Tapeworks - Bike Graphics

[DFRIDLEY1300]

Just a quick note to give these guys a "Thumbs Up". I ordered Hayabusa graphics from them rather than OEM. They were custom made and at my front door two days later. Check out the website, some of the customer's bike pictures are worth a look.

Website: http://www.tapeworks.com/

[655321]

Those things are pretty hot! How easy/hard was the installation?

[DFRIDLEY1300]

It's pretty easy to install the graphics, the first step is making sure that you have an absolutely clean surface. Then all that it takes is a steady hand with a little patience. When they send you the graphics, you get about 3 pages of well written instructions as well as some practice pieces so that you can get the feel of applying it before using the real thing.

[Anonymous]

Hey, they finally updated their website! My bike is finally on there: http://www.tapeworks.com/customers20...sterBobR1.html

Yea, I give these guys a big too. Quality product all the way - very helpful (except they won't help you decide what you want )

The kits are fairly easy to install - like DFRIDLEY said, you have to start with a clean surface, but they give you all the instructions on what you'll need to achieve that (if I remember correctly, it was mostly Goo Gone and Windex). There are 2 methods to apply the decals, wet or dry. The wet method (requires rubbing alcohol, water and dish soap) is ideal for larger pieces, and gives you the opportunity to mold the piece so it fits just right (I had to do this for the large red decal on the main white fairing) and get the air bubbles out. The Dry method is good for smaller decals, but it's definatly not forgiving. I also did some custom work, which proved to be quite challenging, but I learned that the wet method is even more forgiving than I thought, and even as the moisture dried and I was still man-handling the decal, it didn't affect the final outcome - I was really impressed by this. In my opinion though, the few small practice pieces aren't enough to really get you used to doing it (they definately help, but they're not the same as shaped pieces that have a specific fit), but by the time I was about 1/2 way done, I was comfortable with it.

Here's what my R1 looked like bone stock:


Here's the TapeWorks kit I chose as the foundation for what I wanted:



I customized the kit by changing: the chrome accents for brushed silver; the black R1 on the number plate (also) for brushed silver; adding a brushed silver "YZF" to the decals on the front; and since I had the Second Loop Ltd. Edition Tank Bra, I didin't need the tank decals (there's a couple of other minor changes, but you get the drift). I wanted a white "V" along the windscreen, more red in the top corner of the white fairing, and to extend the number plate onto the rear cowl - these were the custom pieces that I added. Here's the final product: