Triumphrat

jamboa2003

Those of you who have had the matte black and gloss black for a couple of years I would be interested in how the paint is holding up. Also the blacked out engine is the black still looking new on the motor?

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04 Bonnie 904cc Assembled In England, 08 B King,10 650 Versys
Triumphs Gone With the Wind=95 T-Bird,98 1200 Trophy,05 Tiger 955I,05 2300 Rocket,06 Scrambler Assembled in England,06 1050 Speed Triple,06 1050 Sprint,07 1050 Tiger

abranti2

The paint on my gloss '11 Storm is holding up well. Everything motor-wise is holding up thus far. I do keep it pretty clean.

I can't say I know anybody with the matte black specifically on a Triumph, but I do have a friend with a Harley Nightster and the problem he has with it is you can't buff out any scratches or really do anything other than wash it.

lannutti

I have the gloss black on 2010 TB. I have a lot of swirls unless I polish it before I leave the house. Otherwise its fine.

dazco

Like was said, with matte black you're stuck with whatever it is. Scratches, water spots, tree sap, bird crap that etches the surface, etc. You cannot do anything to it other than wash it. So they will begin looking old and shabby eventually. Eventually could mean any length of time depending on environment. Personally i wouldn't consider it under any circumstances. Gloss black is safe since you CAN polish out any imperfections. However, black is by far the hardest color to keep nice because any imperfections stand out like a sore thumb. Especially with these bikes because they use a water based paint which produces a much softer paint job. You can literally run a ringer along it very lightly and leave a "rake" trail in it. Even my blue metallic is bad, but black would be 10 times worse. If you get the storm thats the way to go however because matte is as i described. If it's always garaged and never in the elements you might get away with matte. But otherwise i would stay away.

BigGuy82

I suggest that you get the bike painted blue. It's a much more forgiving color and as everyone on this forum knows, it is much faster than the other colors.

In lieu of that, Mother's has some excellent scratch removers and pre-wax glazes that will enhance your finish.

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"The wire is life ... everything else is just waiting ..." - Karl Walenda

"My Triumph is living ... everything else is just boring ..." - BigGuy82

M.G.Vig

My mate's matte green Speed Triple still looks great, apart from an impossible to remove blemish on the tank, caused by some bird poo. Not good. Personally I don't care for this type of finish.

dazco

Imagine a CAR with a matte finish ! They're been showing up lately. Not many of them, but i cannot imagine how anyone would buy one unless they really don't know about the maintenance issue.

steve59

My storm is outside on a jobsite all day every work day since july 5 this year and it.s holding up pretty good. I learned the hard way on previous bikes pressure sprayers wear out the black engine finish. there is a product out that restores the finish tho. My jet black tank is full of light scratches like everybody elses. I wax it & ride it.

norton74

Back in the late '60s and early '70s car manufacturers were painting hoods with flat black paint. That fad ended pretty quickly after people saw how that finish ages deteriorates.

Seems like every generation we have to try flat paint on cars and motorcycles. Seems like we would have learned that lesson by now.

jbarmi

I have a Matt black 2012 TB Storm, I wouldn't have it in any other colour. It looks mean!