Question for those who installed Carbon Parts

There Gimlet, I agree with you...the gray parts made of crappy plastic or poor quality aluminum are really a pain on this bike...I started to repaint them and I think I'll continue!

RUN666 said:

There Gimlet, I agree with you...the gray parts made of crappy plastic or poor quality aluminum are really a pain on this bike...I started to repaint them and I think I'll continue!

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I've thought about repainting the plastics but I'm unsure whether the finish will last, hence carbon. But carbon is best applied as subtle highlights. If you start smothering a bike in the stuff I think it looks garish and over the top.
If I could be confident repainted plastics will keep their finish I'd go that route. I'm not saying they won't, I just don't know enough about repainting plastic.
TBH I'd like to repaint the whole bike. The paint finish on the bodywork isn't very good. The mat black on the engine and chassis is fine but the gloss black on the cycle parts is poor. The Harley 117 FXLRS I had before was vastly better. It had bottomless mirror finish black paintwork you could literally see your face in. And it was tough and resistant to scratching. The Rocket scratches very easily and even when polished with ceramic detailer never achieves the sheen that the Harley had.
I have an annoying set of scuffs and scratches on the tank just above where your left knee would sit. I think the previous onwer was in the habit of refueling while sat astride the bike and was resting the filler cap between the tank and his thigh. And some of the polished alloy parts have dulled and gone furry as well. I might just black the bike out completely with deep gloss paintwork, leaving the stainless tank strap as the only shiny bit. Some carbon would complement this look, like carbon radiator shrouds, but I don't want carbon everywhere.

I have a lot of carbon parts on my 430 pound Speed Triple, putting them on a Rocket is like gilding the 700 pound lilly.

atomsplitter said:

I have a lot of carbon parts on my 430 pound Speed Triple, putting them on a Rocket is like gilding the 700 pound lilly.

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That’s very true! I definitely did it for the looks, the only weight-saving thing I did was to get rid of the stock exhaust. That thing is a chunk!

Nashvegas said:

That’s very true! I definitely did it for the looks, the only weight-saving thing I did was to get rid of the stock exhaust. That thing is a chunk!

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Yup, it's a lead dust bin because it has the catalytic converter incorporated into it. My 05 had an empty cat box that weighed 11 pounds and it did nothing but add weight and gas flow restriction. I don't think the Rock needs ballast......