Murdered my 85- give your honest opinions

[jstone8952]

So Ive wanted a VMax for about 5 years but could never find one in my anorexic budget until about 6 months ago...
I found a beautiful 85 on craogslist the day I was supposed to be picking up an 85 CB00F and I ended up buying this one on the spot.

I was afraid to touch it for the first several months because I was afraid of screwing up a good thing, but then some jackass knocked it over in a parking lot and I began having charging issues and the mod monkey has taken over ever since.

As stated I had some charging / hot start issues a few months in and after buying a new battery and tender I decided to attack the wiring and found the R/R connector melted (see pic)

I gutted and rewired everything I could, fixed the "crimp" issue thanks to the info on this site and my awesome girlfriend surprised me with a R/R from an 08 Ninja. A few helpful PM's from Thevmaxrider (awesome dude, very helpful) had me wired up and charging great!

After that I decided I wasnt happy with the canary yellow and decided to go black and not look back.

Paint is all rattle can but was properly prepped and sprayed, cured and polished.

I take alot of pictures of my bikes and was never satisfied with the look of the front end. Shortly after wiring up a manual headlight switch (rushed and poorly insulated) I blew the bulb. With a new bulb costing nearly as much as a set of cheap fogs I decided to get a set and toy with them. Probably the riskiest move aesthetically but I personally like it. Lights are just a set of Auto Zone fogs w h4 bulbs. bottom light is set in the stock speedo bucket (removed when rewiring) I have a mount behind the dash for my cell phone and use the Ulysses GPS/speedo app from the Android market.

I added some blue led strips from Wallmart under the scoops and used a LED light from Auto Zone mounted behind the seat as my break light, removing the undertail and bracketing. Still need to figure out a good way to mount my tag if anyone has any suggestions.

Lastly I attacked the chrome with "Shadow" chrome black out kit from Auto Zone. Not extremely happy with the results but I cant really say I blame the product. Initially I laid a light coat and used the clear and it looked great, but I wanted it darker and ended up using so much that it now has a bit of fog/haze and a few runs underneath. I will probably strip and respray it in the near future.

In the near future I plan on installing either digital gauges or modding the stock ones to my liking. The awesome gf just ordered me a bew set of bar ends today but wont tell my which ones, only insists that I'll like them

Found a keeper, and not just the bike

Let me know what yall think, honestly. There are some great looking Maxes on this site and I guess this would be considered my "budget build"

P.S. this is my first time uploading pics so let me know if they work!

 

[texas-ss-tornado]

No pics yet! :ummm:

 

[cgswss]

Try making your pics smaller before you upload them. I'm guessing that is your problem

 

[jstone8952]

 

[jstone8952]

 

[jstone8952]

 

[jstone8952]

 

[jstone8952]

 

[jstone8952]

 

[jstone8952]

 

[jstone8952]

 

[jstone8952]

 

[jstone8952]

Thats all Ill upload for now... copy n pasting from photobucket on a cell phones kinda labor intensive and theyre in no particular order.

First pic is how I got it (taken while stranded at a gas station w hot start on my way to work- cant be mad at her though)
Other pics are various points of modification. Last pic is the melted connector that caused all my issues. Ive got a pic of it knocked over in the parking lot somewhere but I dont feel like digging it up atm.

Let me know what yall think!

 

[Karmakatt]

All from a can?? The stealth look is not my thing (at the moment, and the moments always change) but I'd say you did a great job!! You have a steady hand and good aim with that spray!!
Enjoy your ride brother!!

 

[44boyd]

I dig it, love the headlights.

 

[jstone8952]

Thanks bud!

Every bit is Duplicolor high gloss and flat black. I've never had the money for a decent air compressor and have a serious addiction to the thrill of buying and selling vehicles on craigslist (31 cars and 11 bikes over the last 6 years) and Ive found that a $60 paint job if done right can sometimes double your resale value. In high school I worked at a dealership as a detailer and learned how to use a buffer and compound pretty well and have been polishing turds ever since. The whole paint job came in at around $60 including tape, sand paper, compound and pads.

 

[jstone8952]

A side note on rattle can paint jobs- its often laziness and impatience that results in a shitty finish. You need to take your shit apart, sand it down, use filler if you need it, primer and sand sand sand until youve got a finish worthy of a base coat, and then allow it to cure before polishing the finish.

 

[Karmakatt]

I've had many talks with a buddy who finishes wood projects. Weather or not you weld or paint there's common ground to movement and "reading" what your doing at the moment and what the finished picture is like. I can't paint worth crap, but I do respect those who CAN!! Hehe, get it? Can??
Ride safe man!!

 

[jstone8952]

haha this is true.

thanks bud!

 

[hijacker]

Nice looking bike. I like the headlight setup.