Here's the idea... The P-40 Seca

This is a quick mock up of my plan so far...



A little cheesy, i know, and even a bit more so once you see the paint job for the fairing. I'm not 100% on this yet, but I'd be interested in hearing some feedback. The point is not to look like the P-40 Warhawk, but rather to look like the bike parked in front of the P-40.

(P-40 info: http://www.secondworldwarhistory.com/curtiss-p40-warhawk.asp)


Some things that won't be obvious from the image above:

* Super-bright LED tail lights built in (flush) to the seat "hump." These will not be visible when the tail light is off (camouflaged in a dark stripe), but will glow bright when lit.

* I haven't sorted directionals yet. Toying with the idea of casting a fistful of LEDs in acrylic for a small, bright light. The acrylic should help with the directional issues that come with LEDs.

* clubman bars are already installed

* bar end mirrors will be installed (anyone looking to get rid of a pair?)

* not sure what I'm going to do with the gauges. The stock gauges look huge with the clubman bars

* Considering doing the sharkmouth and eye as 'pixelated' graphics. They'd appear smooth from about 6' away, but from closer you'd be able to make out the squares that make up the image. (note: I'm a Web Developer, and the plates on this thing are H4CKR.)

* not going to go with the matte finish, but also not shooting for the high-gloss look. Probably going to do a nice rattle can, or maybe the roller method.

* rear "hump" should be fab'd from a seca tank, or similar. I want to match the semi-angular profile of the "hump" to that of the tank.

* considering surplus ammo boxes for storage

This is a 1-year plan, so I'll be taking it slow. Any feedback from you guys is appreciated

 

Interesting idea on the paint job, but for some reason I'm having trouble envisioning the sharkmouth further back instead of right on the nose.

As for the LED turn signals, while I haven't had experience with that myself, I've read that there will be trouble with the flasher unit not working properly. This can apparently be remedied by replacing the stock flasher unit with an electronic one.

I wouldn't worry about how you're going to paint it; when I was in the Marines, we were painting radios and Jeeps by hand. Get yourself some government-issue olive drab paint and go for it.

On a side note, will someone please explain why, when I saw the eagle on the side cover, that THIS popped into my head?

 

why not just use the stars that are on the wings for the sidecovers???

 

I suggest that as long as your going with the "military" look with the colors your going to use, ammo box saddlebags would really add to it if you need the storage. Then get a couple Air Force stickers on them to keep with the theme.
Then to add to the theme, you could paint the exhaust flat black and use exhaust guards with holes drilled in them, for that "machine gun" look! Just a thought.

 

Thanks for all of the feedback...

After looking at the mockup a bit longer, I'm having second thoughts. I think i'f gone from 90% sure to about 80%. With the side panels and tail all the same color, but offset, it looks a bit like a short, sharkmouthed worm. Maybe the side panels in black, the seat recovers in brown leather, and the decal (star or otherwise) on the side of the tail?



As part of this, I'll be adding in some significant electronics. Of course the controls for the LED lighting, but there will be an accellerometer driving an additional array of LEDs the add some additional alerts to drivers that I'm slowing down quickly. Will be wiring in a retired PDA to do Ride-Data-Recorder stuff (pulling data from the speedo, tach, and fuel gague if possible). Most of this stuff will be invisible, and will not interrupt the critical systems. Lighting electronics will be separated from the "fun" stuff.

I really want to get the look right before I firm up plans for the fancy guts.

 

Yeah, I thought about the custom pipes thing:
http://www.cyclepsycho.com/yamachopper/pipes.html

I think it might be just a little too much for my taste. After I started thinking about this, a friend directed me to one of the chopper shows that had done a theme bike somewhat like this. I thought the went a little too far: little wings sticking out of the rear fender, fake gun barrels on the front, etc.

In this case it might work, but I'm gonna leave that off the plan for now.

 

I like the ammo can saddle bag idea. You could paint "550" or "XJ550" on them like the tail numbers on airplanes...



(As an example)

 

There ya go. Maybe do the bike in camoflauge paint too!!
We will be needing photos once you get it done of course.

 

i like the idea of a flat or matte finish. also, paint the front fender.
just my two pennies.

 

Yup, I second the idea abut going with flat paint too. And the chrome fender won't cut it either. You'll need to paint it too. Just wouldn't look right with it chrome.

 

Pictures, of course!

I also came across this variation on the paint job.



I like it because it would keep some of the original red on white of the 81 seca. I don't dislike the stock look of the bike (except for the seat), I just need to make it mine!

Edit: It looks like i posted a different pic of the same plane that Gamuru posted. D'oh!

 

I was thinking you could--now this is going to be bold--paint the frame, engine, and rims... white! Like the plane's underside in your picture. Then the headlight bucket and trim ring black like the propeller nose cone. I'm really liking this paint scheme!

 

If that's your bike in your avatar I think it's criminal to take anything but wax to it.

 

Hmmm... I think it's a great idea and I love military-themed bikes but I think the mock-up looks more like a slightly annoyed beluga than a warhawk. Is that the final tank graphic or will you be tweaking it?

And PD's right about the ammo cans. They'd look amazing on something like that!

 

I have to agree with this thought. How about you sell me your Seca, then find something in worse shape to modify? I think it would be cool to see a father and son riding a matched pair of 550 Seca's.

 

There are enough scratches and rust on the tank that I think it needs some attention and a new paint job (I'll post some close up pics when I get a chance). Like I said, I'm not 100% on this, but here are the issues:

1- I'm 6'4" tall with long legs and arms.

With the stock bars, the only comfortable riding position puts my butt right on the strap on the seat ("between" the passenger and rider positions). The bike feels less stable this way. The solution to that was the clubman bars, which don't leave room for the fairing I have a set of low bars that I'll try, but for now the fairing is in mothballs.

2- Some rust and scratches on the tank, and some bubbling on the decals.

As far as I know, this means I'll need to strip and repaint the tank to address this issue.

3- There is a small split in the seat that will, I'm sure, expand as time goes on, and the stock seat is one of my least favorite features of the bike.


So, I figured that if I'm going to have to deal with these issues anyway, why not go all the way?

All that said, I love riding this machine... I think I'm down to 78% sure about this plan, though there have been some really cool ideas. We're probably looking at the next 'off season' before I'd be ready to be without my ride for long enough to do the major work on this.

(Note: My avatar photo is my bike. The mockups are from a pic i found on the Internets)

Edit: Pic added...

 

Ha! Blow hole and all!

That's not the final. I just wanted to get an idea for how it might look, to see if i want to pursue it... and to get the feedback of the XJ pros.

 

Ok... I know it's been a while, but here's another pass at the bike.


Took this picture this evening and messed around with it... The color on the seat is wrong, the side covers are off, and the paint looks rough, but this is a bit closer (though might be a little too smiley)... I think i like it with the seat running right into the rear fender.

Thoughts?

 

Your picture didn't come through.

 

Let's try that again...


Thanks, Gamuru!

 

Paint looks...er... would look? Awesome.

I'd re-think the seat cowl / rear fender, but the gold looks cool with the green.

 

you would need United States Army Air Corp or Army Air Force (depending on pre or post June 1941)...

if you go with the un camouflaged version then it would be appropriated to include the nationalist chinese roundel (white star on light blue field) for the American Volunteer Group (AVG or Flying Tigers)...

i like the though of using ammo cans for saddle bags for THIS bike...

 

Excellent info..thanks! What about the p40s that flew in the Mediterranean Theater?

 

My two cents... I think you should stay with the Asian theater since it is a Japanese bike. By the way I have some nice Ammo cans I'd be willing to part with if you are interested.

 

If you can wait until the end of July, the EAA Airshow in Oshkosh Wisconsin always has a few vintage P-40's show up.

 

Great Concept. Giving me some ideas for sure..

 

I definitely trying to go to the fly-in!

I have to work it out in a mockup, but what about sheet metal and pop rivets to make the tail area and seat? I could hinge the seat at the front, springs underneath, and skip the upholstery.

a friend suggested that i also epoxy rivet heads to the tank to match the look.

 

Hey folks!

Been a while, but I've got some stuff done:

I built the directionals into the Ammo can/Saddle Bags (only got one mounted right now).

Painted the tank, tail and side panels flat olive drab

 

I like it. I've thought about something similar, especially the ammo cans.

Re: your hi-tech electronics goodies...any progress? Read the last bit of my sig...

I've been thinking about creating a custom speedo/tach from scratch (a friend needs a tach for his bike as well). I figure a small microcontroller, 16F876 or similar, an GLCD (hardest part thus far is finding the LCD; I want something very visible in sunlight) and a few discrete components + a bit of C and I'd be good to go. It would be quite easy to add an accelerometer to the mix. Logging could be done via SD card. Let me know if you would be interested in working on such a thing.

 

Lookin good!

Great idea on the ammo cans / indicators.

You still planning on jazzing up the paint (like the above photoshop)?

 

Here are some ideas. These are from the boys at Sport-touring.net.



decal store

 

I haven't worked on much of this, yet, but It's on my list for the cold months ahead.

As for the display, you should look at the eInk stuff from Sony. Designed for normal light! I have one of the 1st generation eInk readers and it is amazing... Other than the sorta grey background, it's like looking at paper.

It's not as responsive as most LCDs, but the angle and daylight become a non-issue.

If you can find a copy of the October Esquire, you might be able to hack something usable out of the piece they included:

http://ryaninc.blogspot.com/2008/09/esq ... issue.html

Neat stuff!

 

Thanks!

I'm gonna do something, but I'm having second thoughts on the sharkmouth... gotta sleep on it a bit more.

 

It's been a few months since I've been here, I wish I would have seen this thread before the damage was done.