Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

White lettered tires and paint pens

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    White lettered tires and paint pens

    I've always liked the look of white lettered tires on motorcycles. While my Metzelers are brand new (maybe 100 miles), I bought blackwalls and now that the bike is almost complete white letters would really set off the wheels. I've looked into "tire lettering pens" on Ebay and everyone is selling them. However, they appear to be standard paint markers that the sellers have re-branded as tire pens.

    Does anyone have experience adding white letters to their blackwall tires?

    P.S. I don't plan on hitting any curbs, so scraping them off is not a concern. However, it seems to me that the paint must be able to flex to stay on the rubber. It will be a time-consuming job since each wheel would have to come off and be put on a bench where it could be addressed in a position conducive to a good result. So if anyone has tried this successfully or un-successfully it would save me a ton of work.

    Thanks, Mark

    #2
    Way back in the 70s, I did it on my car tires. Very time consuming, but it looked nice. At that time, it was an actual pen for lettering tires. I've thought about it for my Mustang, and came across these sites:

    https://www.tirestickers.com/


    Last edited by Deuce; 06-25-2017, 12:26 PM.


    1982 GS1100 G converted by Motorcyclist magazine in 1986 to be a tribute to the Wes Cooley replica. 1982 Honda 900F. 1997 Yamaha VMax.
    Also owned: 1973 Kawasaki Z1 900, 1972 Honda 750 K, 1976 Yamaha XS 650, 1980 Kawasaki KZ 1000 MKII, 1978 Kawasaki SR 650. Current cage is a 2001 Mustang Bullitt in Dark Highland Green. Bought new in Sept. 2001.

    Comment


      #3
      It looks cool initially but it dirties and fades pretty quickly. I did it to my first car when I was a teenager and it was an ongoing process until I bought real white letter tires for it.

      They might have better products now however... my experience is from the 1980's.
      2022 Suzuki GSX-S1000GT
      2007 Triumph Bonneville T100 w/sidecar

      2005 Suzuki Hayabusa

      Dave

      Comment


        #4
        They make letter coloring stick for the real raised letter tires..least the did back in the 80s when I had BF Goodrich raised letters on my Camaro
        MY BIKES..1977 GS 750 B, 1978 GS 1000 C (X2)
        1978 GS 1000 E, 1979 GS 1000 S, 1973 Yamaha TX 750, 1977 Kawasaki KZ 650B1, 1975 Honda GL1000 Goldwing, 1983 CB 650SC Nighthawk, 1972 Honda CB 350K4, 74 Honda CB550

        NEVER SNEAK UP ON A SLEEPING DOG..NOT EVEN YOUR OWN.


        I would rather trust my bike to a "QUACK" that KNOWS how to fix it rather than a book worm that THINKS HE KNOWS how to fix it.

        Comment


          #5
          Interesting on the tire stickers Deuce- never thought about gluing letters on. I guess you'd just have to find enough flat tire sidewall that doesn't already have raised black letters.....

          Comment


            #6
            Never liked RWL on tires.
            "Thought he, it is a wicked world in all meridians; I'll die a pagan."
            ~Herman Melville

            2016 1200 Superlow
            1982 CB900f

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by GS1150Pilot View Post
              Never liked RWL on tires.
              Maybe it's an age thing. RWL tires showed you had some money and could afford them over blackwalls. I always liked the way they looked. I kind of like the RYL (yellow) ones now.


              1982 GS1100 G converted by Motorcyclist magazine in 1986 to be a tribute to the Wes Cooley replica. 1982 Honda 900F. 1997 Yamaha VMax.
              Also owned: 1973 Kawasaki Z1 900, 1972 Honda 750 K, 1976 Yamaha XS 650, 1980 Kawasaki KZ 1000 MKII, 1978 Kawasaki SR 650. Current cage is a 2001 Mustang Bullitt in Dark Highland Green. Bought new in Sept. 2001.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Deuce View Post
                Maybe it's an age thing. RWL tires showed you had some money and could afford them over blackwalls. I always liked the way they looked. I kind of like the RYL (yellow) ones now.
                Ooooooooo, NASCAR style.
                GSRick
                No God, no peace. Know God, know peace.

                Eric Bang RIP 9/5/2018
                Have some bikes ready for us when we meet up.

                Comment

                Working...
                X