Okay, time to show-off a little

[petekadish]

Ever since I picked-up my Venture last year, I always had this feeling that it needed a a little touch of something to break-up all those big black areas just a bit. So, during our trip to STAR Days in Arkansas this summer we had Sue Hopper (http://www.signsandwondersbysue.com/motorcycles.php)

apply a little bit of her artistic magic. Those who are familiar with Sue's work, know that she could have painted just about anything one could imagine. However, I just wanted something subtle and somewhat original. My inspiration for the requested artwork came from a simple Pilot P-500 pen. It has a bluish-black marbled look to it - kind of like clouds against a midnight sky. So, I showed the pen to Sue and she said that she could replicate that design. So, the goal was to air-brush wispy sort-of com-trails (like what you see come off jets) on the fairing, the lower part of the tank, the lids of the hard-bags, the lid of the trunk and then our names printed on the rear of the trunk lid. We're pretty proud of how it looks.

 

Then a few weeks ago, I began to think about installing a little accent lighting. I didn’t want anything which appeared too extreme, but something which was subtle and attractive. I have always liked the look of midnight-blue, and since it was complimentary to the new touches of paint, the lighting color was an easy choice.

 

The lights I picked-up at a Pep Boy's Auto Supply. I used two different types of LED light configurations on this project. One kind, were little strips of LEDs with an adhesive backing that came in lengths of 5", 10", and 15". The other styles of LED lights were little oval-shaped pods consisting of multiple LED bulbs in a cluster. The pods were about the size of a quarter. All of these LED lights are surprisingly tiny and bright.

 

Total cost of the lights itself was only about $120. Unfortunately, I cannot offer much information on the technical side of the install process because I had someone else (who knows what they are doing) do the work for me. The price he charged me was so reasonable, he told me not to tell anyone one what it cost me - because he won't do it again for that price. But, I was happy with it!

 

All of the accent lighting is hard-wired to the main system and can be flipped-on with a little toggle switch which is hidden behind the seat. It can also be switched-on without the key in the ignition. Keep in mind that almost all states prohibit the use of any blue lights on a vehicle which is in operation. This means that I will only turn-on the accent lighting when the bike is parked. Cops are pretty serious about this law because blue lights are reserved exclusively for law enforcement in most states.

 

Probably the most unique feature of this lighting project is the way I managed to light-up the windshield. But first, I owe credit for this idea to Bryan (Penguin from STAR Chap. #152 in SLC, UT). I totally stole this idea from him. Sorry Brian, but, it does look really cool! Anyway, his theory was that the windshield would have fiber-optic type of properties if properly lit. So, I experimented by placing one of those tiny LED strip-lights at the base of the windshield, inside the fairing and pointing up. Oh my gosh! (As my teenage daughter always says). The result was even better than I had imagined. With the accent lighting on, the base of the windshield now has a subtle, midnight-bluish glow to it, while all along the edges of the windshield there is an intense glow. My windshield is just a medium-height, Show Chrome brand. I believe that this trick would work with most windshields.

 

So, if you're looking for something non-practical but very decorative to do to your bike, these were a couple of my most recent attempts.

 

Be Safe!

Pete & Sandy

[Squidley]

Very Cool Pete!!!

[Yammer Dan]

Looks Good!! Be waiting for the UFO sightings now!

[cecdoo]

Looks pretty sharp, like to see it in person, bet it even looks better. Nice job. Craig

[VTirelli]

that is a sweet job. I especially like the windshield ...think I'll use some of my extra lights from when I did mine and 'borrow' your idea.

[halfwitt]

I love it! I hope one day to steal the idea from you. That really does look sharp. Dizzy Dean once said, "If you can do it, it ain't braggin'!" You done it. Brag about it!

[DANJ]

That is one gourgious scoot. I had the privilage of riding behind it a couple of weeks ago. He didn't mention his Bubs. NICE soundin' too..

 

DJ

[Gold Rush]

SUPER JOB!!! I just love that ghost blue effect... Been toying with doing my '01 in amber or gold... :clap2::clap2:

 

Sue sure does super work!!! She's a really nice person to boot... Here's a couple things she did for me in March 2006... I get lots of questions.... The first one is on my '06 GL1800 trunk lid. The other is an all aluminum cargo trailer I built a couple years ago..

 

Didn't want to steal your thunder hope you don't mind.... Just showing some of Sue's stuff.... :whistling:

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/01REDWING/Whiskers3.jpg?t=1219875603

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/01REDWING/EagleGraphic2.jpg?t=1219875708

[Lone Eagle]

Hey, bro - that look's awesome - congrats on getting some work done on that bike. I've been wanting to light mine up for a while - and that is one of the winter projects I'm looking to do. Good on you and Sandy.

[Princess M]

That looks nice.

 

She does nice work. I think she is the lady that did Lone Eagle's entire bike and Rich99's front fender.