Long story short. I just bought this 2103 300 a few weeks ago. It had some scratches on both sides of the fairings, but I overlooked it as it has a clean title and only 1,900 miles on it. I touched up the small scratches but I was still able to see them and it kind of pissed me off. I decided to buy one of the decal kits from www.ninja300decals.com. I'm not too crazy about the pattern, as it seemed darker in the pictures. Just wanted some more opinions on it. I'm still on the fence but leaning more towards wanting to go with a differnet pattern. Thoughts?

Another pic

What patterns were you thinking of? I like the one you picked there. It matches the bike nicely.

Thanks. Not really sure what else I wanted to go with. I just thought this one would have been more subtle. I wanted something with more black in it.

Ah. I kind of like that it shows up some.

Not my thing, but whatever.

I like timeless, classic designs and colors.

Take a look at bikes and leathers from the 80s... the era of gigantic shoulder pads and Miami Vice colors. Today a lot of them are just hideous.

I mean... wow.

https://fotos.arcar.org/vehiculos/76875-honda-vtr-250-1989.jpg

I once owned a Kawi EX500 (aka Ninja 500) that was a beautiful cranberry pearl over white pearl with... I kid you not... a hot-pink accent stripe, because when the bike was made, style was all about paint swooshes and pastel colors. That line got covered with SOLAS tape in a heartbeat.

Ah, here it is... found a pic of a bike just like it:

http://www.bikez.com/pictures/kawasaki/1991/ex%20500.jpg

Then there are bikes where they absolutely got it right. Like this one. Still looks great, right?

http://www.motorcyclespecs.co.za/Gallery/Honda%20VF500F%20%204.jpg

Think of it this way: James Bond looked great in 1962. The exact same look still works, right? Timeless, understated, classy.

The lines of the Ninjette hold up quite well. Some of the graphics, not so much. The basic newgen still looks good eight years after its introduction, though some of the SE treatments are not aging well (Tribal tattoos? Really? That's so Mike Tyson....).

Even the pregen looks good with the right treatment... and the flames they put on it at one time are NOT that look.

If the graphics float your boat, that's cool. Do you think they'll look good in five or ten years?

Allow me to introduce you to an old and wise friend of mine... Les Ismore.

Looks OK to me, I wouldn't bother taking them off and putting something else on.

My hubby had an Interceptor that looked a lot like the one in the picture. I liked that bike.

I would probably ride the cranberry with the pink stripe, though, just because it's so different than anything else on the road.

Keep it on for a while and then see how you feel.

It is different from other bikes and will stand out, this is a good thing.

What patterns were you thinking of? I like the one you picked there. It matches the bike nicely.

I agree with CaliGrrl. I like it. That being said, I only have plain color bikes.

In terms of subtlety though, I'm also the guy who liked the CBR Leyla paint. But I didn't think it would be a good fit for work and dates. Hah.

http://pictures.topspeed.com/IMG/crop/200909/honda-cbr600rr-cbr60-3_600x0w.jpg

Looks like the navy to me :thumbup:... Idk if it's already on roll with it, unless you hate it, then jerk it on off!!!

:iamwithstupid:

I'd go with more contrast and color, but that's me.

How's the quality? This gives me some ideas as a finishing touch for my race bike. I'm thinking rattle can the fairings a solid color and slap those on rather than pay $$ for a paint job that could be wrecked by a lowside?

I'd go with more contrast and color, but that's me.

How's the quality? This gives me some ideas as a finishing touch for my race bike. I'm thinking rattle can the fairings a solid color and slap those on rather than pay $$ for a paint job that could be wrecked by a lowside?

The quality is ok. They went on pretty easy. Some of the edges where the decals meet could be improved a little. I just strected it a little in the edges where they meet and overlapped them about 1/8". I emailed them yesterday to see if they maybe thought of doing some decals that went on the sides of the tank as well, to tie it all in. Still waiting for a response. I think it would make it look a little more "complete". I'm still not real crazy about the pattern I got, but it's growing on me. It was basically just a short term, cheap fix until I decided if I wanted to replace the fairings or not.

Keep it on for a while and then see how you feel.

It is different from other bikes and will stand out, this is a good thing.

I concur.

I love it.

I love it.

Thanks!

It's not really my style, but I don't think your decals look too bad. If you were expecting darker, I can see why you might not like that they add quite a bit of lighter gray/white to a lot of area.

As others have said, I like my stuff pretty plain and subtle. I'm not a huge fans of the tribal flames on my 500 (http://www.ex-500.com/wiki/index.php?title=What_Colors_Are_Available?#2009), but at least they're not too flashy being silver/gray on black, and not too excessive. Maybe I've just gotten to used to them, but I think the 500 looks weird without the decals - just too plain.


I like timeless, classic designs and colors.

I once owned a Kawi EX500 (aka Ninja 500) that was a beautiful cranberry pearl over white pearl with... I kid you not... a hot-pink accent stripe, because when the bike was made, style was all about paint swooshes and pastel colors. That line got covered with SOLAS tape in a heartbeat.

It may not be "timeless" or "classic", but it's immortal thanks to the Clymer manual.

http://static.chaparral-racing.com/productimages/600/370-0360.jpg

They had some pretty wicked decals in the mid '90s (https://41.media.tumblr.com/2f02aea90f605fefbc94274ae35fcb92/tumblr_nq7cu6cD4Z1r0dpzdo1_500.jpg) too.
http://ninjabikeads.com/medium/143_1227193916.jpg

https://s19.postimg.io/5b7d108yb/image.jpg

:werd:

the new decals look ok, but IMHO anyone with a 300 should remove the black side panel trim section and the lower chin fairing and paint it their color of preference. Looks really good on this bike. I chose red trim on a stardust white bike but Kawi lime green would have looked great too.

On the 300, the solid colors look the best, and the SE decal graphics look horrible and will be soon out of style in much the same way tribal graphics are today.

How deep are the scratches? If you don't like the decals then you might want to try and buff the scratches out.

But I love my SE stickers... Haha I'm also looking for excess fairing pieces to paint it solid kawi though :p

How deep are the scratches? If you don't like the decals then you might want to try and buff the scratches out.

Shiiiiiiiit... Fill scratches FTW paint paint an mooooo paint

A person has to do what he has to do. Looks OK to me.

Long story short. I just bought this 2103 300 a few weeks ago. It had some scratches on both sides of the fairings, but I overlooked it as it has a clean title and only 1,900 miles on it.

<snip>


Definitely a bike from the future! :thumbup:

they sell ninja 300's in 2103?!!??? The 300 is the FUTURE!!!

:clapping: