From: JS Bordeleau
Subject: FZR400 Kit 4015
Date: November 26, 2009 8:55:22 PM EST
To: tapeworks@nc.rr.com

Hey guys,
 
Well, just picked up my 1989 FZR400 from the body shop after my friend crashed it.  There are a multitude of custom parts of the bike, chief of them the engine - it's far removed from a 400, believe me - and he helped me quite a bit with the build, so I owed him at least that.  Of course, I was livid right after the crash, but seeing as I had the original paint scheme on it previously, and after seeing the results below, I'm positively thanking him for the crash now!  =)
 
My goals were to modernize it a bit, but not be overly ambitious.  I see too many 20-year-old bikes with paint schemes right off of the newer bikes and to my eye, that often doesn't work.  This, in my mind, is the perfect compromise - it's a more modern look, but does not try to make the bike into something it's not.
 
I insisted on the red mask on the tank, but my painter was the one who had the idea to include the black belly pan (he's also a big bike - and Yamaha - guy and knew all about their race bikes of the 80s and 90s).  That, I believe, finishes off the look marvelously, and in all, I think I have succeeded on all fronts, largely thanks to Tapeworks' awesome kit. 
 
Hope you guys like it, and keep on producing alternatives for the older bikes!  =)
 
Cheers!
JS