# New guy



## gsx®7-11 (Aug 25, 2009)

Hello everyone! My name is Joey, I am from GA, and have always been a big WWII enthusiast. I have been enjoying reading these forums lately, and decided to join.

Also... Maybe someone could help me (or at least tell me what section to post this under.)

I am looking for a decent piece of a warbird skin panel that I can make into a cowl for a cafe-racer style motorcycle project. The whole bike is somewhat warbird-themed, and having parts made from real airplane skin would be icing on the cake!

Any help would be very appreciated!


----------



## Airframes (Aug 25, 2009)

Hello and welcome from England. Good luck with your hunt for a piece of warbird panel, but I think a genuine part would be very expensive if available, and more likely be a museum exhibit - but you might be lucky enough to find someone willing to part with something !


----------



## Geedee (Aug 25, 2009)

Thats gonna be interesting...fitting a panel (modified) to Gixer !. Lets see some pics !!
And welcome aboard


----------



## diddyriddick (Aug 25, 2009)

Welcome aboard, Sir! Good luck w/ your quest!


----------



## Thorlifter (Aug 25, 2009)

Welcome

Someone on this board used bomber nose art and framed them. Does anyone remember who that was? He might have some skins for you.


----------



## vikingBerserker (Aug 25, 2009)

Hiya Joey, welcome aboard!


----------



## ccheese (Aug 25, 2009)

Welcome aboard, Joey. Good luck finding a piece of a warbird...

Charles


----------



## B-17engineer (Aug 25, 2009)

Hi Joey, welcome!


----------



## Doughboy (Aug 25, 2009)

Welcome to the forum.


----------



## Gnomey (Aug 25, 2009)

Welcome.


----------



## gsx®7-11 (Aug 25, 2009)

Thorlifter said:


> Welcome
> 
> Someone on this board used bomber nose art and framed them. Does anyone remember who that was? He might have some skins for you.



That sounds amazing! Those would look amazing in my office. 

Thanks for the warm welcome guys.


----------



## RabidAlien (Aug 25, 2009)

Where in Georgia? My Dad retired from Moody AFB (Valdosta) back in '91, I spent 7.5 years sweltering down there before I graduated HS!

Oh, and Welcome Aboard!


----------



## Lucky13 (Aug 26, 2009)

Welcome to the family mate! Cafe racer, eh? BSA, Norton, AJS, Triumph? 8)


----------



## A4K (Aug 26, 2009)

Welcome aboard mate!

Bashing up original warbird skin for a bike?? BLASPHEMY! BLASPHEMY!  

You could look around to see if anyone's anyone's doing any restorations and replacing the skins, the originals often get turfed in the process (I have some original Mosquito fabric to prove it!).

Evan


----------



## BikerBabe (Aug 26, 2009)

Hi Joey and welcome from Denmark. 

A few thoughts for your project there:
I'm well aware that you've prolly thought it through already, but have you considered the fact that it might not be so smart security-wise, if you accidentally crash with your bike and that panel goes where it shouldn't go?
You can be the best biker in the world, but if you run into Mr. Accident-Waiting-To-Happen, you might have a problem.
And how about getting your bike street-legal? Is that possible with such a modification to the bike?
One last question: Will it be possible for you to get your bike insured with a body mod like that, or will it increase the price of your insurance?

I don't blame you for wanting to upgrade the "Cool"-factor on your bike - I love the idea of using a piece of warbird-skin - but think it through, make inquiries about what it'll do to your bike and your insurance, and _then _go ahead. 

Oh, and btw - let's see some pics of the project, when/if you set to work on it? 

And how about a paint job for the helmet to match? 

P-51 Mustang helmet:







Messerschmitt Bf-109 "Galland" helmet:


----------



## beaupower32 (Aug 26, 2009)

I wouldnt mind to get my hands on that 109 helmet. Very nice pictures BikerBabe! lol, and Welcome to the forum GSXR.


----------



## gsx®7-11 (Aug 26, 2009)

RabidAlien said:


> Where in Georgia? My Dad retired from Moody AFB (Valdosta) back in '91, I spent 7.5 years sweltering down there before I graduated HS!
> 
> Oh, and Welcome Aboard!



Im near Savannah. 



Lucky13 said:


> Welcome to the family mate! Cafe racer, eh? BSA, Norton, AJS, Triumph? 8)



I wish.... Its actually an '85 gsxr750 with an 1100 engine that I am turning into a cafe-racer-meets slightly more modern kinda thing.  I guess you could say it is both cafe- and warbird-inspired.



A4K said:


> Welcome aboard mate!
> 
> Bashing up original warbird skin for a bike?? BLASPHEMY! BLASPHEMY!
> 
> ...



Haha, I was afraid of that reaction...  I will definitely check with some restorers. 



BikerBabe said:


> Hi Joey and welcome from Denmark.
> 
> A few thoughts for your project there:



Yep, all is well with the safety and legalities. The piece would be used simply as a cowl to go where the passenger seat was, a solo tail of sorts. That helmet is great!

The bike isn't much to look at in it's current state, as I just decided to go ahead with this idea. However, here is a starting pic, and i can post more as work progresses. 

Thanks again for the kind welcome, cheers!


----------



## beaupower32 (Aug 26, 2009)

Savannah, I was just there 2 weeks ago. Im up here in Charleston about 2 hours away. Was at the 8th Air Force Museum. You ever go there?


----------



## gsx®7-11 (Aug 26, 2009)

beaupower32 said:


> Savannah, I was just there 2 weeks ago. Im up here in Charleston about 2 hours away. Was at the 8th Air Force Museum. You ever go there?



Yes actually, I was able to go there after hours and have a good look around! (A friend of mine had his wedding there.) I love that place.


----------



## DBII (Aug 26, 2009)

welcome from Texas

DBII


----------



## beaupower32 (Aug 26, 2009)

I enjoyed it too. I would like to go back and look at things more closely, as I had the wify and little girl with me. And they arnt into it, well the wify isnt. Im still trying to get the little girl intrested into warbirds


----------



## BikerBabe (Aug 26, 2009)

gsx®7-11 said:


> -cut-
> Yep, all is well with the safety and legalities. The piece would be used simply as a cowl to go where the passenger seat was, a solo tail of sorts. That helmet is great!
> 
> The bike isn't much to look at in it's current state, as I just decided to go ahead with this idea. However, here is a starting pic, and i can post more as work progresses.
> ...



Cool! 
I'm looking forward to see more of your bike work once you get going, as I'm dying to get my hands on/in anything mechanical. 
Y'know, you can prolly get someone who's good with an airbrush to repaint your helmet into the kind of pattern you would like it to be, I've considered that myself.
It could be kind of cool to make it match the bike once you've finished the rebuild. 



beaupower32 said:


> I wouldnt mind to get my hands on that 109 helmet. Very nice pictures BikerBabe!-cut-



Hi Beaup. 

Me neither, it could be cool to have. 
I think those pics surfaced during one of my Google-searches on a certain german general, and I've saved the link ever since.


----------



## BikerBabe (Aug 26, 2009)

oops...


----------



## Heinz (Aug 27, 2009)

G'day welcome mate.

Looks a veery cool project! Bloody quick too! Nice change from the street fighter/naked machines getting around. Good luck with it.

I've helped my old man build 2 classic bikes up. He's ridden for about 40odd years, I'm about to get one myself.

Cheers.


----------



## Heinz (Aug 27, 2009)

Lucky13 said:


> Welcome to the family mate! Cafe racer, eh? BSA, Norton, AJS, Triumph? 8)



You missed Triton (a hybrid yes but the ultimate cafe racer) , Matchless, Vincent, Brough Superior, Scott, Royal Enfield, Sunbeam, Ariel, Excelsior, Rudge, Velocette, Douglas, Francis Barnett, 

just to name a few Jan


----------



## Lucky13 (Aug 27, 2009)

Sure as h*ll look the part mate! This is what I'd like to have under the x-mas tree!


----------



## Wayne Little (Aug 27, 2009)

G'day mate welcome to the forum!


----------



## Heinz (Aug 27, 2009)

Nice Jan!  Got a spare 50K though for the Manx? They are hidously expensive and the 7r isnt much better.


----------



## wheelsup_cavu (Aug 27, 2009)

Welcome to the forum from Sunny 8) southern California.


Wheels


----------



## Lucky13 (Aug 28, 2009)

Heinz said:


> Nice Jan!  Got a spare 50K though for the Manx? They are hidously expensive and the 7r isnt much better.



I know...!  Imagine the sound from that sweeeeet 500cc with those, well...cough...cough, silencers! 8)


----------

