Val's New Pinup Tank Art

Well, I finally did it. I've wanted to put a particular WWII era pinup image on Val's gas tank ever since I first met her. For those readers who are new to this blog, "Val" is my 1999 1580cc F6 Honda Valkyrie motorcycle.

The first step was to remove the Valkyrie badge (the chrome nameplate affixed to a motorcycle's gas tank). To be honest, I feared that this step was going to be the most expensive and difficult one. Due to simple ignorance, I thought it would require delivering Val to a custom chopper shop, where her tank would have to be removed and pop rivets sanded from the inside of the tank. How wrong I was. I did it myself in no time at all -- and I'm a moron when it comes to all things mechanical. Had I known how amazingly easy and effective the procedure was, I would have launched this project years ago. If you're interested in debadging your bike, I posted about it here.

While I was pleased with Val's plain black tank, there was now an empty canvas waiting for the pinup artwork. Once again, ignorance and doubt caused a long delay.

I should have kept track of how many companies I contacted about the project, but I can assure you it was dozens and dozens. Custom paint shops told me the costs would run into the $800 - $1,500 range, and I'd be without Val for up to three weeks. Even more discouraging was that nobody could promise me that the art would look like the piece I had selected. It's like a tattoo ... you have to know the capabilities of the artist, fork over a lot of money, and hope for the best. For better or for worse, once it's done, it's done.

My only other option was to find a company that could make a high-quality reproduction of the image onto a digital vinyl decal. Also, that decal would have to be suitable durability for application to a motorcycle tank. Finally, the largest digital version of the artwork I could find was very small (but I admit the task of searching through hundreds of pinup images wasn't exactly an unenjoyable one). There was no way I was going to have a distorted and pixelated image stuck onto Val. I found plenty of other artwork that was okay, but it wasn't "the one." I wanted the right image, I wanted it done cheaply, I wanted it to look like it had been painted directly onto the tank, and I wanted it to be durable. Oh, and just one little additional detail. I want the same image duplicated in mirror form, so that she's on both sides of my tank.

You are well within the bounds of reason to say I was being picky, but this isn't just any motorcycle. It's Val. You'd understand if you knew her. She's my girl.

I looked on eBay and Google for days, putting in keywords such as decal; motorcycle graphics; custom motorcycle decal; sticker; vinyl graphics; ad nauseum. Of the dozens of companies I contacted and described the project, none would take it. Well, that's not exactly true. Many responded with quotes of hundreds of dollars, others said they would do it but it would horrible and pixelated, but most just said they wouldn't take the challenge.

Just as I was about to throw in the towel and decide it wasn't meant to be, I gave it one final shot. While I'd been wasting my time e-mailing every decal maker across the globe, there turned out to be a print shop right down the road that took the project on with enthusiasm. If you're looking to add custom artwork to your motorcycle, contact the folks at Blazing Signworks. I honestly think this could turn out to be a healthy line of business for them to pursue.

I'll spare you the details, but the sheer oddity of my request was accepted by the guys on the print floor as a challenge. I think they were almost as excited about testing their skill and creativity as I was to see the final result. My total cost? Fifty bucks. Yep. Fifty bucks.

Without further ado, here is a picture of Val with her gorgeous new artwork. I'm sorry the quality of the picture isn't great. I'll take a new one and replace it soon. I can tell you that during a gathering of a thousand motorcycles last weekend, lots of people turned their heads, smiled, pointed, and muttered superlatives like wow, awesome, cool . . .