have the monster energy bike and i want a little something to set it apart from the other bikes. Even though i bought the first one in montgomery (AL), from the looks and stares i've been getting, its not going to be the only one. Or maybe it will, if its as ugly as my partners say it is, LOL. Assholes and opinions, everyones got one but yours stinks less than anyone else's.
I was cruising on you tube looking for the latest crashes and wipe outs videos, just to remind myself to always respect the beast. Anyways, i came across some airbrushing vid. This cat air brushed some green flames and i was like thats it. thats what i want. Then I thought about those "sticker" applied graphics. Short of seeing them on car shows i have no idea where to order them and if they make them for bikes.
Heres where im at now.
To paint or not to paint... Whats the cost of a simple flame job? Where to paint the flames? How long will they have my bike? Finding someone who does great work without dipping into the kids college fund. WIll it look as good as hope?
Sticker graphics...This one is pretty much open. Who does them? Do they do them for bikes? Cost? Can i apply them myself?
So gang, looking for some input and yes, some opinions too.

These guys have some nice sticker kits: http://www.tapeworks.com/

Custom paint would be nice, but expect atleast a couple weeks before gettin' your skins back.

This set of factory skins would look sick w/ the '09 Monster striped wheels, IMO. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180340023580&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT

You are in the same spot I was in a couple of months ago. I think the 14 has some great lines already so you have to be careful not to over do it IMHO. My bike is the bright blue 07 so it is pretty flashy already, so I went pretty basic with a ghost flamed fire skull (if that makes sense) and I had the grills painted to match the bike. The pictures are not the greatest, but if you look around the skull it will give you an idea of the ghost flames. If you need something better I will see if I can have the wife take some more.

If you go the paint route cost and time can vary on the shop, but you get what you pay for. For my painting I went to a close friend who is also painting my 56 chevy bel air hard top. It took him less that two weeks to get it back to me and I couldnt be happier. Since you may be having a bigger area painted than I did I would schedule something for the fall, or winter. I think something that plays off of the monster theme would be cool, rather it be color or what you go for with graphics. If you want to save some money you can pull off the pieces of the bike you want painted just be sure to give your painter a picture of the bike before you take the parts off in case they are not familiar with the 14s lines. I personally would start the flames on the front fairings run them to the tank and piece on the side of the tank and back to the tail section.

On my old bike I did the decal graphic. A few tips I can give you is that you will want your mounting surface super clean. I would also keep some towels, windex, a squeegee, hair dryer, and a syringe if you can get one all at arms length. I used the squeegee to smooth out the decal as I applied it after warming it slightly with the dryer, if there was any air bubbles I pulled them out with the syringe by carefully poking at an angle with a very slim needle and then re-smoothed the area with the squeegee.

The best part is whatever you choose to do it will be your own. Have some fun with it and it will turn out great.

* Last updated by: hamr56 on 7/9/2009 @ 9:23 PM *

Thanks for the suggestions guys! I loved the kits from tape works. But from the looks of them they will cover up the monster logo i seem to have paid for in my quest to be unique. Of all the kits the reflective lava got me...only need it in green instead of the red they have it in. I emailed them in hopes they could come up with something but not holding my breath or wallet.
Hamr...that paint job is sick man. Im digging it. But as it is, i cant be away from my baby a day let alone a couple weeks. And taking the fairings off would leave her naked. Not quit ready to show the world my boo naked. LOL. Im going to call around montgomery and see what i can find. Thanks again.

* Last updated by: ttate508 on 7/10/2009 @ 1:30 AM *

I love the looks of the Monster and really dont like to see others with the bike, I think its a good idea to do something to make it stand out, be sure to post pics if you do.

I had tapeworks kits on my 02 and 05 1k. Good product and does not fade easy. Takes alot of time to get it on perfect.

* Last updated by: Monster14 on 7/10/2009 @ 3:02 PM *

I wanted to jazz my bike up a little so I had a painter add a few lightning strikes. The kanji are vinyl decals which say "NINJA." The factory Ninja decals are removed. I was a little tentative at first about scratching the paint. I installed Race Railz and axle sliders to protect the paint. I don't want a poser bike, just something uniquely mine.

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