Colour Schemes

[steve murdoch]

Nothing against matte, it just doesn't suit my eye.
Again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Make it your own.

[suzukigs1100ez]

On my bike I wanted lime green somewhere since that my favorite color. But all lime green Suzuki would confuse people. So I went with green accents but I know that taking every that can come off and painting one color kinda a bad idea. So I decided to just go with green graphic only. Also, like the look of dark gray and black so the was route I wanted painted then. Last year I had left a lot of the bright metal showing like the chrome header and the original finish on the wheels so this spring when I was working on it I decide to paint the exhaust black since it was getting rough and had some holes that needed to be welded shut. I had both rims off so I decide to paint the rims a dark bronze.

[wyly]

Nothing against matte, it just doesn't suit my eye.
Again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Make it your own.

I've seen a few matte and gloss combinations that were very nice.

[wyly]

Are there colours/finishes that just bother you guys outright? E.G. - Kawasaki Green or KTM Orange on other bikes? Terrible combinations?

almost any colour looks good if it's done well, I dislike brown but then I saw a few that looked really good. Kawasaki green, never cared for it but then I came across a 2019 Z900 with just a few bits of frame that were kawi green and Imo looked really good, more than the red version. I'm even considering buying one. Ktm orange, I love orange! like kawasaki it's all about how much and where it's applied.

[wyly]

DSC_0027-640x360.JPGWhen I restored my GS1150 I stayed with oem colours but now I'm rebuilding I'm not sure what I'll do. If I repaint it'll be next winter, this winter is all mechanical modifications. Nothing wrong with oem colours the suzuki designers did well.

Looking around the web I see very few people venture past oem colours. I don't know if that's because they like the original look, have no imagination, lazy, lack the skills or just don't have cash for a repaint? I'll likely try a new colour combination.

[wyly]

"Period correct" colors really make a big difference on how an older car/truck/motorcycle looks. Other than black (maybe) the nicest ones look like they where meant to look that way off the showroom floor.

IMG_0761.jpgOther than CBX owners very few people recognize this as not an original colour, if Honda did a blue cbx this would fit in with the colours of the day. I have the original silver bodywork which I did not want to paint but wanted something different that I would've chosen back in the day(1978) if I had a choice.

[LAB3]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]59213[/ATTACH]Other than CBX owners very few people recognize this as not an original colour, if Honda did a blue cbx this would fit in with the colours of the day. I have the original silver bodywork which I did not want to paint but wanted something different that I would've chosen back in the day(1978) if I had a choice.

It's an odd subject to describe sometimes, you really need an artists eye to see it. If someone where to take some of the vibrant blue colors that have been popular on cars the last few years and used it on a 30+ yr old bike it would look pretty out of place. A color popular in that era could look like it belongs on it.

[kochic]

I'm not good with colors, I don't really know why but I wanted to paint my GS purple 10 years ago.It is still purple...
Marc
20190921_113900.jpg

[wyly]

I'm not good with colors, I don't really know why but I wanted to paint my GS purple 10 years ago.It is still purple...
Marc
[ATTACH=CONFIG]59218[/ATTACH]

and it looks great

[Rob S.]

Even Purple, a Skunk is a Skunk.

[Grimly]

I'm not good with colors, I don't really know why but I wanted to paint my GS purple 10 years ago.It is still purple...
Marc
[ATTACH=CONFIG]59218[/ATTACH]

That's reminiscent of a 70's Electric Purple that was common on Beach Buggies of the day.
One of my favourite colours.

[Grimly]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]59213[/ATTACH]Other than CBX owners very few people recognize this as not an original colour, if Honda did a blue cbx this would fit in with the colours of the day. I have the original silver bodywork which I did not want to paint but wanted something different that I would've chosen back in the day(1978) if I had a choice.

If Honda ever did a blue CBX, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it were that blue, too.
It doesn't look out of place. Colour-wise, that is; the seat is... interesting.

[wyly]

If Honda ever did a blue CBX, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it were that blue, too.
It doesn't look out of place. Colour-wise, that is; the seat is... interesting.

it's an auto colour, from the German Opal Kadett 1973-77, Signalblau. Time period is correct and it resembles the Honda colours of the mid to late 70's.

The seat was patterned on the CBX Gunfighter seat made by Corbin it wasn't designed for pillion comfort, I rarely carry a passenger and the raised section gives a lot of support for my lower back.

The seat was my first ever attempt at sewing, definitely the most difficult skill I've had to learn for moto modifications, its not perfect the one next will be better. Future project is to shorten the pan and seat and change it to a full solo seat. I have an original seat and cowl on the shelf that I can attach in less than 5 minutes if I need to take a passenger for an extended ride..

[Steve]

Back in 1979, the CBX was on my short list. If that blue had been available, it would have been a tough choice between that and the silver.

In '77, I was looking for a KZ650. Two models available, basic differences were the B model with wire wheels and disc/drum brakes or the C model with cast wheels and triple discs. I didn't care much about the brakes, but liked the look of the wheels on the C. The clincher was the choice of colors. The B came in a candy red and a matching candy green, but the C model came in silver and a nice blue that looks a bit like that CBX. They were sold out in my area of SoCal, ended up finding a C model in Maryland.

.

[wyly]

Back in 1979, the CBX was on my short list. If that blue had been available, it would have been a tough choice between that and the silver.

In '77, I was looking for a KZ650. Two models available, basic differences were the B model with wire wheels and disc/drum brakes or the C model with cast wheels and triple discs. I didn't care much about the brakes, but liked the look of the wheels on the C. The clincher was the choice of colors. The B came in a candy red and a matching candy green, but the C model came in silver and a nice blue that looks a bit like that CBX. They were sold out in my area of SoCal, ended up finding a C model in Maryland.

.

my oem tank. cowl and fender is Perseus silver.

When I put my deposit down back in 78 I was given a choice of Red, Black and Silver. Red paint in those days faded very fast so I went with black only to be told I couldn't have it and the dealer didn't know why.
35 yrs later I found out that there was a 79 in Black but it was only sold in Germany. When I repainted my second set of body parts I painted it black as I originally ordered, I finally had my black 79. Afterward I thought if I could've have had any colour at that time it would've been blue like the cb400F of the day. So I repainted it signalblau, not quite like the cb400f but it's my own.