A forum for owners of Yamaha TTR250 trail and enduro bikes!

Mateja · Member

Vinyl wrap or paint

TTRfan · Super Guru

I have had TTRs with both vinyl wrap and painted side covers. I would think that either would be fine but maybe the painted panels would last better if you are offroading?

Vinyl wrap:

Vinyl wrapping rear mudguard and tank.jpg

Vinyl wrapping side panel and front mudguard.jpg

Wrapped panels 001.jpg

Painted:

Yamaha_TTR250_Open_Enduro 003.jpg

Mateja · Member

Wow, you have done a pretty nice job. Some question came up:

Did you wrap the front fender and the tank with one piece of wrap or there is a cut somewhere?
I am curious because I have tried to wrap a front fender almost the same as yours and even professionals told me that it is inpossible to wrap is with one piece because it is too curvy.

Has not the wrap on the tank bubbled up yet?

About the painting:

What kind of paint did you use? Did you need primer? Is there clear coat on it?

Which method is cheaper, paint or vinyl?

I appreciate your help :)

TTRfan · Super Guru

Sorry Mateja - I didn't mean to mislead you but I didn't do the wrapping or painting myself.

Here is the only other photo I have of the wrapped side panels showing that the wrap was cut at the edges. I only bought the panels and not the tank and front mudguard but I kept the photos through interest in the process.

Wrapped panels 002.jpg

I tried to find out more about how the white panels were painted as the finish was superb and withstood some rough use on the lanes but was unsuccessful as the guy I bought the TTR from wasn't the owner that had the painting done cry I assumed it was a two-pack paint.

Mateja · Member

Thank you for the effort trying to find answers to my questions. It is unfortunate that we know nothing about the paint, but I hope there’s someone in this forum who has done either of them. Right now I think painting is better than wrap.

JOHNYBOY · Super Guru

you need 2k 2 pack & laquer on plastics if you use cellulose it will peel & not adhere to plastic john

Mateja · Member

I am definately gonna try 2k paint, thank you.

mossproof · Super Guru

You need a plastic primer first - "adhesion enhancer" or something like that. I had some side panels professionally painted for my black bike and they are holding up quite well under my brother's abuse. I put clear wrap over the top in the high-wear areas which has stopped the paint wearing through. I am careful not to steam clean too forcefully 'cause I think the heat would cause peeling.
I did the rear mudguard myself with Halfords type "plastic and vinyl paint" and it chips off really easily. What I'm saying is it's worth paying someone who knows what they're doing!

Mateja · Member

It would be nice to have it done by a professional,but it’s really expensive (around 400$), and it is difficult to find a professional here.

Two years ago I painted a front fender and it is still holding up pretty well, there is no sign of chipping or peeling. It’s far from professional work but I am satisfied with it.

ttboof · Super Guru

I used plastic primer and spray enamel on the rear guard on the white Dr one I've just done cheap and so far pretty happy with it

Mateja · Member

I dont really know what enamel is, is it like clear coat or something?

ttboof · Super Guru

Not 100% but good enough for me biggrin

Mateja · Member

Nice job ttboof. I am aiming for slighty different finish, because for me it looks a little like it was painted metal. Probably I would use different clear coat, or a little more wet sanding but I am not sure.

Thank you for the pictures anyways ;)

ttboof · Super Guru

Yeah patience and prep work arnt my strong point it is plastic just didn't sand it much your correct

mossproof · Super Guru

Enamel is just a colour top coat, usually does not need a clear coat of laquer on top to make it shiny.

Dan-in-a-Van · Veteran Member

When I got mine a previous owner had painted it black with a weird rubberised paint. I sanded it down and sprayed it with grey plastic primer from a rattle can or two. I started to spray a matt top coat and then decided to wrap some of the parts instead. The bike was never going to be a show pony so I wasn't too bothered by a few runs and a bit of bubbling. It probably cost less than £40 for the make-over.

IMG_20171110_154241739 (2).jpg

Mateja · Member

Now I'm not really sure which is the better choice, but fortunately I have a lot of time to think about it.

Dan-In-A-Van: I like your bike, it's pretty uniqe. Can I ask about the front suspension? I am interested in the reason of the change, and what kind of forks they are.

Dan-in-a-Van · Veteran Member

They might be off a YZ? They were fitted already when I bought the bike. The plastic fork protectors are marked with YZ. If anyone knows what to look for to confirm if they are off a YZ I'll take a closer look.

Mateja · Member

Then most probably they are from a YZ. IMO they look much better than the originals.

petenz · Super Guru

Mateja wrote:
Now I'm not really sure which is the better choice, but fortunately I have a lot of time to think about it.

Dan-In-A-Van: I like your bike, it's pretty unique. Can I ask about the front suspension? I am interested in the reason of the change, and what kind of forks they are.

https://ttr250.activeboard.com/t63307979/05-yzf250-usd-front-end-meets-ttr/

Dan-in-a-Van · Veteran Member

Yep. I can second the description of the handling. When I picked it up, the 50 mile tarmac ride home in the rain, was a hoot. At speed it cornered like it was on rails, it actually felt better than my RD350. My off roading has only been some slow, easy green lanes but the front end definitely needs to be softer.

-- Edited by Dan-in-a-Van on Saturday 19th of October 2019 04:22:18 PM

TTRfan · Super Guru

petenz wrote:
Mateja wrote:
Now I'm not really sure which is the better choice, but fortunately I have a lot of time to think about it.

Dan-In-A-Van: I like your bike, it's pretty unique. Can I ask about the front suspension? I am interested in the reason of the change, and what kind of forks they are.

https://ttr250.activeboard.com/t63307979/05-yzf250-usd-front-end-meets-ttr/

Hi Pete

Your photos have been eaten by Photobucket. Do you still have the originals to use in editing your post please? Too good a thread to lose the photos on!

Brian

petenz · Super Guru

yes they are most lightly still on the old camrea ...

will have a look....

..

Dixon38 · Member

TTRfan wrote:
I have had TTRs with both vinyl wrap and painted side covers. I would think that either would be fine but maybe the painted panels would last better if you are offroading?
Vinyl wrap:

Painted:

Looks great to me! How's them holding up? We'll be working on buddy's bike next right after we finished installing the brake kit and cooper tires on the current Wrangler project. I've seen a few good high quality vinyl that lasts on street bike.

TTRfan · Super Guru

Dixon38 wrote:
Looks great to me! How's them holding up? We'll be working on buddy's bike next right after we finished installing the brake kit and cooper tires on the current Wrangler project. I've seen a few good high quality vinyl that lasts on street bike.

Hi Jed.

They are photos of of panels and a bike that passed though my hands so not sure of long-term holding up although I sold the TTR to a mate who was new to trail riding so threw it down the lane a few times and the painted panels coped very well!

Brian