Plastidip on 919 levers?

[2000TJ]

http://www.plastidip.com/index.php

What do you say? Obviously clearance for fitting of the controls would need to be accounted for but what about cosmetics and grip?

CRGs are planned but no time soon. I see they have a spray on version as well, that could be interesting.

Does this stuff peel off easily if I decided it looks/works like crap?

[2000TJ]

well, someone thinks it's a good idea.

http://www.zx6e.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=5353

[HondaJim]

I saw that at Lowe's the other day. I've used it on tools. Thought about doing levers but never have. Should be pretty easy to cut away what's not needed for the mount area.

I read on the link about UV vs. non-UV rated. I would think it'd be pretty easy to cut off and redip if that caused a problem down the road.

[2000TJ]

Those were my general thoughts. I'm going to give it a try tonight.

I really like the idea of the "textured" effect it sounds like you may get from the spray.

For less than $10 I may just try the dip and the spray.

Another valid question that was brought up is traction when wet. It should be interesting to test.

[brevity]

TJ--you ride with gloves? I would think that gloves plus the coating would not be affected by water. Bare hands might be a little different, but if you achieve the texture you seem to be going after, probably wouldn't matter much. What color you trying?

[2000TJ]

brevity - I always have gloves on. They aren't armored but I've come to rely on the consistency from ride to ride. Hot or cold, dry or rainy, my grip remains pretty consistent with gloves.

The only color I saw on the shelf (Lowes) was black. I think black would be the best choice for my bike.

Should be fun to try, i'll post pics tonight if the results are somewhat positive.

If i never post in this thread again you will now I made a mess and wasted $10.00.

[2000TJ]

I'll run a few tests before hitting the levers.

[XRCajun]

I rapped the lower forks on my XR650R with carbon fiber then used the plastidip spray to finish off the parts of the fork that weren't covered and it has held up really well. It's not even chipping or peeling off from rock hits. Pretty amazing stuff. I think it will work great for levers I just might try that.

[Tom]

Also out there: these $4.99 LeverSkinz from Motovation USA:

[brevity]

Steer away from that Skyy before trying this experiment, TJ!

[2000TJ]

Tom - I used to use something like that on my mountain bikes, although something a little less bulky and colorful would be my preference.

The all black rubber variety I saw in the bike shop when buying my "pegs" are actually where I got the motivation for this idea.


After testing last night I decided to give the spray a go on my levers. Just got done hitting them with the first coat a few minutes ago.

I like the texture of the spray and it doesn't have the toy like appearance that the dipped items do. There is definitely an insulating value to this stuff. The handles of the tools I applied it to, both dip and spray, are substantially warmer to the touch than the rest of the tool. The grip of the spray-on finish is only slightly less sticky than the dip variety.

[sbeau1960]

Originally Posted by Tom

Also out there: these $4.99 LeverSkinz from Motovation USA:

The LeverSkinz are kind of fun, G likes them on her Hornet anyway. I'm curious to see pics after the Plastidip application, fun low cost experiment!

[2000TJ]

Everything looks good so far. I'll try to mount them tonight if get out to the garage.

The only thing I didn't like was the removal of the masking tape. The coating didn't release cleanly unless I scored it with a razor blade.

The jury is still out until I see how long it lasts.

[sbeau1960]

I'm impressed, looks great! Wonder how it'll hold up against peeling?

[brevity]

That does look sharp, TJ. Hope it holds up for ya!

[ratdog]

this just gave me an idea...

think along the lines of vibration damping

got to check a couple things

[2000TJ]

ohno!!

he's going to dip his HD!!!

[Super Sneaky Steve]

If our leavers came with plastic on them from the factory there would be guys stripping and polishing them and saying what an improvement it was.

It reminds me of a cheap tool. I'll keep mine bare.

[ratdog]

bare, yeah...bare-NAKED !!

[2000TJ]

Originally Posted by Super Sneaky Steve

If our leavers came with plastic on them from the factory there would be guys stripping and polishing them...

Yup, he's right! Polish what's black and powder coat the chrome.

Luv'in every minute of it.

[mattf]

nice springfield, I miss mine. Luckily I sold it to a friend so I can stil shoot it.

[2000TJ]

Originally Posted by mattf

nice springfield, I miss mine. Luckily I sold it to a friend so I can stil shoot it.

Thanks


...even more so than motorcycles, NEVER sell or trade away a firearm. You will Always come to regret it.

Thankfully plenty of wise old dudes taught me this early.