[ziberzaba]

I will be buying a bike in a couple weeks now, and I’ve been able to find a nice, small (250cc), beginner bike. The only thing is that I would like it to be a dark green color. Since the bike is naked, there are only 5 parts to paint: Tank, Fenders, Tool Box Covers). Is this something that I can do on my own? I only want it to be one, solid, color. No fancy pin-stripping, or racing stripes, just a solid green. Does anyone have any advice on doing this. Is it easy enough to do on my own, or should I just spring the extra cash to get it painted?

[Munch]

Thats really all up to you. I have seen some decent rattle can jobs that look really good but most of those are on bobbers. If your wanting it to look good I honestly would say to spring for the extra $$ and get it done professionally. At the very cheapest maybe see if you can get a half professional company like Maaco to do it. Won’t be show ready but will still shine. If they advertise a car for $400 or so a few points on the bike should only be about $100. Thing is you have to convince them to do it since auto paint is their thing. Make sure they knowits solid color…nothing extra.

[Jules]

Hi Ziberzaba. Just out of interest, what bike did you get. I’m looking for a naked 250 too. Pinned it down to a couple, but just wondered what you found.

Good luck with the paint job. Looks like there’s some good advice here: http://www.chuckhawks.com/harley_paintin.htm

but from experience with cars I’d say that unless you can wield a spray can with some skill, spend the extra few bucks getting it done well. Amateur spray jobs look awful.

[ziberzaba]

Well, I was looking at getting the Suzuki TU250. It’s a nice little thumper, and you can get it in any color you want as long as its red. I was looking at a Royal Enfield in British Racing Green, and just wanted to paint the Suzuki that same color. However, I did my taxes last night, and pretty much hit the jackpot. Now I have a down payment available that makes the Royal Enfield cheaper than the Suzuki (when you add in the price to have it repainted), so that’s what I’ll be getting. But yeah, check out the TU250. It’s a fun little bike, but I found it cramped at 6 feet tall. And the seat leaves a lot to be desired, I could feel the frame under the seat at 195 lbs. But overall it’s a fun bike for city cruising (highways would be about the scariest thing EVER!), just don’t expect to be on it for more than an hour before you need a new bum. Plus, you’ll have to buy it new, as 2009 was it’s first year in the US, but it’s still only $3,799 fresh from the dealer (plus fees) I just found the Royal Enfield to fit me better, have a little more power, and infinitely more comfy; at $5995 that’s still pretty good for a new bike. Both have EFI singles, 5-speed, and that classic styling. However, the Enfield is twice the cc of the Suzuki.

[TrialsRider]

Remember, it’s not made in Japan so make sure you break it in right and change that oil lots early on. What model did you buy ? …check out that clubman version that sells in europe.

[ziberzaba]

I’ll be buying it in about 2-3 weeks. I’m waiting for my tax returns to deposit. Dealer is holding it for me, they are just awesome; even giving me $500 off because I’m a new rider. I’ll be getting the G5 Classic in British Racing Green. I’ve been all over the forums for the REs and I’ve read almost every post pertaining to the G5 model. I am going to treat it like a baby for probably the first 2000 miles or so. It has a long break in period, but I have no problem making it even longer.

[Author]

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