I am getting my 2008 Street Bob re-painted and have the following paint scheme in mind: Denim black w/ natural gas (blue/white) color ghost flames. The bike will be predominantly black, but not a total black out/bobber. It will be a club/thug bike.

First on a description on the parts:

• The tank (replaced w/ Low RIder tank so I can get tank mounted tach) & fenders will be painted this way (denim glack w/ light blue ghost flames)
• !/4 Fairing is a quick detach Memphis Shades Road Warrior also will be denim Black w/ ghost flames
• Handlebars: moto/dirt bike style bars w/ approx 6 riser (these will be black)
• Shocks: Rear - 13.5" RWD RS-1 Front - RaceTech Gold Emulator
• Engine Mounts: Rear: Sputh Stabilizer, Heim Joint top link Front: Predator mount
• Front Brakes: Dual front brakes (right Low Rider slider), Speed Merchant radial mounts & Tokico brakes

Now on the Paint Scheme (that I think I want):

• Denim Black w/ Ghost Flames: Fenders, tank, fairing, battery cover, fuse block cover
• Gloss Black: Lower sliders, fork brace, valve cover
• Engine/Transmission/Primary: mostly wrinkle black (mostly stock) w/ exception of the valve cover which will be gloss black

Now to the questions:

• Color of valve covers. They are are currently chromed (stock). Should I go get these powder coated denim or polished black. I prefer denim, but think that it will be far easier to keep polished black.
• Rocker housing: I want to keep this stock (chromed). My son thinks it should be the same color as the valve cover (black). I like the contrast of wrinkle on everything w/ the exception of rocker housing, push rod tubes, push rod tube holder, and edges of cylinder fins.
• Wheels - will probably stay stock (spoked & chrome rims). How difficult would it be to unlace them, get the rims powder coated gloss black & rebuild the wheels? I will post another question on this.

Is there anything else that I am missing or should consider?

 

Sounds like you know what you want. Things can be swapped later if you find the idea didn't work out, go for what you prefer. It's a bit hard to try to imagine all of it together without pictures so you might not get too many responses on that.

As far as the rims go, I'm going to go with a lot of work and some know how. I take it you're looking to have the wires be chrome and the rims black? Maybe they make something that masks during powder coating so you wouldn't have to mess with it.

 

I've unlaced motorcycle wheels, powdercoated, and then relaced them four different times. I didn't find it all that difficult but I used to be a bicycle mechanic and have built countless bicycle wheels. If you do go that route, you should also powdercoat the hubs at the same time. I think that looks a lot better than leaving them gray.

 

I've laced several bicycle wheels, but that was YEARS ago. The only thing that I did not used to do w/ bicycle wheels is torque the spoke nipples. I would definitely do that on a motorcycle wheel. How long would you guess that it would take me to build up each wheel (assuming rusty, average wheel building skills).

I'm with you on the hubs, I guess I need to get a bearing removal tool. What color would you powdercoat the hubs? Gloss black like the rims?

 

Well, I think I know that I want. Sometimes I want things that do not turn out so well. This is why I am asking for advice (i.e. I need a reality check).

 

Are the flames going to be satin as well? If not you will have issues keeping the denim satin. Gloss and denim on the same panel doesn't work that well, completely different as far as care and upkeep.

 

I believe so. I left the paint guy plenty of discretion but will ask him.

 

Personally I like having the hubs match the rims, in my case gloss black with the silver spokes. I think that's a good look. Here's a pic of my old front wheel, when I laced up a 21" powdercoated rim on the stock hub:




Here's the rear at the same time. Like I said, I like the hubs to match the rims:




As far as how long it will take for you to do it, no way for me to tell. Everyone works at different speeds. A couple of years later I changed over to a 16" front and built that. According to the times on the photos, I was done lacing it in less than an hour. I've got my own technique that seems to work well. Here's the start; a hub, a rim, and a pile of spokes:




I then put all the spokes into the hub:




Next I spread the spokes out into the proper pattern, and then twist-tie them where they cross each other. That holds them in place pretty well, especially if you don't pick the assembly up and hold it vertically:




Last, I place the rim over the whole assembly and put the spokes into the correct holes and thread the spoke nipples on from the correct side of the rim. You have to be careful not to scratch the rim with the spoke ends. This can be a little tricky. Just don't rush the the process and you'll be fine. It took about 45 minutes to get to this stage:




A few observations about doing this: For me, I found that it's a little easier to build motorcycle wheels than bicycle wheels. The bicycle spokes are easier to deal with because they're flexible, so if you have one routed incorrectly it's easy to pull it out and re-route it. The motorcycle spokes aren't flexible, so you need to have your routing correct from the get go. On the other hand, the motorcycle rim spoke holes are directional, so it's easy to make sure you're doing it correctly. Also, I think the motorcycle wheels are much easier to true. There's nothing very substantial about bicycle wheels, and they seem to go out of true if you so much as look at the cross eyed. Motorcycle rims are very substantial, and those babies seem to want to stay true.

As far as truing goes, you can get a wheel rack, but I do mine right on the bike. I have the bike on a lift, with the wheels mounted, no tires and no brake rotors. I then just c-clamp a ruler to the fork or swingarm to use as a truing guide. I know it sounds half assed, but I've had very good results doing it this way.

Good luck if you decide to do this, and if you live in Albuquerque I'd be happy to help.