaust Pete, sorta P11 look going threre. Ray

[78gs1000]

Oh yea, on my engine paint i used rust-oleum gloss black engine paint, with a high heat primer.. LOOKS GREAT! Good luck

[pete]

Looks good, those pipes are amazing! They look a little close to the leg area though

Thanks, I'm real happy with them

They are potentially in the leg burny area, the heat shield should be good for the pillion but may not come as far forward as it could, however sitting on it puts the thinner bit of my leg between the ankle and calf there, so it may be ok.

If not, I have some other ideas for an alternative heat shield...

Also, it's ceramic coated which should keep the outside temperature down compared to chrome, but no idea if it will make enough of a difference to worry about or not...

PJ1 in matte black is good also. Love the exhaust Pete, sorta P11 look going threre. Ray

Thanks Ray! I did Google but you lost me on the P11 reference I'm afraid...

For me they're inspired by the old 60's scramblers as well as the modern Triumph Scrambler, but you have me curious as to what the P11 refers to now...