If your looking for top quality custom paint for less money then what the big shops charge?

www.paintbyjames.com, is owned and operated by James Scott of Tacoma Washington. Before I go into the custom bike covered in this article I will pass on information about the painter because I have found his prices and quality to bet the best deal around. James has over 25 years of experience. His custom painting has won over 1,000 awards and trophies. James Scott leads the way in the custom car an bike industry. He uses the latest paint products, original designs, and techniques. I'm told his custom painting has been seen in car and bike magazines as well as seen on TV. Only the highest quality paints, materials and workmanship from start to finish. Candy paints, striping, lettering, flakes, chrome paints, glow in the dark, marble, wood grain and the list goes on, Airbrushing of any kind ( portraits, logos, flames, art etc.) James Scott can paint any kind of flames from all old school shapes and styles to newer tribal flames, and true fire real flames. I can personally vouch for this as he has done two custom true fire flame paint jobs for me. One of which was a more subtle flame and the recent (still in work) a bold bright true fire flame encasing the Grim Reaper on both the side cowls and the fender. His artwork is nothing short of amazing. The flames above take four different color layers. Red, orange, yellow and white all covered with Candy Gold and a couple coats of high quality clear. If you click on the photos above you will notice that the flames are painted free hand and don't have the "stenciled" appearance to them. I was offered the opportunity to watch some of the painting as he was doing it. He uses a combination of free hand and stencil for highlights resulting in unique one of a kind custom paint. You don't have to live local for custom painting. Just remove your parts and ship them. Once painted they will be carefully packaged and shipped back. If your interested in quality custom painting, you can contact James through his web site www.PaintbyJames.com. Don't forget to mention you heard about this from Rob @ Road-Quest.com.

Now that you have been introduced to the painter, the remainder of this article will cover the story behind the bike.

We purchase motorcycles and soon after we embark on the hunt for the radical accessories or parts to improve the looks and in some cases the performance. We dump money into the quest for a a more appealing twist on what was already a very precise selection of motorcycle from a long list of many. In my case I went for the futuristic look of the Suzuki B-King.  A look so over the top that most either hate it or love it. A look that some say resembles a transformer. Weighing in at just over 530 lbs. the bike is unbelievable nimble and produces monster horsepower at 162 Max HP at 9500 RPM with 95.3 ft lbs of torque both at the rear wheel!  Every motorcycle review produced top rated results in performance, comfort (for sport) and handling. It's no surprise the only down side or upside depending on your taste was the futuristic styling.

That brings me back on the subject of the hunt for the right combinations of accessories etc. to produce a unique look that takes this machine over the top. Two Brothers M2 carbon fiber exhaust, Buell pegs, Oberon bar end mirrors, OES rame sliders, RAM Mounts and other accessories and still there is something off.

I purchase one of a few 2008 B-Kings around these parts, yet as I virtually travel through the B-king forums and meet others online who own the same bike, I realize just how many people have the same looking bike. Same pipes, pegs etc. The quest to take one of the most over the top bikes produced and some how make it unlike any other convinced me to consider custom paint. In my opinion, I couldn't see just changing color or adding stripes. This time it called for more advanced and skilled measures. Something like the bike itself, over the top! It was then I began researching custom airbrush and paint artists.

Many hours of reading web sites, forums and looking at the artists work brought me to James Scott. After a couple of meetings with James and many discussions on what to do we finally embarked on a radical true fire flame job. Initially I was very reserved. After getting to know James and seeing the quality in countless images of his work I decided BAM! Make a statement with the paint. I wanted to start by integrating the "1340" cc into the flames on each side of the tank. One thing lead to another and before I knew it I was talking of flaming skulls. James suggest the grim Reaper in the flames on the front fender. Grandma through in her two cents and also thought the Grim Reaper was in order. Can't argue with Grandma! I wanted the name B-King on the rear sides behind the seat with flames. James suggested having the flames jumping from the front tank to the rear. What a cool idea. The process took a few weeks as the artwork is very tedious. I was lucky enough to be able to watch some of the artwork as it was painted. I was blown away by the amount of work that goes into a paint job like this. To produce real looking flames the painter must spray many layers of different colors such as yellow, red and candy orange. In this case I watched James free hand allot of the flames using stencils he mad in front of me to spray highlights. There is a trick to spraying on the last color candy orange. The more coats the darker and more subtle the flames. Since the candy orange is somewhat transparent the flames light up when light hits them. This makes for a great effect, one that keeps people walking around the bike watching them as the lighting changes.  As they move around the bike the lighting changes and so do the intensity of the flames. Since the completion of the paint project I have been on a couple day rides. You know the paint is great when folks walk across parking lots to drool over it. Some of which don't even ride motorcycles. It's simply the most advanced looking motorcycle with a one of a king high end custom airbrushed paint job that without a show of a doubt, takes the bike way over the top! Mission accomplished! A big Thanks to James Scott, owner artist of PaintbyJames.com.

Digital Camera Flash does not do it justice...
More to come...

Grim Reaper Video - The Transformation Part 1

Grim Reaper Video - The Transformation Part 2

Grim Reaper Video - The Transformation Part 3

 

Grim Reaper - Final Cut! Part 4

1st Grim Reaper Artwork - Front Fender