I got a call last weekend from a repeat customer that wanted me to coat his new toy. I was booked until the beginning of June. He took the date, but I could tell he was disappointed. My appointment this weekend had to cancel suddenly due to a family illness, so I called the customer back and he jumped on the opportunity. I was just as excited as he was to work on his new toy! What was it?? A 2012 CanAm Spyder! That, my friends, is a 3 wheeled motorcyle made by Bombardier in Quebec, here in Canada. They are wicked looking, fast as Hell, and very civilized. I took a bunch of before shots too. He's only had it a week or 2. Check this wicked monster out!! OK, now that you see how cool it was, you can understand how stoked I was to work on it! The owner actually commented that he thought it was funny that I was so excited to work on it. Geek? Guilty! LOL. First up was to clean it thoroughly to make sure there was no wax on the paint. It was sheeting like there was something on it, so the initial foam was done with a strong mix of Megs Hyper Wash. That was followed up by a hand wash with an ounce or so of Zep Citrus with DG 901. The tires were cleaned with Zep 505 and Ken (Autowerkes) sent me some of his new Citrus cleaner to try. I cut it 4:1 and used it on the barrels of the wheels. It seems to be every bit as nice as ZC is. He's got a winner there for sure. Here it is getting foamed: Once I was sure there was no wax interfering with the coating that would follow, I pulled it inside and blew it off with the Master Blaster. This thing was a drip fest! I had both electric motors going for so long that it blew my fuse! It did the trick though. Now to evaluate the paint. It was in great condition in terms of swirls or whatever, but, the paint did not jump like it should. I really didn't want to have to use a machine on it due to all the weird angles and whatnot. I decided I would use the beta product, DG Squeaky Clean paint cleaner. I used it by hand with a foam applicator pad on all the paint and the few bits of chrome. That made all the difference in the world! The flake now jumped. I was impressed. I really didn't expect that much of a difference using it by hand. I need to follow up with Jerry on this product. I really hope they go into production with it. I have yet to use it where I haven't been very satisfied. Once the paint was cleaned, I then started to coat it with OG. There was a lot of trim on the bike that I decided to coat with OG as well. I didn't think I had enough of the CarPro DLux left and I wanted to make sure it was a product that gave great longevity. So, the paint, chrome, trim and windscreen all got done with OG. I did the front suspension pieces with it as well. I used about 8 or 9 cc on this bike! I used the method with compressed air to speed up the curing and to give it some added gloss. I also did my final wipe with one of Corey's big suede mf cloths. They are what he recommends for removing CQF and they are very nice to remove OG as well. The wheels were also done with OG. The tires were sprayed with DG wet gloss tire gel via air gun (the bike doesn't lean so you can dress the tires on it). I was very happy how it turned out. The owner said it didn't look this good the day he got it. That made me happy....that's always my goal! Some Metallic Close Ups: Thanks for looking. Comments always appreciated.
I don't ride other people's motorcycles. I never lended mine when I had it and my brother-in-law is the same way. IMO, they look cool to ride (my brother-in-law is always riding it), but I don't consider them motorcycles. The VA DMV doesn't know what to consider them and people are showing up with these bikes for the ride test. IMO, if you don't know how to balance yourself in two wheels, you shouldn't be getting a motorcycle endorsement.
I agree that there are people who do not have the aptitude nor the coordination to ride motorcycles. In regards to a three-wheeler, I only like the style that HD has patented (and others have also done something similar) and that is the leaning three-wheeler: Harley Davidson Leaning Trike Patent Application via: The Kneeslider • source: Harley-Davidson There are riders who become disabled and still wish to ride...a three-wheeler allows them to remain in the world of riding.
nice job, looks great! they are all over the place around here. the same dealer that sold/services my skis have them and they cant keep them in stock. I have a really hard time believing that so many people drop the coin on those little trikes. Ive sat on them while waiting for paperwork and i just dont feel right on them, its hard to put my finger on it but they are just not comfortable for me. Not to mention i really dont like that they dont have an option for "manual", and to be quite honest i could never pick up a chick on that thing. To each his own! :shead:
They make group runs in my area (along with the two-wheelers) and they are always with a chick along for the ride. Since we can lane-split, here in California, it's not appealing for that reason alone.
Im just saying, i could never roll up to my smoking hot dates house and pick her up and put her on the back of my can am roadster! JMO! im sure just like anything open on the road they would be fun!
Thanks for the comments! LOL@ picking up chicks with it! With the heated grips in the back, you very well may attract a high-maintenance princess!!
I have ridden these on demo rides and have over 40k miles ridden on traditional motorcycles. I see the comparison between these and traditional bikes as the difference in modern automobiles and the cars of the past, that is the canam is alot less driver dependant, they do some of the work required for traditional bikes, think of power and non powered steering cars, is it necessary well no but it helps. I still prefer my motorcycle, however if I wish to ride a motorcycle type vehicle accross a 10-15k mile trip, i would choose the canam. If for some reason I needed three wheels I would choose the canam over a trike, they are much easier to ride, and more enjoyable than a trike. Nice job on the detail by the way.:thumb:
LOL...and nice detailing job on Richy's part. Pretty easy to get lost in all the other conversation (that I added to as well).
Thanks Chad! I was shooting with my d3000 and a 55-200 zoom lens. Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk
