And down I went .....

The first ride of the season ended with a drop ! Damn !!!! ...I mean ......oh darn !!!

Coming down the street a neighbor's overactive and hyper dog saw me and decided to race me. As I turned into my driveway I thought he had gone back home ... NOOOOO ! He couldn't do that. Suddenly he appeared in front of me while I was in motion on a right hand turn. A startled quick grab for the brakes while the front wheel was turned and boom !! I was on the ground. And now the dog's owner arrived. He was apologetic and offered to pay for damages. I figure it was just as much my fault for not being ready for the unexpected, so I told him not to worry about it. So now the repair questions for anyone willing to reply. The muffler shield is pretty scraped up as well as some of the body covers along the edges. So, my questions. What have you found as the best source of touch up paints; and what if anything can be done to repair scrapes and gouges in the "chromed" muffler shield. That shield is about $85 US + shipping. Has anyone tried fingernail polish for touch up paint? Nothing broken but just scratched, chipped or gouged.

Thanks,
Mike

Fingernail polish has been good touch up for me in various colors.

Thanks John. If you find it a good touch up paint ... that's good enough for me. I'll ask for Honda titanium; #YR 183. That may be a tough find but I expect Sparkling Silver; # NH 295 may be an easier find.
Mike

dropped mine on the same side after fitting a new tyre . fingernail polish was spot on and as for the chrome muffler shield i smoothed it off and sprayed it with heat resistant matt black paint. only silverwing owners ever notice the difference .

Mike from NS;
I visited a manicure shoppe with my daugher and
noticed a very large supply of nail polish in every
shade possible. When I get my scooter out & running
I'm going there and try to match my color. Much
better than auto paint store'
GOOD Luck

I scraped the chrome cover on my concrete garage wall when parking up last year.  I got a sheet of silver carbon fibre effect vinyl wrap and covered it.  Looks not too bad.

My '05 is black and got dropped hard enough to get down to the "white" abs(?) plastic. I used black nail polish (in my case, Maybelline Express Finish #50) and it did the trick for me. Went on smooth and leveled out in fair fashion. I also like that silver carbon fiber treatment. I've got a few scratches on my muffler cover too (not put there by me) but would look much better with that stuff. Thanks for that idea!!

Good info here. Terrier, that's a good idea! That muffler gets scratched so easily, sticking out there in its gleaming beauty. The carbon fiber effect makes it look like an updated model.

TouchUpDirect LLC has touch up paint pens for you:

https://touchupdirect.com/shop/touch-up-paint/honda-titanium-metallic-yr-183m/

Sorry to hear that Mike. Dogs are the darnedest creatures for chasing. If that dog is a chaser the owner should keep it tied up or on a leash at the very least !! A dog can be very scary very quickly !
My 2007 Silver is also scarred, fine lines and gouges where the PO dropped it in her yard. I used aluminium tape to cover the gouges on the plastic chrome cover on the exhaust. I am now thinking of carbon fibre wrap on it. I got some ideas on how to tackle the body scratches fairly cheaply with all the ideas sent your way !
Nail polish is cheap compared to a paint job. My Helix body panels cost $500.00 and I did half the work. The guy said plastic is harder to paint properly.
Jay.

You've more patience than me, I'd have been livid, about 50/50 split between angry for the bike damage, and also for the fact that the dog could have been killed because the owner left it to run loose.

The gypsies near where my wife grew up actually TRAINED their dogs to chase cars. Sad thing was they were actually really lovely dogs, just so badly looked after. Eventually the inevitable happened. Dog dead, upset neighbour had to clear it up. Gypsies just dumped the body. Sick.

Can you tell I have issues with people who neglect animals?

Stuff happens. You could make an insurance claim that's why we all have it. Plastic bits are expensive. Save some money and repair it yourself. Might break even on deductible just your time VS a dealer to repair. Get neighbor to at least pay deductible not total cost.

Dog running loose is the owners responsibility AND liability, long story short a neighbor paid big time $$$ AND lost ownership of the dog because he let it run loose OFF his property.

Thanks for all the great and helpful suggestions.  These replies once again show why this is the best Silverwing site on the web.

On the way down the street I heard the owner yelling and han't realized the dog was racing/chasing me.  If I had known this, he may have met my boot.

Don't think I wasn't livid as well.  When I was getting up the dog was bouncing all over the place in his usual hyper fashion.  The owner had arrived and I grabbed the dog's collar and told the owner to take his damn dog.  He knew I wasn't a happy camper. He took the dog home and returned to apologize and offer to pay for damages.  I hadn't met this neighbor and only have seen him in passing along the street or walking the dog.   You meet the neighbors through kids, dogs or snow storms.

But the replies are much appreciated.  Think I may start by finding the best match fingernail polish and move onto the touch up pen.  I too like the idea of the muffler wrap.  I'll come back with what I find as the solutions.

Mike

Here's my have used tip for dogs chasing bikes. Dogs run an intercept route, they anticipate contact point judge your speed and go for you, try this as the dog nears bake quickly BEFORE it gets to close, then accelerate like hello, this causes them to recalculate the intercept point change course to get the " prize " that momentary change is normally enough for one to leave them in the dust. Trying to kick at them only slows one down and put you off balance. Better to run hard and live to ride another day.

NOTE this doesn't work worth a damn on deer and other wild animals.

My take on dogs and advice I received---don't slow down, just keep going----changing speed screws up his sense of timing.

Many miles and decorative scratches later.....I also went the carbon wrap exhaust cover route. Mine is the dark carbon - really cheap from a local motoring accessories store.

oldwingguy wrote:

... snipped ... Dogs run an intercept route, they anticipate contact point judge your speed and go for you, try this as the dog nears bike quickly BEFORE it gets to close, then accelerate like hello, this causes them to recalculate the intercept point change course to get the " prize " that momentary change is normally enough for one to leave them in the dust.

Yup ... many riding courses and riding books advise to ... slow down a bit while the dog is chasing you and then, before it reaches you ... accelerate quickly away.  I've used this method numerous  times and it works great.  It does surprise and upset the dog though ...

If dogs run free, then why not we
Across the swooping plain ?
My ears hear a symphony
Of two mules, trains and rain
The best is always yet to come
That's what they explain to me
Just do your thing, you'll be king
If dogs run free.

If dogs run free, why not me
Across the swamp of time ?
My mind weaves a symphony
And tapestry of rhyme
Oh, winds which rush my tale to thee
So it may flow and be
To each his own, it's all unknown
If dogs run free.

If dogs run free, then what must be
Must be and that is all
True love can make a blade of grass
Stand up straight and tall
In harmony with the cosmic sea
True love needs no company
It can cure the soul, it can make it whole
If dogs run free.

--Bob Dylan

I agree with Mr. Dylan, as long as the dog stays on it's own property no problem, once it leaves it becomes a problem, as my neighbor found out a BIG one. Ours runs free but she is a lucky pup with acres to run on AND when she goes with me near the road she is beside me on the cart, can't imagine having her hit and hurt.

The local shop that does car wraps here has recently done several in bright gold and one in chrome for the local boys to pimp their cars. Both colours are as bright as the chrome effect on our mufflers. It might be possible to get a piece left over. If you can get it it would look OEM!

As per my post further up, when I had scratched mine on the garage wall I tried a local shop that does vinyl wrap on cars. They showed me a very good quality wrap that they use that was near enough chrome effect. They wanted £100 to wrap the cover. I had already priced a new cover and that was only £105 so that's why I decided to buy the wrap that I did from ebay and fit it myself and it didn't turn out too badly.

What no comments on the Chrome muffler tips? Where did you get those?
USA. bikes don't have them. Muffler cover is nice. Good info. on wrap.

Mech 1 twa wrote:

What no comments on the Chrome muffler tips?  Where did you get those?
USA. bikes don't have them.  Muffler cover is nice. Good info. on wrap.

I made and fitted the chrome pipes myself.  I think it finishes it off better.  Other members of the forum have done a similar thing.

IIRC That farkle was originated by DickO. Here's a link:
https://www.silverwing600.com/t5241-drain-pipe-tail-pipes

I want to thank all for the input and replies to my question. Lots learned and several directions for a solution pointed out. Fingernail polish seems to be an acceptable touch-up paint and now we have links to a source for matching color touch-up paint. The vinyl wrap sheets are a good solution. I too really like terrier's drain pipe tail pipe extensions. Lots of great information all around !!

Watch out for lose dogs !!

Thanks !
Mike