Building my first bike. Any tips?

Hi there. I am going to build my first bike. I am used to building cars so I am not new to modelling. I am building the Yamaha XV1600 for my girlfriend because she likes choppers and this one is the one she likes the most after looking at several kits.
Do you guys have any tips? Is it different from building cars? Things to watch out for? Carengines get detailed a lot, does this happen with bikes as well? What are good detailing options?
I haven't seen anybody building this kit on this forum, does anybody has any specific tips for it?

Thanks

Hi, I'm building my first one too and am used to cars more. I'm dfinately not the best but I wouldn't say I'm bad at modelling, just impatient but some of the things I've learnt is that with cars, the majority of effort goes with the body and making it uber smooth. of course this isn't to say engine and interior aren't focused on, but it seems the body more.

For bikes, I think the engine, frame and whole chassis is the main focus, getting everything detailed accurately. Also, what you're painting is more 3d in my opinion, so all angles must be perfect. Body work has smaller area than cars which is a relief for me because less work to do :grinno: . Lots of detail in the kits too and lots of small bits so be careful not to loose, break them.

That's kinda what I've learnt fom mine I'm currently building. Good idea would also be to follow the other WIP's for help. Hope what I've said helps you in some way.

I'm too building the 1st bike, as I have built in the past some model cars (all in 1:43rd scale).

I'm currently building the Bmw K100 which I'm gonna convert it into a cafe racer (the original K100 looks too dull).

So far I've found it much easier to build bikes than cars. First, there's lot less bodywork to prepare and paint, the quality of injection casting is much superior to that of a multimedia resin/white metal kits.

All your experience from building model cars will be useful for building bikes too, so no need to worry about. Just go for it and let us know how the build is going on...:wink:

Regards,
Dan

One thing I forgot to add is that, I don't know about you but, there are more colours invovled with all the little details on the engines...so you might have to stock up on a few and also get a fine brush to paint with.

Hi guys! Welcome to the bike arena! I hope that you'll get as stuck as I have gotten. I've been building bikes for 5 years and I've tried my luck at one car during that period and I thought that was really tough ;-). So I guess it's just the new arena that puts some wrinkles in your fore head huh? Just have a look at reference pictures, figure out what the different parts do and I think it will come a long just fine. Take some pics and show us here, there are a lot of talented bike builders that will share tips and techniques.

For my part you can start with having a look at my web site. Look at the tips section where I've tried to gather the techniques I've picked up over the years. Address is http://www.onetwelvth.com

best regards
Joel

Keep it simple and try to pick a kit that is straight forward till you get the hang of it. I don't want to make it sound harder than it is, but it would be a shame to start out with something and not completing it. Almost any of Tamiya's kits are great and the fir is flawless for the most part.

As for the Yamaha Roadstar, it's really a nice kit. The decals on the tank can be tricky, but otherwise straight forward. Nice chrome, too. I built mine in black which really looks good with the chrome.

Thanks for your help guys!
Little question: What color is the inside of the fenders? Matt black? Or bodycolor? Thanks!

Matt (flat) black does the trick but GP bikes are actually carbon fibre and if you want to do it in style you cover the insides with carbon fibre decals. But, for me, matt black works just fine. After all it's not that visible.
Joel