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[Peggers]

This particular board has been pretty quiet since the '14 models hit the dealerships. I hope it's because you are all riding, and not 'cos you have traded up!
Anyway, to get some discussion going, I though that I would post my current saga:

As some of you may have picked up, I am a Saffa working offshore in the Middle East. I don't get home to Cape Town too often, but I spend quite a bit of time online, buying presents for my bike, which I have delivered to my dealership. He fits them for me, and voila, when I get home, the bike is ready to ride!

On my last trip home (my Dad's funeral in September) I again left my bike with the dealership for a number of upgrades - handlebars and such - with instructions to get the Tourpak painted with matching flames. I am due to come home for a bit at the end of the month, and so I have been pressing the dealership (HD Tyger Valley) to get it done. I finally received photos today, and I was gobsmacked. The colours match, but the size and proportions of the flames added, do not! The person who has painted it is just a painter, and does not have the eye of an artist. I am very keen to get this rectified as quickly as possible. I do not begrudge paying the fellow for what he has done, and take full responsibility for not explaining myself properly, or even meeting the guy. However, I am likely to keep this bike for a very long time, and cannot bear to look at it as it is now. It needs re-painting.

To this end, I have taken a photo of the bike before the job was done, and done a little cut and paste in MS Paint, and I think that it is a very accurate depiction of what I want.

I am attaching the pictures, labelled "Before", "After" and "Desired".
I don't think that what I want is too difficult, but I could weep when I look at the "After" pictures. I was so certain that my idea was quite the most logical way of doing it, that I never thought to ask. It now looks as if Picasso (in his latter years) and Salvador Dali had a love child while on acid!

[Peggers]

Now this is what I had in mind - a little bit of cut and past in MS Paint (I am too dumb for Photoshop!)
I mean, is this not the most logical way to do it, or am I completely doff??

[Peggers]

Now this is what the painter appointed by the dealership has done......

[Peggers]

Am I just being an old woman, or is this not the most stupid thing ever?

[Peggers]

I have written to the dealership and told them of my unhappiness. I have independently contacted an old acquaintance, another monopod by the name of Gordon Netherton, who did some custom work for me some years ago, and it was exquisite. He may not have the CVO paint codes, but I am sure he can do better than this w@anker!
Gordon lives quite a way off (other side of the mountain) but I have proposed that I pay his day rate just to go and look, to see if he wants to do this.

My only problem is going to be that custom painters for bikes in SA are pretty rare, and generally have a long waiting list. I am going home in 3 weeks, and I do not even want to look at it if it has not been sorted out. On the other hand I go home so seldom, and for such short periods, that I must ride when I can - so not having the bike available when I get back is inconceivable.

I will keep you all posted....but in the meanwhile, is there anyone out there who has painted up their tourpak in the same colour as my bike?

[2k]

WoW he did miss it. However, IMO I would not do a exact match. If the painter had finished off the top of the flame with a tip, I think it would have looked alot better. The one thing I have learned over the years...........do what you want, get imputs & ideas then do what makes you happy!!!

[ultrarider123]

Have to say the cut and paste job you did looks much better than the actual paint job.  The painter made the flames look more like waves than flames...color is pretty close however (at least by the pictures).  Go for what you want, not what others "think" you want.  Love the bike, by the way.  Be safe out there

[GregKhougaz]

This is completely subjective but I prefer what the shop did and not what you desired. Anyone can match exactly what is already done. There is no creativity there. The painter appointed by the shop complimented your bike and made it unique. I would reconsider your position but I also respect it. Can you show us a picture of the entire bike with the tour pack done?

[Twolanerider]

With your travel time home what it is can understand wanting to get something done now now.  Not sure I'd be in a huge rush though.  Like Greg has written above I actually don't dislike what was done at all.  That's it's not the obvious paint scheme I rather appreciate actually.  

What I might or might not like doesn't matter at all though.  It is easy to read your passion for this particular bike in your words.  So it's your vision and only your vision that matters.  If it's not lekker to you make it better and have fun getting it just how you want it.

[MrSurly]

First, let me say that I have the exact matching bike. I, too, feel that the tour pack looks almost like an add-on since every other panel has the motif.
I agree that your cut and paste is much better than his attempt.
On one hand I like that he was creative and tried to carry-over the idea and extend, but it looks like he just got lost on the proportions and his canvas size.
It doesn't look like the guy did poor quality work; but you did a poor job of communicating and left far too much to interpretation.
I would personally go with your cut/paste and send it to the same guy, ask him to re-do it your way. I'm sure you'll have to pay for both jobs but this guy will probably be more likely to turn it around quickly versus some new guy.
I have considered doing just as you are doing to mine but I can't decide on the design.

[Grizzly]

Personally, (and you may not want to hear this but), I like the "before" best.  

I realize that you wanted some flames on the TP, however sometimes less is more IMHO, and you already had plenty of flames throughout the bike on the bottom half.  The top half was quite nice on it's own with the magnificent orange paint glistening in the sunshine.

Just sayin'.

PS - You're right though, the painter made a real mess of things and possibly was inhaling way too many paint fumes.

Good luck with the project and I hope you eventually get what YOU want.

 

[LovemyCVOgirl]

Actually, I like what he did.    It is unique and not obnoxious.  I would wait until you see the MC in person.., you may decide that you really like it once you see it up close.   

[T-Hawk]

I would add, make sure you get the tourpak lightbar put back to where it belongs before it gets snagged on something and tears off the lights.

[Peggers]

Thanks for all your input... your differing opinions noted. Very interesting......

@2ksoftail : Thanks, and yes: making myself happy in the end is what I'll do!

@Haird : Cheers, Mate. You are right - he looks to have got the colour exact.

@GregKhougaz : Sorry, I can't get a pic of the entire bike with the Tourpak as it is now - the dealership have already taken it off and stripped the hinges etc in preparation for repainting. I note your admiration of the artwork, and respectfully, strongly disagree. 

@Twolanerider : Yup - long way from home, and when I get back, its only for about 45 days a year, so I don't want to be sitting with the bike in the shop, when I could be riding! BTW Nice use of the vernacular, "ek se!"

@MrSurly  : Congrats on your good taste in bikes, and thanks for the input. Point taken about the communication, but I will explain further below.

@Grizzly : A very interesting point, and in fact, if I had know it would have turned out like this, I also would have preferred the stock paint! In haling the fumes!! You crack me up!!

LovemyCVOgirl  : Thanks - I love the paintwork on your bike, what a great colour! But I reckon if this bloke painted your pizzabox with ghost flames thrice the size of any of those on the rest of your bike, you would also be surprised!

@T-Hawk Thanks for the reminder - already sorted.

Now for some clarification and update.
The only reason I didn't get Gordon to paint this in the first place was that he has recently moved, and I didn't have his details except at the old shop. He WAS my first choice. In the second place, the customer service guy at my HD dealership (whom I like) asked me to give his fellow a try, so rather than trying to find Gordon while I was busy organizing a wake, family travel and accommodations, and a reading of the will, I agreed. My bad, and as I have already admitted, I will pay the guy in full.

As far as not communication properly my requirements to the painter, well, I did let the dealership know what I expected, but it appears that the painter never saw the bike: he was given a stripped down tourpak, and a side cover (note: not a saddlebag) as reference.
I was warned that he would not attempt to graduate the colour on the red part of the flame tips (they get darker in a speckledy sort of way) and this should have tipped me off that he was not going to even try to go the extra mile.
So, I can only surmise that, not having seen the bike, and only having the sidecover as a reference, he just copied the design from the sidecover, and stretched it vertically to fill the panel. Nothing artistic or inventive about that, but he did get the colour right. I give him 1/100 for getting the paint codes from the MoCo. Very poor that my dealership guy didn't tell him exactly what we discussed. Too bad the painter didn't look on the internet or ask a few more questions. Still - my fault, my problem>

What next? Well, Gordon has agreed to do the job, and asked the dealership to take the Tourpak off the bike and remove all the hinges and lights in readiness. They will phone him when ready, and he will collect it, along with one saddlebag as a reference. Gordon will see the bike, and will phone me when he is there with any questions. He has access to a number of pictures of my bike from all angles, and his brief will be to produce something close to what I have asked for, but to look as if it came from the factory that way.
Seeing as he is a dab hand with an airbrush I am pretty sure that he will get the darkening of the flame tips right, and I am probably going to ask him to add a graphic to the rear of the tourpak below the lightbar - if I do, it will be very subtle and barely visible.

Thanks you all for your ideas and interest: I will make sure I post pictures of the bike here when she is done.

Cheers,

Peggers

 
 

[2k]

Thanks you all for your ideas and interest: I will make sure I post pictures of the bike here when she is done.

Cheers,

Peggers


[/quote]

If you don't, we will hunt you down and put a bright yellow tourpak on your scooter late at night!