Version 2.

Area around the carburetors is tidied up a bit, and the curves are applied to the fairing edge.

Further additions:

Other style themes worth investigating:

1) Tick-stylised.

2) Hyperbolic lines.

3) feature line cross.

4) intersecting solids-used on ZZR 1200

5) thick/thin swoopy "Z".

Alignment with "built-in" features and edges.

Try to carry style-alignment details across the fairing as well.

I don't need profile continuity curves- the ducktail aligns with the rising side feature.

The "Airbox Tank" section doesn't need to be teardrop-shaped.

A lot of it is concealed by the fairing.

Maybe the shape needs more integration with the fairing- hollow curves connecting them?

The ability to seperate airbox-tank and fairing is useful for construction.

Concealed parts can just be shaped by utility.

The fairing rear edge is determined by rider knee clearance and toe clearance,

but can be more curved in side view.

I don't know if motorcycle styling qualifies as being Nerdy, unless it is Steampunk or pretty way-out,

but this is one of the styles I have been working on.

The main style features here are:

1) The side vent grating, based on the Kawasaki GTR 1400 one, revised to fit.

2) the treatment of the surround to the carburetors. 

This shown as an arc that follows the line of the airbox-tank and side panel,

finished with small ridges, painted satin black.

I am not to sure on the "Rainbow curve" motif- it is a bit overpowering.

I will research other less regular layouts and compare them.

The base color is planned as deep red metalflake, similar to one of the original colors.

I am basically eliminating pre '90s styling cues.

Examples : the four-square trapezoid layout of the headlights and the later model

ducktail.

see my blog at

https://owenprojects....wordpress.com/

The whole rebuilding and remodeling exercise should be fairly cheap.

The only new tools I need are a second-hand oxy-acetylene set and

a plastic welder hot-air gun.

I need to learn a bit more about fiberglass reinforcing mat.

I want to use Polyurethane resin, based on 1.5mm 3-ply marine plywood

as an understructure.

It should be fun trying to get a smooth surface over 3-D curves.

(A compressor and paint spray unit would be handy, too)

A handy tool is a long flat plank with a strip of sandpaper on one side,

to get nice smoothing over longer distances.

I think that the stuff I want to do has a fairly low popularity value in the general population, and I suspect, here as well. It is hard to find 

an online forum where people will offer some unbiased advice to someone who may not stick around long.

There are a few computer/web experts around here who could offer advice if they wished.

Mind you, all of this stuff is somewhere on the net and available though Google, so if I look hard enough, I will find it.

What I want to work on now is to choose a forum which gets good results in Google.

Flickr has lots of those "taggy" things, which Google may use.

My choices are:

Flickr;

Facebook Groups;

Wordpress blogs;

some other form of website??

Yahoo Groups (email based, but have files, on-line photo volumes, post-out attachments etc.)

Online Forums -like this one.

-I don't think most on-line forums would like me just posting all my hobby stuff, regardless of relevance to

the aims of the forum.

The trouble is: Engineering Drawings of potential-build motorcycle projects don't really fit under

Art or DIY.

I tend to get biffed off established venues for being off-topic, stuffing up their "digest reports", or posting

stuff people generally don't want to read-(minute details, algebra/trig worksheets)

I do have lots of Cats.    I plan to start a Cat photo Gallery tonight-got the Flash camera going again.

(MotoCats-the new bunch)

I have got the MotoCats group established. Fancy still photo editing would be a good skill to learn. Possibly expensive to do a nice job of

an edited video??

I need to find out a bit more on how Google search works, so I can attract an audience.

Re: posting on other topics, I think my only common interest would be Web Comics, but nobody seems to talk about them.

Anyway, I have more on RSS feed than I can read, and I just read them. What can you say, really?

Otherwise, I am not really into working out what passes for "Nerd Culture", nowdays.

Drawing/Building things keeps me busy. It would be nice if I could chat about something I find interesting. :|

Whats up with this group? -either very irregular or somewhat clique-y!!!

I prefer a directed goal in the "sort-of" real world!

I have decided on a name for my new group "MotoCats".  Possibly for people who like both cats and motorbikes.

Possibly I have discouraged some potential joiners by "coming out", as it were.

As my partner says "You sound like some kind of madarse"

I use my own name, because that is the general facebook norm.

Using weird names is a bit Usenet, pre-web????

Also, I want people to find me. If I were a public figure, or got a lot of hate mail, I might do it differently???

Rattling around a bit here....As per usual, I ask a question, and eventually end on creating a solution

by myself. Why ask? why communicate at all? I could just do my own thing, I suppose, and just hang out

with my partner and family.

How about cats and motorcycles?

Cats are always good!

I have still pictures of cats, plus tons of bike pics, including my last bike, which look sort of spontaneous.

I could make a mural of cats and bikes-possibly Photoshop, or something similar.

How about a halo of cats, embedded in some sort of background, with a bike in the middle?

I would need someone with an artistic flair to help put it together.

Being of an Engineering bent, my artistic ability is rather limited.

Then it has to be tagged, embedded in a website or something.

For Facebook group ideas, how about a Cats and Motorbikes theme?

-What would be a good name, besides "Cats and Motorbikes"?

A good UTube idea could be a compilation video introducing all my cats, and getting them

to interact with me.

The Motorbike content could be large wall hangings showing Motorbikes. I wonder how much they cost?

(Google job)

Can I do it with a phone camera, a small snap/movie camera, or do I need bigger lenses and

more resolution? I know getting the subject framing and focus right can be a problem.

I would also need some studio lighting-those big silver umbrella things, as most of the cats are black,

and look bike black blobs unless I use a flash, which the cats don't like.

I need to find out a bit more on camera file types, and suitable editors.

Any keen video editors/film artists who want to help?

* the cat pictures are fairly old-we may still have some of them. They tend to not last that long roaming outside. The Tabby/White is still here (Brian). The Smoky Grey one was rehomed (Smoky).

I sold the bike, as it needed a gearbox rebuild, and I didn't want to do it. I have yet to get another. I want a Kawasaki GTR 1000 sporty-tourer next.

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Owen Nieuwenhuyse