Race Paint Reps

As the saying goes: ‘You can’t polish a turd, but you can paint it!’ Scott Redmond looks at prices of the custom-painted race replica

- Scott Redmond

For some it adds value,kudos and kerb appeal,yet for others it’s all a bit too loud, a bit too lairy and a big turn off.

I’m not talking about the editor here. No, this is the reality of having a motorcycle repainted in a sponsor’s livery. Often beneath that freshly applied paint can lurk a bike that’s been poorly restored or repaired after an off.

Before you part with your wonga when buying a repainted motorcycle, satisfy yourself that the bike wasn’t done so because of any sinister reasons.

Beneath that posh paint often lurks freshly filtered fuel tanks and battered panels that have been stitched back together by plastic (welding) surgeons. So, don’t look at the sunny side of the fairings, take a peek behind the panels and find out. There is no point having a Billy Whizz paint job if the repairs have been sub-standard. For every respray that’s allegedly been performed by masters of their craft, like Dream Machine there are no end of jobs that are the handy work of folk that struggle to aim properly in a urinal. If the seller did pay hundreds of pounds for a professional job, they will be able to provide a copy of the receipt to back this up.