Carbon fibre costume change - from red to black...

Ok, so despite riding my bike in all weather throughout the winter to and from work everyday i have managed to make a few changes and add a few bits here and there, thought I would share some updated pics

Christmas present off the missus "Nathan King"



Heres the "Cat cave" I built back in October/November



Next I got around to painting the tacky (and by now very weather worn) carbon fibre effect mirrors as a temporary fix







With the onset of Winter up North and all the cold weather I invested in some R & G heated grips and fitted them myself with a relay to avoid battery drainage



Mishap 1. - Ok, now this is the part where I receive an influx of advice from the wiser of you, telling me it's a bad idea to mount the control panel so close to the bike controls...well I soon learned that the hard way - try hitting your killswitch whilst in the fast lane on the Mway trying to turn down the heat on your grips... I ended updoing 70-0mph in a matter of seconds, rolling to a halt in the centre lane (having not made it to the hard shoulder), with an articulated lorry screeching to a halt in my rear view mirrors sounding its horn and breathing down my neck (at this point im still clueless as to why the sudden loss of power) - i managed to shuffle onto the hard shoulder needing a change of underwear and soon realising my c**k up!

You live and learn!

Mishap 2. - those of you who read my intro post back in August/September may remember me mentioning that I had installed an alarm with remote start. At the minute the remote start will only work with the key in the ignition turned to 'on' - pretty pointless but apparently if i call the manufacturer there is a way to solve this just not got round to it. Anyways one day I was demonstrating to the other half how it wont work without the key... hang on a minute did someone say I had forgotten that Id left the bike in gear due to the slope I was parked on? Yep, queue a frantic gallop as the bike lurches forward in 1st gear and topples over :( result below...



Also dropped my helmet in the process as I attempted to save my baby

So now I needed to repair my tank - here is where the transformation really begins...
Instead of a paintjob I ended up going to pentagon auto tints in Heywood, Manchester (Snowcat's neck of the woods ) and enquiring about carbon-wrapping (I have seen lots of cars done in this way but only a handful of bikes)
Below is a selection of photos showing a satin-black and carbon fibre-wrapped Thundercat both before and after adding Yamaha decals...

Enjoy and please let me know your thoughts (some of you will notice the red rim tape has gone )

At the bodyshop



Back at friend's garage in Middleton


Up close


Adding Decals





On the pic below you may be able to see the rusty rear brake lever...


Before and after shots...






In this last one you can see my new mirrors fitted and also brake lever replaced...

Im thinkin of maybe adding some R6 style decals up the side of the tank and fairing...


So that's it! Let me know what you guys think, I have the full set of Thundercat decals waiting to go on but Im still not sure whether to put them all back on (the 'aero supersport' is already in the bin...)
I apologise for some of the poor quality pics

Nathan.

Well that's brightened up my day!

Sorry, but you've got to laugh at the mishaps. You aren't on your own though; there are many on this site who could tell similar tales.

I love the new colour scheme, although I am biased. It's similar to my bike. Wrapping the bike in vinyl has been done by others before, but I still can't get over how completely it transforms the bike and how well it looks. You must be pretty happy? Keep it simple. I like the clear indicators and the screen goes well too. Be good to see it for real sometime.

Ride safe and enjoy the envious looks.

Chris

Agree with Chris here, less is more, I'm all for the minimalist look, bikes don't need stickers and bits to look good, the carbon and lack marry really well, job well done you must be well chuffed with the result.

As for the mishaps, if it was all so easy there'd be nothing to talk about.

Crikey - Very scary Mishap #1 and very unfortunate mishap #2.

I really like the finished article.

Looking good

Cheers
Rosco

on the scariness! I would have needed new trousers to!

I really like the new wrap on the cat - the batcat!

dave

Well done, a great deal of time & effort shown in the pics.. Maybe a nice new can to finish of the mean look. I keep thinking of getting a new one but which??

I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty scary!

Yeah I would love a new can but the missus is keeping a close eye on my spending we have a wedding to pay for so I try to do things bit by bit and hope she doesn't always notice haha

"BatCat"....I like it!
Still got a few more changes in the pipeline...

Looks very nice mate! I wrapped my old cat in black vinyl although it didn't look near as sharp as that! I think i'll leave it to the pro's next time.

Job well done!

I have to ask , why did you bike jump forward , there should be a saftey switch on your side stand to stop it from starting ( if you were sat on the bike then you probably lifted the stand ) anyway it looks amazing I thought of the same thing a few months ago after seeing pics of Mr Frances bike but could never afford the wrap

I got a mean looking carbon super stuby can that looks mean if you decide you want one , look at my new exhaust post

Fair play, it looks really good!

HEHORE wrote:I have to ask , why did you bike jump forward , there should be a saftey switch on your side stand to stop it from starting ( if you were sat on the bike then you probably lifted the stand ) anyway it looks amazing I thought of the same thing a few months ago after seeing pics of Mr Frances bike but could never afford the wrap

TBH I can't actually remember if the bike would start when left in gear before I fitted my alarm/remote start?? But since fitting it, it will start with the stand down but cuts out when dropped into 1st.

This week I've changed standard rear indicators to LEDs, fitted blue pro bolts to the tank fuel cap and today I have added R1 style decals to the right side only, wasn't sure if it would look right so I'm giving it a trial , what does everyone think??

Looking good , I like the r6 decals , they are very similar yo the late 02-03 cat decals anyways

Been busy in the shed and made a few more changes here and there...

Oil filler cap...



Trimmed down the rear fender...



Added a few decals, didnt like the R1 decal so kept it off...



LED gear indicator...



Installed my Moman indiglo dials today...





Also dropped a tooth on the front sprocket...


Thats it for now...
If I had the time and could afford it I would definitely get the frame and swingarm powdercoated in satin black!
Ive also seen coloured chains and wondering whether a blue chain would look nice...certainly different

Looks really good , only thing I gotta say is as it stands it will fail an mot . No reflector on the rear , my advice is buy a small stick on circular one and put it on the corner of the number plate

Oh how I hate you...........(not really) it looks really good fella keep on with the good work

I had it MOT'd a fortnight ago and it wasn't raised as an issue, I don't think many garages are too bothered about enforcing the new reflector rule. The only thing that would concern me as it stands is the lack of KPH on the dials as Weasley mentioned...but as its just been MOT'd I don't have to worry about that for a while

As I use my Cat daily for work anything I do pretty much has to be done in under a day or two when im off so I can rebuild it ready for work the next day! If I ever get a bit of time booked off and have some spare cash I would like to spray the wheels, swingarm and frame...I wouldn't mind giving it a reet good deep clean and detailing with all it's clothes off too...would also let me have a good inspection of of the bike's harder to reach parts...