Looking to paint, what do you think?

[gabaptistpastor]

I ride a 2008 Royal Star Venture, or I should say, I own a 2008 Royal Star Venture. It is currently apart in my garage as I am preparing it for a new paint job.

 

I want some opinions. (Constructive ones) I am planning on painting her Battle Ship Gray (gloss, not flat), with Royal Blue & Gold Leaf striping. The Blue strips will be wide with the Gold Leaf laid as a single strip splitting the blue. I plan on taking all the "Yamaha" branding off and replace them with Anchors. I am not against Yamaha, but I am going for a cleaner look that will reflect my Naval Service. I retired in 2003 from the Navy with the rank of Chief Petty Officer.

 

So, the question: Battleship Gray or Khaki (Tan) with the Blue strips and Gold leaf?

 

I will also be changing the factory wind screen. Any suggestions?

 

Thanks all.

 

Terry

[Condor]

Personally I,m not fond of either of those colors on a bike, but white with the blue stripes and gold leaf looks classy navy....

[SpencerPJ]

Battleship gray seems that it would have more significance to you. Paint what you want, not what others do . Hope whatever you choose turns out awesome, but the most important thing is, Get out and Ride.

ps: welcome to the Forum, great place to chat and get answers to your MC questions.

[gabaptistpastor]

Personally I,m not fond of either of those colors on a bike, but white with the blue stripes and gold leaf looks classy navy....

 

Thanks for the suggestion, I appreciate it.

[etcswjoe]

I was looking to repaint mine a few years ago and was thinikng battleship grey myself, not sure about the blue. I did see a picture a few weeks back of a bike in battleship grey with a a gold fouled anchor, it looked pretty good. I was going to go with the Navy Chief Navy Pride skull and crossbones, I even received permission from the artist to use it, however I never stopped riding long enough to paint it.

 

I retired a couple years after you, last command was the Gettysburg out of Mayport.

[cowpuc]

First off Pastor!! Hope you enjoy your visit here in the club!! Next off,, THANK YOU for your service in maintaining our way of life!! There is nothing free about true freedom, thank you for doing your part in paying the cost of it - thanks.. Should you decide to take the plunge for full membership in the club, please note the "Honor Badge" that is available for you that recognizes your service and lets all the members know you served,, you earned it and we clubbers who did not serve LOVE to honor those of you who did!!

Concerning the scoot,, I would probably paint it to match what ever boat you served on.. I really like the thought of replacing the Yamaha emblems,, especially the tank emblems, with NAVY badging,, wayyy cool.. I think I would also do small American flags on either side of the front fender with a small navy symbol on the fender tip and,, especially being a Pastor,, I would do matching in size Christian flags on either side of the rear fender with a small cross on the rear tip..

WOWZY WOW WOW WOW brother,, you got yourself some decisions to make but,, being a U.S. Navy Man having chosen to serve our mighty God in your retirement,, we KNOW you will make the right decision on what ever you decide to paint your bike!!

Welcome to the club..

Puc

[grubsie]

I saw an RSV on Facebook a while back that was painted gray. No metallic in the paint, just gray. I think it may have had some pinstriping but don't hold me to it. I thought it was very sharp looking. Wish I knew how to find it again but things there seem to disappear quickly.

Edited July 6, 2020 by grubsie

[slowrollwv]

The only thing I can say about your idea is do it. You are the only one that has to be pleased with it. I repainted mine in 07. Black with charcoal grey pin stripes ran like a spider web with purple pearl in the center of the webs. And an hour glass on the trunk. It didn't have to please anyone but me but I have won a lot of bike shows' with it.

[dfitzbiz]

Haze gray and under weigh Chief! Can’t wait to see it. Former QM2, what was your rate.

 

 

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[CaseyJ955]

Gray has a lot of range, I'd go that way. Any shades of tan or brown will probably make it look like you sideswiped a 74 LTD Country Squire Woodie.

 

I painted my Vmax for two reasons, first I wanted a safer color than flat black, and I wanted a color that nobody else on the Vmax forum had. I choose a Turquoise and it came out a little lighter than I had hoped, but after I saw it in the sunlight I decided it was just about right. I have never seen a Vmax quite like mine, which was a large part of the point.

 

I have never painted before, not seriously anyway. I went to a body shop and picked out the color and they put it in some spray cans that worked almost eerily well to lay the primer and color down, then I used a can (Probably two cans for a Venture) Eastwood/2k two part clear coat. It comes in the can also but has a bladder inside, when your ready to use it you just hit the button on the bottom to mix the two parts then you have a clock on getting it applied. It worked very well, I'm surprised by the results. Just like on cars, all the work is in the prep. On that clear coat, your going to want to breathe about 0% of that nasty crap, it's wicked toxic so ventilation and a resp would be great ideas for spraying that stuff. All and all it was very easy to work with and although it took a little more time and money than I wanted it's been years and the results are quite lasting.

 

I like the gray idea, IMHO all the Germans have mastered making gray, silver, charcoal and gun metal very sexy exterior colors. Go for it. If you have trouble finding just the right shade try the BMW, MB and VAG (VW-Audi Group) colors. I think it's a great idea.

 

 

 

[zagger]

Personally, I'm gonna choose flatblack.

zag

[SilveradoCA]

If your '08 is the same colours as mine Black Cherry & Raven Black, then I think it's monstrous to paint over it LOL.

 

Sincerely though, loving how your bike looks is of the utmost importance. She should make you turn back for another look like a curvy Stampede cowgirl in good fitting jeans.

 

Not sure if it's important to your decision, but a glossy non-metallic grey is really popular on Harleys over the last few years. My friend has a CVO Street Glide, and it looks excellent.

 

If grey, blue and gold were my choices, rather than pinstripes I'd do blue & gold rally stripes; thinner on the fenders, and thick over the tank and trunk. I happen to like rally stripes though.

 

If pinstripes are a must, I'd do a double-gold to separate the grey from accent areas in blue, similar to how the red/black is laid out. That would be a sharp looking bike. You could probably get a nice Navy emblem or other imagery done in vinyl and lay it on before the clear coat if you wanted. Or definitely hand painted or air-brushed if you are a Picasso or are willing to pony up for a good artist.

 

Hope to see pics when she's finished.

 

EDIT: To your windscreen question - how tall are you? Yamaha must have hired a Dutch designer on the windscreen desk, because I think you'd need to be about 6'5" to see the road from over the plastic of the standard model, which is 17". They do offer a comically high 22" touring model as well, if you're over 7' tall.

 

I had a 13" extra-wide screen on, which REALLY kept the rain off you, and would be the right height for someone about 6' tall. I'm 5'5", and just fit an 8" tall screen, which is almost perfect for me. I see over the top of it until about 6' in front of the bike.

Edited July 8, 2020 by SilveradoCA

[grubsie]

Not sure if it's important to your decision, but a glossy non-metallic grey is really popular on Harleys over the last few years. My friend has a CVO Street Glide, and it looks excellent.

 

Like this one. Sa-weet!

 

[SilveradoCA]

Like this one. Sa-weet!

 

 

Exactly like that one. I find that colour a little boring in a mono-tone scheme like that; reminds me of concrete. The accents on the engine, stitching etc. make it look better in person. But imagine it with some tasteful blue and gold, and it would be sharp.