Painting the tank?

[E-HP]

My dad and I stopped by the local Harley Davidson dealership, not far from his house, on Saturday. When we drove by earlier, we could see some sort of big event happening there, and hundreds of bikes. Since he's in his 90s, I figured this would be a good way for him to get some walking exercise in while looking at some American Iron. This year is its 100 year anniversary, hence the big celebration. Anyway, one thing you notice right away is that no two bikes looked alike. Every bike customized by the rider, and lots of chrome; and custom painted tanks looked cool.

I want to add some custom graphics to my "tank" now, since I've moved my motor kit and triangle battery over to its new frame. I don't want to cover it up, but use graphics or paint to make it look more integrated or part of the bike. I've seen a few examples of adding graphics to battery packs or carrying over the paint scheme to the battery, like these:

View attachment 2

I saw a few videos about vinyl graphics, and think that's one way to add graphics that aren't permanent to my battery. That way I could peel them off if they don't look good. I'm looking for ideas; I've look through the picture threads, but don't see a lot of batteries being painted, etc. Here's a few mock ups of what I'm thinking about. I've already printed out the one in the second pic that add graphics from the frame to the battery, but I'm kind of leaning toward flames...




I'll spray on some matte clear coat to protect them, but they can still be peeled off if I want to change the look.

 

[LeftieBiker]

That third one just screams "LITHIUM BATTERY FIRE!!! RUN!!!" :wink:

 

[E-HP]

That third one just screams "LITHIUM BATTERY FIRE!!! RUN!!!" :wink:

I thought the same thing after seeing the battery fire thread again yesterday. I guess this would be a constant reminder at charging time :lol:

 

[E-HP]

Maybe a shark tank? The battery shape is sort of right..

 

[Pb1302]

Maybe a shark tank? The battery shape is sort of right..

That’s bad ass. I vote shark.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[fechter]

I like the shark too.

Here are some ideas (Google "custom paint jobs")
https://www.google.com/search?biw=1....50.97.2......1....1..gws-wiz-img.ZoiEv0z_rsc

This looked sort of wild

 

[amberwolf]

There's a number of bikes here on ES with nifty schemes; one of my favorites for keeping a theme is the Avatar EVG, but all the pics appear to be gone (they were on photobucket).


But for cars:

Obi-Shawn's H-wing

 

[2old]

Since your bike probably is classified as a moped in CA (I have a similar model), you might want to keep it as inconspicuous as possible. The shark and flames look great though.

 

[E-HP]

Since your bike probably is classified as a moped in CA (I have a similar model), you might want to keep it as inconspicuous as possible. The shark and flames look great though.

Ya, I thought about that, but so far I don't see the cops taking much interest in e-bikes in my area. Even on my ride this Sunday, I passed two cops on mountain bikes on the pathway near my house. I passed them going about 18 mph, and just waved as I rode by. They just looked over and nodded. Maybe it's because my bike is silent, so there's no audible cues, like a whirring motor or gears?

Anyway, I think the shark may be slightly less conspicuous than the flames, so even though I'll probably print up the flames for later, I'll start with the shark and see if it draws any unwanted attention. I made adjustments and printed the image on plain paper about a half dozen times trying to get it just right, since I'm trying to ensure the existing label is covered. The hard shell is actually indented for the label, so I'll need to build it up a little to get it flat before printing the image on vinyl and applying it. The colors should be more vibrant in the final version.

 

[2old]

Pretty much the same for me; my bike is for errands only; had a few cops look at it, but I just keep pedaling along and never had a problem even when going too fast.

 

[E-HP]

Here's how the shark turned out. I had printer problems with both my main and backup printer, with different colors streaking after multiple cleanings. I just don't use the main one enough (has a continuous ink system), or do a test print every once in a while like I should. I ended up running the prints through twice, which caused some smudging , so it looks like the shark has some blood on its teeth; no big deal for the first attempt. I ended up wasting a few sheets of the vinyl paper due to the problems, so I couldn't get the flames printed, since that will take two sheets per side. Gave it a quick spray of canned shellac since it only takes a couple of minutes to dry.
AND, I figured out that when I'm riding, my legs/knees block most of the battery, so it may not attract much attention, except when parked. :thumb:


I took it out on the driveway and the colors are pretty vibrant outdoors. It just started sprinkling, so I was glad I shot it with shellac before that. The picture reminds me that I still need to get my wires organized/wrapped.

Gotta get my printers working since streaks in the black areas will really stand out
View attachment 2


EDIT:

Wires tidied up nicely, so I took the bike out to see whether it would draw any attention. Nobody seemed to nice, except on little kid on the bike path. Otherwise, passed a few cops without any reactions. Added a couple of pics on my build thread.

I ended up leaning toward the flames. The only people that even seemed to notice the shark were little kids I passed by, since it's sort of head height for them. Not sure, but may have scared a couple, so flames may be less ominous...

 

[Bobw]

I think artwork on a bike is a nice way of making your build a little more unique. But it might draw a little more attention from people, especially when you are parked in public places.

I just got back from the first ride of the third season on my conversion. The battery went through the winter storage very well. I added a couple of things to my battery case and carry box late last year.

 

[E-HP]

I think artwork on a bike is a nice way of making your build a little more unique. But it might draw a little more attention from people, especially when you are parked in public places.

I just got back from the first ride of the third season on my conversion. The battery went through the winter storage very well. I added a couple of things to my battery case and carry box late last year.

So far, not a whole lot of extra attention; but maybe the would-be bike thief may think it's not a good idea to steal a bike with big flames on the side? At least it would be easy to describe to the cops "it's a black bike with big flames...".

I really like your clear battery case, which I'm sure gets its own attention. Being able to see what's going on inside would be a big plus for me. And your carrying box looks custom made, the way it wraps around your seat. I'm thinking about what kind of storage I want to add to my rack. The spring clamp on the rack sometimes squishes my donuts when I make a morning donut shop run on the weekend. I need an easy solution to throw stuff on the back.

 

[Bobw]

The clear case also helps with making my bike visible at night.