Sid (finished)

[The Renaissance Man]

Been playing around with some graphic effects.

 

[Chad T]

Love it! Shiny chrome really pops with the original patina. Very nice.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Fingers crossed.

 

[CRASH]

Whatcha gettin'?

 

[SwissGuy]

Whatcha gettin'?

Another set of handlebar wraps?

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Whatcha gettin'?

Another set of handlebar wraps?

Yep! A final Hail Mary to finish the build-off. An original equipment survivor, just what I was hoping for! It's got rips scrapes and grime. Perfect for Sid and just in time! It's a Festivus miracle!

I just opened it up and it looks very promising! This is what I had wanted to find all along but didn't think that I would actually find it. I really didn't want to have to 'age' a new roll, especially considering how rare and expensive it is. That would seem like a waste. This will just need some cleaning and minor repairs before wrapping up!

 

[CRASH]

You bought the bars to get the tape? Wish it was 3 months ago. I would have bought the bars. Lol

 

[The Renaissance Man]

I only bought the tape. That picture was taken by the seller to show me the tape before I bought it. The steak knife had me a little worried!

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

wow.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Ready to wrap and roll!

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Here's another small detail.

Sid only had one end cap for the sissy bar and I had planned to leave it off (thinking that none would look better than one). But thanks a bit of luck I found a new set at the swap meet and after a little roughing up, they're ready to go!

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Installed.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

I ended up with around 16' (8' per side) of handlebar wrap. To check and see how far it would go, I started at the end of the bars and wrapped backward. Even though it was a sloppy quick job, this looks to be roughly the max I can expect.

I was hoping it would go farther, but after looking through a lot of examples, it's not uncommon for bars to be partially wrapped. I've seen some with even less. If that was not enough to ease my mind, I found this ad. As a bonus, it looks like the chicks dig it too!

 

[The Renaissance Man]

This time last week I couldn't have predicted that today I would be wrapping up the handlebars both figuratively and literally.

But here it is!

I'm very happy with the results!

 

[RustySprockets]

To be fair, you're never going to grip it by the center while riding. That length is just fine.

BTW, that young lady's interests have moved on from cool bikes. NOW, she digs wheelchairs!

 

[OddJob]

Love it! That's a wrap!

 

[The Renaissance Man]

It turns out that the park brake is a very valuable asset. I took Sid out for some photos and discovered that I could place the bike on unlevel ground and the bike would stay put with the park brake engaged. But the cable knarp eventually slipped on the cable, leaving the brake weak, resulting in the bike falling over.

Sadly the fall resulted in some fresh road rash on the coveted gold wrap.

I promptly loaded up and drove home with my tail between my legs.

 

[CRASH]

Looking at your brake levers over the wrap, I'm wondering if I'll be able to wrap over my levers without it looking stupid. I guess I'll find out in a few days.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

@CRASH I probably wouldn't have done it that way except for the factory photos showing it with the levers over the wrap.

That lever in the picture has one machine screw and a 'hook' (unlike the other side with two screws) that made it harder to squeeze over the wrap. I didn't really like the idea of pinching it but once it was tightened it definitely won't slip.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Here's a sample from my photo shoot. I'm loving all of the color!

I chose this location because I like that both the building and the bike came from the 1960s and complemented each other (in my opinion). Very few people that I know like the building and would have no problem seeing it demolished. I on the other hand LOVE it! I only recently discovered that this style of architecture is called Googie. But I digress.
Anyway, I have learned a few things that I like and don't like with my first shoot and hope to find another good day to return and refine some shots even more. And if I don't, I've got several good ones to choose from.