To better match the colors on the bike, I painted the side covers blue and the airbox covers silver. Both paints were covered with a few coats of clear lacquer.

The black phillips screws attaching the airbox covers were replaced with M6 stainless steel allen hex bolts. The overall length of these bolts is 17 mm with a thread length of 10 mm.

The blue spray paint used for the side covers is PJ1 Coatings Blue 1998-2001 Lacquer, Part Number 17-YB8. This paint is available at Factory dealerships. For a perfect match that includes the metallic finish, a more expensive paint is available from Color-Rite.

The spray paint used for the airbox covers is Testor's Model Metallic Silver Spray Paint Number 1246. I found this at a local hobby shop.

The spray clear coat is PJ1 Coatings Clear Lacquer Gloss Finish Coat, Part Number 17-LACLR. This is also available at Factory dealerships.

I prepared each surface by cleaning with rubbing alcohol. I didn't use a primer coat but looking back I probably should have used something suitable for plastic. The blue spray paint is very transparent and requires numerous coats. I waited about 15 minutes between each coat and did some very light sanding between each coat. I continued painting until the color matched the other painted surfaces on the bike. This is not metallic paint and while the blue tint is correct, the paint does not match perfectly to the subtle metallic paint on the rest of the bike. The silver metallic spray paint, on the other hand is quite opaque and requires only two or three coats.

Painting is hard and requires patience and skill to accomplish properly. The results on the blue side covers was acceptable and look great from a couple feet away. Up close you can see some orange peeling and uneven layering. The airbox covers, on the other hand, look really great and were easy to do. The silver paint is not holding up as well as the blue, however, and each wash and wax shows some residue on the polishing cloth.

Here is a close up picture of the side and airbox covers:

Here is a before and after picture of the bike with and without the painted side and airbox covers:

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Last Updated: 02-19-2003

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