Topic: 1972 CB350 For the Daughter

[Harsh]

It kind of is.  I am still playing around with sizing to get it where I am truly happy with it.

[Restoration Fan]

I am still playing around with sizing to get it where I am truly happy with it.

That's what she said? 

[Harsh]

So I am not 100% satisfied on the wing.  Looking at on just the tank isn't giving me the warm and fuzzy.  So I decided to take some pics from a slight distance with the tank and seat on the frame to hopefully get a better idea.

In my mind I had a thought/vision of the wings being streamed down the side of the tank like the bird is moving fast.  Sort of like how some people like the rear ends lower on old muscle cars because they thought it made them look like they were moving fast.

OK...I put 6 different sizes on and took two pictures of each. The first is me standing with the camera about chest level and the second is me squatting trying to get about as level with the bike as I could.  Let me know what you think.

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[Harsh]

I would not use a defined image. I would only use a non-identity graphic lines at a larger scale.

What does that mean?  My wee brain doesn't understand the second sentence.

[RAFster122s]

The effect of the wing can be achieved if you use a color  or ghost from the rear of the tank towards the front with the color fading out as it moves towards the front.  Shooting this effect with a pearl added to the rear of the tank for this effect but the pearl is pronounced at the back but barely visible by the time you reach the front.
It is a subtle thing that stands out dramatically in bright light when the sun catches the pearl or in lighting conditions not directly lit where it takes on a shadow like quality.

The Repsol Honda sported 3 feathers on the tank for one of the bike schemes...very iconic.

There was a Goldwing that was on Bike Exif with a blue & black tank with small wing which I thought was nice....but it was not big and bold.

If you are going big then I think your shifting the wing higher and a bit forward on most of them.  It would have the sweep back be higher on the tank with the shoulder corresponding to the tank's shoulder.



the

[Harsh]

Don't use a "known" image like the wing, logo etc. Use lines or stripes or painted areas.

Ahh, so make my own.  Now you are asking me to be creative.  I can barely draw stick figures.

[Harsh]

The Repsol Honda sported 3 feathers on the tank for one of the bike schemes...very iconic.

There was a Goldwing that was on Bike Exif with a blue & black tank with small wing which I thought was nice....but it was not big and bold.

If you are going big then I think your shifting the wing higher and a bit forward on most of them.  It would have the sweep back be higher on the tank with the shoulder corresponding to the tank's shoulder.

There were a number of Repsols that did the 3 feathers.  2005, 2007, and 2008 GP bikes as well as the production counterparts.

Is this the Goldwing you were thinking of?  If so it does look nice, but with having two colors the builder was able to break up the blank space on the back half of the tank.  Which is sort of what I did on the wife's bike.




I can move the wings around a bit to see what fits and looks the best.  That is why I posted this.  To try and get some varying opinions.  I have looked at it so long that they are all starting to blend together and I am having trouble being objective.  I needed new eyes.

[Restoration Fan]

I do like that wing on the Goldwing...it looks very tasteful.  And FWIW, I think the #5 one with the grayed lines gives a really nice visual contrast.  Perhaps use that gray'ed look in a smaller size, ala the Goldwing. 

But I also agree that the way the Goldwing breaks up the blue with the black portion near the seat is one of the reasons that wing looks so good there.  Given the beautiful paint job you did on your prior bike, I would imagine you have the skill to do something like that to pull this one off.

[grcamna2]

I do like that wing on the Goldwing...it looks very tasteful.  And FWIW, I think the #5 one with the grayed lines gives a really nice visual contrast.  Perhaps use that gray'ed look in a smaller size, ala the Goldwing. 

But I also agree that the way the Goldwing breaks up the blue with the black portion near the seat is one of the reasons that wing looks so good there.  Given the beautiful paint job you did on your prior bike, I would imagine you have the skill to do something like that to pull this one off.

To me that decal on the GW you posted above is large,but looks good. 
There is a story behind why Soichiro Honda chose the 'Wing' emblem for his 'marque',you might read it,interesting.

[Restoration Fan]

To me that decal on the GW you posted above is large,but looks good. 
There is a story behind why Soichiro Honda chose the 'Wing' emblem for his 'marque',you might read it,interesting.

I think the reason it looks large on that particular bike though, is because of the change from blue to black.  It breaks up the lines to your eye and makes that very large tank not appear to be so large.  If that entire tank were light blue, I think the wings would look relatively small in comparison.

I did not know that about why Soichiro Honda chose the wing emblem.  For those who want to read the story about how it was chosen and how the image evolved through the years, click this link:
http://www.onlytrial.com/1/the_honda_logotype_120282.html

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Cool piece on the Wing logo and it's evolution.

[Harsh]

It is a cool piece on the wing logo and I have read it many times.  For some reason it never gets old.

Ghosting sounds and looks cool, but you can't really see it from a distance.  Which worries me a bit.  I don't want someone to see the bike from a distance and just see a green blob of a tank.  While I am doing the work this is my daughters bike and as such she likes the contrast in colors.  However, a good visual might change her mind.

That said a guy on DTT offered to do a little photoshop work for me.  He also posted this which I dig.  The tank size is different between the two bikes, but would probably work regardless.

[Restoration Fan]

It's your bike, but in my own personal opinion, the wing being that large draws the eye immediately to that and you lose some of the other details of the bike.  On a bike as special as you've made this one, I think that would be a shame.

[grcamna2]

It's your bike, but in my own personal opinion, the wing being that large draws the eye immediately to that and you lose some of the other details of the bike.  On a bike as special as you've made this one, I think that would be a shame.

+1

[RAFster122s]

There are many variants of the wing decal, orange and yellow, silver, white, gray & silver, gray & white, red white and blue, chrome, white, black, etc.

Often they have Honda beneath them.

Corvette yellow with silver micro flake suspended in the clear is stunning in bright sun.  Blindingly so!  The silver flake reflects the yellow and the paint glows to a dazzling yellow that is hard to look at without polarized sunglasses.  It is really gorgeous.  One way to ghost the wing into the paint is to pearl the tank except where the logo is located and it is without the pearl color. It is like lace paint jobs are best appreciated where you can see the detail coming out.  Further back it has a bit of color variation while from a distance it is blended to a single color.

[Harsh]

So I looked at the pic above on my cell phone last night and the wing is just too big.  It dominates everything.  I am hopeful that the guy on DTT and I can come up with something that will work.  I am going to explore some different wing variants today.  I just have this vision in my head of an eagle in a dive and how streamlined and fast they look, which is what I think I am wanting to create.  I just have virtually no graphic talents.

[Lostboy Steve]

I don't think you can go wrong either way. They all look good. If it were mine and I was doing what you're doing I would lower the wing down to just above the seam, and then I would redraw it to match the angle of the front of the tank.


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[Harsh]

So I was re-reading (probably for the 100th time) the story behind the Honda wing logo.

I have been thinking that maybe the logo I picked out might not be the best fit.  Then it kind of hit me.  What if I did a variant of the first time the wings made an appearance.  I haven't seen or even heard of anyone even thinking about doing that.  Maybe cut out the figures and put a little bit of space between each feather.  Just another thought.

[Harsh]

Are you talking about the challenge coin I designed or the waterslide decals I made for side covers on the 750?

I have these visions of old school hood ornaments in my head.  Like the 39/40 Packard, 30 Isotta-Franchini 8A, The Bentley Flying B (could make the B into an H), Spirit of Ectasy aka The Flying Lady of Rolls Royce.  Plymouth had one as well, but I can't remember what vehicle(s) it was on.

A thought could also be to make the figures overall more feminine since it was originally based off of a goddess.

[540nova]

Maybe you can use Wilde thing's wife for a model, I hear she's a goddess.


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[Harsh]

Maybe you can use Wilde things wife for a model, I hear she's a goddess.


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A search shows we don't have a member by that name here.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

If you're referring to JWilde, there's ample justification for that absence.

[Harsh]

Exactly! Now you're thinking with your dipstick 

I need to be extremely careful then...thinking with that has gotten me in trouble in the past.

[Restoration Fan]

So I was re-reading (probably for the 100th time) the story behind the Honda wing logo.

I have been thinking that maybe the logo I picked out might not be the best fit.  Then it kind of hit me.  What if I did a variant of the first time the wings made an appearance.  I haven't seen or even heard of anyone even thinking about doing that.  Maybe cut out the figures and put a little bit of space between each feather.  Just another thought.

I like cal's idea but I also love the idea of the original, early wings shown above.  The cool thing about those is the "retro" aspect of them.

I know when I'm riding Stella, I get a ton of people coming up to me who want to talk about the bike...often with stories of "I used to own a CBxxx back in the day".  Your daughter being able to tell them that those wings were the first wings before Honda evolved to the "current" ones would make for a pretty cool addition to the story about the uniqueness of this bike, IMO.

[RAFster122s]

Harsh,  what color is it your daughter chose again?
 
Powderman can do some pretty amazing things with powdercoating if you wish to consider using a badge made like that.  Just need to have someone mill you the base if it is going to be a recessed badge...far cooler than just flat.

I have a couple challenge coins.