I own a 2001 RC-51 and honestly love the bike. I've also had a 2008 CBR1000RR which I liked, but not enough to keep. The RC seems oddly comfortable to me aside from the seat which of course is like sitting on a board.
It's got the typical upgrades done already; K&N filters, Power Commander and Leo Vince slip-ons. I also have a Hotbodies undertail with integrated lights. Flush mounts for the front blinkers. Otherwise it's pretty much stock.
Due to a greedy body shop I no longer have the factory decals or paint. I took all the body work in for some minor crack repair (around a the top mounting holes for the side panels) and to get an estimate on maybe getting a custom paint job. Well before I authorized any work they stripped and sanded everything. I was lucky that I was able to get them to spray everything red again, but it's not a finished job. No wet sanding, no clear coat.
I've been hearing a lot that because my bike has been "customized" with the paint that it's not worth much. Personally I don't agree, but figured I'd ask people who know more about these and maybe have some experience with painted bikes. I'm not trying to hide any major damage with the paint. If I were, the paint job that's on it now would be a really poor attempt.
So my big question is: has the value of my bike dropped off completely because of this? At this point I have little choice but to get the paint done and will probably go with some custom decals instead of the factory stuff. I can't do any worse if the value is gone anyway, right? I'm really discouraged about this. And the body shop flat out refused to make it right. I even had to pay $400 just to get them to spray everything in red before giving it back.
I'm looking for useful info here. I have resigned myself to the idea that I will end up paying to make my bike look better, but I'm trying to decide just how much I'm willing to do at this point.
It's got the typical upgrades done already; K&N filters, Power Commander and Leo Vince slip-ons. I also have a Hotbodies undertail with integrated lights. Flush mounts for the front blinkers. Otherwise it's pretty much stock.
Due to a greedy body shop I no longer have the factory decals or paint. I took all the body work in for some minor crack repair (around a the top mounting holes for the side panels) and to get an estimate on maybe getting a custom paint job. Well before I authorized any work they stripped and sanded everything. I was lucky that I was able to get them to spray everything red again, but it's not a finished job. No wet sanding, no clear coat.
I've been hearing a lot that because my bike has been "customized" with the paint that it's not worth much. Personally I don't agree, but figured I'd ask people who know more about these and maybe have some experience with painted bikes. I'm not trying to hide any major damage with the paint. If I were, the paint job that's on it now would be a really poor attempt.
So my big question is: has the value of my bike dropped off completely because of this? At this point I have little choice but to get the paint done and will probably go with some custom decals instead of the factory stuff. I can't do any worse if the value is gone anyway, right? I'm really discouraged about this. And the body shop flat out refused to make it right. I even had to pay $400 just to get them to spray everything in red before giving it back.
I'm looking for useful info here. I have resigned myself to the idea that I will end up paying to make my bike look better, but I'm trying to decide just how much I'm willing to do at this point.