[Adam Dickerson]

Passed by LBJ ranch several times before and finally checked out the ranch grounds. (free admission) Treated with a great ride, tons of beautiful views and a kick ass plane. This was one of the first Airforce One planes to have jets, they have the thing bolted to the ground so the Texas wind does not take off with it. Finished my aircover, dashboard and coolant reserve cover on Saturday. I screwed up the dashboard and will have to re-do it, I tried to keep the Honda symbol by taping it off and shooting around it. What a mess. I am not a very good painter but I am learning a lot, I have come a long ways since my rattle can paintjobs but...well I might not be much of a painter but I am one hell of a sander :mrgreen:. Buddies `07 Dyna, fun to ride but there is no comparison to the interstate VTX. [HR][/HR]

 

[Trackman]

You did a nice job with the rattle can.

The AF1 sure has gotten a lot bigger.

 

[Yaesu]

Very nice photos. How are you getting such a narrowly focused area around the bike?

 

[Adam Dickerson]

Very nice photos. How are you getting such a narrowly focused area around the bike?

Did you get your LEDs in yet? Some of the sellers ship from China and may take longer, I tried to get them from the states. Thanks for the comps, I am shooting with a 85mm 1.8 on a Canon 5D. I try to isolate the bike as much as possible from the background and that is a good lens for that but I will tell you a neat secret. I rotate the camera into portrait mode so I have maximum vertical resolution and take several shots in succession as if I were doing a panorama. The key is to be close to your subject which will cause your background to fall further out of focus, take several shots from left click> click> click> click> click> to right with good overlap and then stitch them together as a large panoramic photo. This is common for large landscape shots but rare for up close detail work. Give it a try and post your work!!

 

[ralph7276]

did you paint or powdercoat your forks? Liking the look but wanting flat black. Been thinking about powdercoating the wheels and rotors for awhile and might this winter. I will paint the headlight bucket too. Did you paint the trees too?

 

[Adam Dickerson]

did you paint or powdercoat your forks? Liking the look but wanting flat black. Been thinking about powdercoating the wheels and rotors for awhile and might this winter. I will paint the headlight bucket too. Did you paint the trees too?

I am too cheap and impatient to powder coat. I really did not want to pull the forks all the way down and replace the bushings/seals and such. Sanded everything down with 220 wet/dry paper and used self etching primer $7 (a can). I used a $10 quart of Rustoleum black enamel paint (thin with mineral spirits 60/40) and added $12 Valspar enamel hardener; then cleared with a 2-part urethane $85 gallon with medium hardener (acme #1 series?) I have done rattle can jobs before and thought I would never get better until I tried a HVLP gun, got one cheap at Homey Depot for $50. Real learning curve compared to the spray can but I am getting better. Flat black will be a challenge because your final coat is your final surface. With the clear coat you can sand out bugs/debris and buff it out...I used duracoat flat/satin black on the disc brakes, no primer or clear, just mix and shoot. Stuff is very hard and I think (hope) it will last. If you could get enough of this for cheap it would be a sweet finish. Post pics of your work when you're done!!

 

[ralph7276]

did you do the same things for the wheels. I'll have to look for pictures of the front end flat black and see if i like it. And do some research on what paint to use on them.

 

[Adam Dickerson]

did you do the same things for the wheels. I'll have to look for pictures of the front end flat black and see if i like it. And do some research on what paint to use on them.

Ralph, I did use enamel with hardener on the wheels and then cleared them with 2-part urethane, I'm sure powder coat would have been better but I am stubborn and cheap and like to do things myself if I can. I considered using Duracoat, that stuff is a hard epoxy paint and does not require primer but its too expensive for large quantities. I was considering some appliance epoxy paint but I have never used it and did not want to make a (bigger) mess learning how to shoot it...Keep me updated on your work and let me know what you find.

 

[Steamboat]

Looks great. Really nice work! :thumbup:

 

[Yaesu]

Did you get your LEDs in yet? Some of the sellers ship from China and may take longer, I tried to get them from the states. Thanks for the comps, I am shooting with a 85mm 1.8 on a Canon 5D. I try to isolate the bike as much as possible from the background and that is a good lens for that but I will tell you a neat secret. I rotate the camera into portrait mode so I have maximum vertical resolution and take several shots in succession as if I were doing a panorama. The key is to be close to your subject which will cause your background to fall further out of focus, take several shots from left click> click> click> click> click> to right with good overlap and then stitch them together as a large panoramic photo. This is common for large landscape shots but rare for up close detail work. Give it a try and post your work!!

I've been gone for a few days and when I returned the LEDs were in. They are very nicely done. I guess I read the ad wrong and ordered two. That's two sets! I find that they are slightly on the amber side, though still quite red. I will have to make slightly tapered mounts to compensate for the angle on the back of the ST-1300 saddlebags.

That sounds like a very nice lens on your Canon 5D. Your camera is much better than my Nikon DSLR. I have never stitched a photo but I will read about it. Thanks

 

[Blast]

At least your riding buddy has a cool bike.