Pin Stripe Venture

[frankc]

Good Morning Everyone,

 

I see some beautiful after market pin striping on the farring of the Ventures. My question is where can those decals be purchased?

 

I really like the look and i'm interested in decaling mine.

 

Thanks

[RedRider]

Look in the Yellow Pages for an Auto Customization shop. Generally, the pin striping is actually painted by hand.

 

RR

[Eck]

All mine were purchased at Auto Zone............

 

@ $9.00 each, and I got a lot of very nice comments about them.

[LilBeaver]

All mine were purchased at Auto Zone............

 

@ $9.00 each, and I got a lot of very nice comments about them.

 

+1 to that or any other automotive type store. Unfortunately buying them by the roll is about 2 or 3 times as expensive as it is for a body shop/customising place to get, but you aren't going to be paying someone a few hundred dollars an hour to get them put on either.

 

Painted stripes of course will last longer and in some cases end up looking a bit nicer (especially if you want something that is rather complex or has a lot of curvature to it).

 

Have fun and don't forget pictures when you are done!

[LilBeaver]

I know your question was just where can you get them but I figured I would toss in a little more information too...

 

Make sure when/if you do this yourself you make sure the area that you will be applying the stripes to is very clean of everything, including wax or polish. You can get a bottle of degreaser for painted surfaces for pretty cheap. Most of the stripes you will find can be put on dry or wet. What I have found to be the easiest is to start your application by lightly misting the surface with a water bottle (this allows you to easily slide the striping around a little bit when placed on the surface as well as smooth out any air bubbles or wrinkles that will occur during the application). Take your time and apply one piece at a time and when you are done with an area, take a step back and look at it before the water dries. If you are unhappy with an area wet it down and if you are careful you should be able to move the stripe. Once you are happy with how it looks press along the stripe in the direction of which you applied it with a small squeegie to dry the surface, ensure that the adhesive on the back of the stripe will bond to the surface, work out wrinkles and any remaining air bubbles under the stripe it self. Then dry the rest of the area with an appropriate towel.

Give the stripes a day or two to finish setting up (and to make sure you are happy with it) then wax/polish your bike. This will help protect them from fading in the sun as well as cracking and peeling. Most importantly it will replace the wax/polish that is removed when you applied the degreaser (And you will have a shiny scoot - which is always good)

 

Be patient with this, if you get frustrated or whatever, finish up the one you are working on or pull it off completely and take a break and come back to it later. Sometimes these things can be a bit of a bugger, especially on your own vehicle.

 

I am sure that there are many others with suggestions on how to do this and maybe it is appropriate for a different thread - I just figured I could share some of my experience in hopes that you may find it helpful.

 

Good Luck and have fun!!

[SilvrT]

Any decals, large or small, will be much easier to work with if you use soapy water. You don't need a lot of soap...just a wee bit. If you get a bubble that you can't work out (and you will get those), use a very sharp, pointed razor blade knife such as an Xacto and puncture the bubble and then work out any air that was trapped.

 

Decals do not lend themselves well to compound curves so try to stay away from those.

[Carbon_One]

All good advice from the guys above. Do an online search for decals. There's a lot of companies offering bike specific types with many designs. Decals can be as elaborate as one wishes or as simple as a few lines in one color.

Here's just a sample with one search-- [ame=http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGLL_en&q=decals]decals - Google Search[/ame] & [ame=http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4GGLL_en&q=motorcycle+decals&revid=1806215829&ei=oTCESuerF4O0sgOkmtWkBw&sa=X&oi=revisions_inline&resnum=0&ct=broad-revision&cd=5]motorcycle decals - Google Search[/ame]

 

Painted pin stripping doesn't necessarily have to be expensive. The stripper who did my bike & helmets spent 4 hours from start to finish and charged me $225. All painted pin stripping gets you a one of a kind bike too.

Looking forward to seeing what you end up with on the bike Frank

Larry

Edited August 13, 2009 by Carbon_One

[RedRider]

The stripper who did my bike & helmets spent 4 hours from start to finish and charged me $225. Larry

 

How much would it have cost without the lap dance?

 

RR

[Carbon_One]

How much would it have cost without the lap dance?

 

RR

Ya I know what ya mean there Red. It still beats a 2-3K custom paint job thou.

Larry

[Patrick46]

I'm a custom pinstriper by profession.

 

Yea, you can save a few shackles by buying the stuff at the auto parts store...

but isn't the point to try and make yer sled stand out and look BETTER than the rest??? Those stripe decals are made for kids cars who don't know any better to what looks good or not. They're cheap in price.....and they look CHEAP TOO!!!

 

Like was said earlier...find yourself a professional pinhead to stripe it for ya. It doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg. Tell the person how much you've got to work with, and let them do their thing.

Bike rallys are a good place to find custom stripers...but usually when I work a rally, I charge almost DOUBLE my shop rate, and most others probably do the same (to cover traveling costs, etc...)

 

Call your local hot-rod shop, and ask them who they recommend. Most rod shops (& bike shops too...especially H-D shops) have a local pinstriper that they use, and would be happy to give you their number.

 

Plus...your back East....there's alot of great stripers back there...this should be an easy job for them.

Good luck, and show us a pic of what you have done!!

Edited August 14, 2009 by Patrick46

[SilvrT]

Those stripe decals are made for kids cars who don't know any better to what looks go or not. They're cheap in price.....and they look CHEAP TOO!!!

 

Let me rephrase my original comment...

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but...

 

A good decal properly applied does NOT look cheap and they are NOT made for "kids cars". A "professionally" done pinstripping job DONE POORLY will look a whole lot CHEAPER.

 

Sorry, mean no offense, but your statement was rather harsh and biased I thought.

 

Having said that, I do agree that a good quality "professional" pinstiping job is by far the best route to go.

 

And thanks for the tip about double charging...I'll certainly be on the lookout for that. I would think tho that under such a circumstance, a person would do some deals just for the exposure...I know I would... it would be like an advertising cost ... so ya don't make as much at the Bike Rally ... but look at all the business you could generate back at your shop.

Course, if Bike Rally's were your only place of doing business, gouge, gouge, gouge would be the game for sure! Heck, that's what they do at sporting events...beer is 2-3 times the normal price.

[LilBeaver]

I'm a custom pinstriper by profession.

...

Those stripe decals are made for kids cars who don't know any better to what looks go or not. They're cheap in price.....and they look CHEAP TOO!!!

 

Like was said earlier...find yourself a professional pinhead to stripe it for ya. It doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg. Tell the person how much you've got to work with, and let them do their thing.

...

Call your local hot-rod shop, and ask them who they recommend. Most rod shops (& bike shops too...especially H-D shops) have a local pinstriper that they use, and would be happy to give you their number.

 

We (my family) has run a body shop for years and it took us a while to find a good striper to do any of the complex stuff that we needed done (or when we got busy we even had him come out for the gravy jobs - which they could do with amazing speed and accuracy). Thanks to the handful of 'pinheads' (your words, not mine) we lost a lot of money sometimes having to go as far as to repaint panels due to the gross neglegence of particular 'professionals'.

Now I have never seen your work and I have no reason to believe that you do anything that is not of exceptional quality, so please do not take that the wrong way. But this does reinforce the contacting of a local H-D dealership, hot-rod shop, or even a regular ol body shop (or contact several) to get reccomendations for a striper.

 

My guess is you will find that you [frankc] will end up with the same pool of few folks that do terrific work. If you decide to go that route and pick one to go talk with ask to see some samples of some work they have done and have a REAL conversation with them. If you like what you see, great. If not, thank them for your time and try someone else. Remember, this is YOUR bike and YOU are the one that has to live with it every time you see your bike or pay to have stuff repainted, etc. If you are not exactly sure what you want or if they make some suggestions, certainly listen to what they have to say but do not let them talk you into what they think you will like (unless that is what you want, or they show you a sketch and you like it too). Not everyone will look at the same design and have the same feelings about it.

 

I would challenge anyone to go through a new car lot and try pick out the cars that have painted pinstripes and the 'cheap ones made for kid cars'. Now, I realize that to a trained eye once you get up close or put your fingers on them, it can be pretty easy to tell (especially if the stripes are applied poorley). What you will find is that a good majority of them are stuck on by the dealership (or A dealership at somepoint). There are some obvious exceptions to this but again the majority of cars are done that way.

 

Now, I realize that we are not talking about CARS we are talking about BIKES. So, anyone with a two-tone venture, go out to your bike and take a look at where the colors come together, what you will see that is a 'cheap' stuck on pinstripe put there for the explicit reason of hiding where the two colors meet up. This is done to allow for a very clean transition between the two colors and can often add a very pleasing accent to the overall image. I will let a reader draw their own conclusions from this point.

 

frankc: I will agree 100% that if you find a really good custom pinstriper the painted designs will certainly maintain their quality much longer than the stuck on type. When you get close enough the painted ones will certainly look better as well. Certainly the more complex of a design you are going after the more likely you are to have a better finished product with paint instead of the stuck on type.

You could spend 10 bucks and do it your self, or you could spend more than that and have someone else do it. There are advantages and disadvantages to each but do not be mislead by 'Patrick46's comment; stuck on stripes CAN look good if done properly. And do not be fooled, it is not difficult by any means to stick these things on. The process can be very tedious and will take a lot of patience and a very carefull eye to make sure that it looks good when you are done BUT it is not difficult.

Edited August 14, 2009 by LilBeaver
Spelling

[LilBeaver]

Patrick46: I just took a look at your website that you have noted in your signature and I realize that we all missed an important point here.

First of all, I am very impressed with the work that you have pictured up there and I am sure that the pictures themselves hardly do the real thing justice.

 

I will agree 110% that if what is desired is some sort of image, flames, or large scale graphics then having it painted is the way to go, no question about that. There is certainly no substitute for well painted graphics.

 

Before we started offering advice as to what could be done NONE of us asked the question that should have been asked of 'what did you have in mind' especially since the original question was simply 'where can they be purchased?'

 

I, possibly mistakenly, assumed (and yes, I know what assumptions do) that what was desired was something very simple that involved following the lines of the faring, saddlebags or trunk for a simple accent (or something on that level). Which may or may not be what frankc wants.

[Patrick46]

 

Sorry, mean no offense, but your statement was rather biased.

.

 

hahaha....OK, OK....ya got me there!

 

and to "LilBeaver"...

first off...thankyou for the kind words. I've been at this game for almost 30 years now. I haven't updated my website in nearly 6 years...(my web guy moved). There's not much pinstriping on there because when you take a pic of it, it hardly shows up unless it's got a strong contrasting colour, or is big and bold. So my website shows more of the big stuff. And altho I do work on everything...I do specialize in work on big trucks.

 

But you DID make a very very good point!

One of the FIRST things I do when I meet up with a new customer is to ask them "what direction would YOU like to go with this job?? Are you looking for graphics, pinstriping, or something else??" (frankly, I'm humbled and ashamed by missing this point on my original post) I should know better....(sorry)

I also admit I got alittle 'mean' about the 'kids cars' comments.

 

It's simply that I've seen and know so many pinstripers out there that do such incredibly awesome work, and that you won't need to refinance your house to get the work done. And with the economy as it is, many of them would be more than happy to give an enthusiastic customer a nice job for a very reasonable price. This is why I have a hard time understanding why someone would go anywhere else. You DO want your bike to look cool...don't you?? I also Hate the fact that anyone can buy the stickers, and have the same thing as the guy right next to him has. (I have 2 vinyl cutting machines at my shop...but I mostly use them for truck lettering and paint masks)

 

Anyway...sorry if I've hyjacked this post! I really did'nt mean to offend anyone.

 

Most auto parts stores carry the pinstripe decals if that's a route you'd wanna go. Another place to look is auto paint supply stores...most cities have them (check yer yella pages) Clean any waxes off THROUGHLY before doing anything...and have fun!

 

again...please show some pics of whatever you DO decide to do.

 

 

(wanna know sumthing funny......EVERYTHING I ride is a RaT!!!)

[SilvrT]

Now, I realize that we are not talking about CARS we are talking about BIKES. So, anyone with a two-tone venture, go out to your bike and take a look at where the colors come together, what you will see that is a 'cheap' stuck on pinstripe put there for the explicit reason of hiding where the two colors meet up. This is done to allow for a very clean transition between the two colors and can often add a very pleasing accent to the overall image. I will let a reader draw their own conclusions from this point.

 

Not exclusive to a Venture ... most all bikes, including Harley's, have this "stuck on pinstripe" which is also sealed and covered with a coat of clear. Here's a tidbit of info... if you scratch that stripe on a Harley, the only way to get it repaired is to send the entire piece back to Harley factory (according to what I've been told) ... and it ain't a CHEAP thing to do!

 

I love pinstripes and plan to get mine done this winter and I am definately getting it done by hand by a "professional". I've used the "pinstripe" decals before and although I thought the ones I used looked good, they weren't UNIQUE, nor did they exactly follow the "flow" of the body lines, not to mention that it is hard to find a pinstripe decal that has the right colors you want. I'm not referring to those "straight-line" stripes, but actual, commercially made pinstripe designed decals.

 

Hey Patrick46 .... your response to my post earned you my respect. If you lived closer, I'd be sure to have you do this job for me. BTW, what is a "RaT" ???

[Condor]

This company has a pretty good selection of stripping stick ons.

 

http://www.stripeman.com/mm5/merchant.mvc

[Patrick46]

Not exclusive to a Venture ... most all bikes, including Harley's, have this "stuck on pinstripe" which is also sealed and covered with a coat of clear.

 

Believe it or not...ALL pinstripes on a H-D are HAND DONE!!!...even the straight basic stuff

 

Hey Patrick46 .... what is a "RaT" ???

 

well...I don't have any good pics of mine on my computer, but this is my son's bike...

 

http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/27/l_c30c60dfaa044634beccede118731957.jpg

 

and here's a few others...

http://www.geezers-uncaged.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/rat-bike1.jpg

http://www.ratbike.org/albums/dhr_2005/best_rat_2.jpg

 

I guess you could call them, "extremely user friendly!"

[SilvrT]

 

Believe it or not...ALL pinstripes on a H-D are HAND DONE!!!...even the straight basic stuff

 

 

hmmmmmm.... I'll have to double-check on that (just coz I hafta)

 

LOL... ok, now I know what a RaT is... hahaha gawd, do people actually ride those things? (I know they do but....) ... actually, there's a guy around here that has a scooter that's definately a "RaT" ... one of these days I've GOT TO get a pic of it!

[LilBeaver]

 

Believe it or not...ALL pinstripes on a H-D are HAND DONE!!!...even the straight basic stuff

 

I would believe that. I have seen a lot on the showroom floor that look terrific - Though I can honestly say that I never inspected the stripes on H-D that closely.

 

And the only bike parts that I have painted have been tanks, fairings off of crotch rockets that people abuse beyond belief and a few tanks and saddlebags for some touring bikes (a few 80's wings and ) that were just a color change or a best match to freshen up the look.

[FJR Rider]

Not exclusive to a Venture ... most all bikes, including Harley's, have this "stuck on pinstripe" which is also sealed and covered with a coat of clear. Here's a tidbit of info... if you scratch that stripe on a Harley, the only way to get it repaired is to send the entire piece back to Harley factory (according to what I've been told) ... and it ain't a CHEAP thing to do!QUOTE]

 

At least on the models with fairings and bags, the HD pinstripes aren't stick on and sealed like Yamaha's .. HD pinstriping is painted on using a robot at their factory in Tomahawk WI.

 

And...you don't always have to have a "professional" pinstriper to get quality work...it helps, but not always. The pinstriping on our 06 RSV was done by a school teacher

[SilvrT]

Believe it or not...ALL pinstripes on a H-D are HAND DONE!!!...even the straight basic stuff

 

At least on the models with fairings and bags, the HD pinstripes aren't stick on and sealed like Yamaha's .. HD pinstriping is painted on using a robot at their factory in Tomahawk WI.

 

Some "pinstriping" is definately painted on but I'm referring to the lines that either divide a color break or are accent lines on a single color bike (similar to our Ventures).

 

According to information I've been able to "dig up", including posting a Q on an HD forum, they are "stick-on" as opposed to "painted on" albeit they may well be applied by a "robot". However, I am still not convinced so am doing further "digging" on this simply because I am getting conflicting information and I'm one of those "make me a believer" kinda guys LOL

[SilvrT]

http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/masonictreasures

[FJR Rider]

Rick,

 

The only reason I mentioned the painting of the pinstripes .. this is as you mentioned the "dividing" pinstriping .. for HDs is I've toured their facility in Tomahawk several times. The robot for the pinstriping is KUKA rebot, it paints, it doesn't apply a roll of ready made pinstriping. All the dividing (which is all they do there) pinstriping is painted .. this is for the fairing, bags, tanks, and sidepanels for the soft-tail and touring model HDs. Maybe what comes on Sportser and other HDs without fairings and bags is ready-made pinstriping, but what they do at Tomahawk is all painted.

 

What the folks said at Tomahawk is they do all this paintwork there, so only going with what I was told and what I saw.

 

They do custom colors there as well, but I don't believe they do custom paint jobs/pinstriping there. I'll be back up there for the Fall Colors ride in about a month, I'll check again.

 

Curt

[SilvrT]

Rick,

 

The only reason I mentioned the painting of the pinstripes .. this is as you mentioned the "dividing" pinstriping .. for HDs is I've toured their facility in Tomahawk several times. The robot for the pinstriping is KUKA rebot, it paints, it doesn't apply a roll of ready made pinstriping. All the dividing (which is all they do there) pinstriping is painted .. this is for the fairing, bags, tanks, and sidepanels for the soft-tail and touring model HDs. Maybe what comes on Sportser and other HDs without fairings and bags is ready-made pinstriping, but what they do at Tomahawk is all painted.

 

What the folks said at Tomahawk is they do all this paintwork there, so only going with what I was told and what I saw.

 

They do custom colors there as well, but I don't believe they do custom paint jobs/pinstriping there. I'll be back up there for the Fall Colors ride in about a month, I'll check again.

 

Curt

 

Thanks Curt ... I stand corrected and I did do further research on this and that's what they do alright.

 

Now I gotta go back to that "know-it-all" Harley owner and tell him he don't know nuthin..... (LOL that's my son)

:rotf: