Messin’ around with AI

Pecosbill7

Member
Joined
Nov 10, 2024
Total Posts
29
Total likes
26
Location
San Antonio, TX
So, I’ve got a 1966 CB 160 that I picked up that is cosmetically in decent shape but needs some engine work to get it going again. I’ve been fantasizing about how I should restore the bike and have been using AI to help visualize my thoughts. The bike is a low mileage one, totally original and white in color. I also have a black 1968 CB 160 that I’m doing a original style restoration on, so I’m not that worried about keeping the white one all original, especially since I don’t care for the white ones. I’m posting some pics, first what the bike looks like now and then what I’m visualizing and I’d like to hear y‘alls thoughts. AI had a little trouble getting the side cover/tool box right but after numerous failed attempts to fix that I’m just going to leave it alone. I never had thought about a chrome swing arm but that does look pretty nice!F14B67E4-A30E-4A35-92D4-F4857472E86D.pngIMG_0962.png
 
Pecosbill7 said:
So, I’ve got a 1966 CB 160 that I picked up that is cosmetically in decent shape but needs some engine work to get it going again. I’ve been fantasizing about how I should restore the bike and have been using AI to help visualize my thoughts. The bike is a low mileage one, totally original and white in color. I also have a black 1968 CB 160 that I’m doing a original style restoration on, so I’m not that worried about keeping the white one all original, especially since I don’t care for the white ones. I’m posting some pics, first what the bike looks like now and then what I’m visualizing and I’d like to hear y‘alls thoughts. AI had a little trouble getting the side cover/tool box right but after numerous failed attempts to fix that I’m just going to leave it alone. I never had thought about a chrome swing arm but that does look pretty nice!View attachment 59073View attachment 59074
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Sorry to say it…….but White ones are my favorite!!!!
 
Yakeye said:
Sorry to say it…….but White ones are my favorite!!!!
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No reason to be sorry! To each their own! That’s why they made white, black red and blue 160’s! One thing I do like about the white ones is you don’t see nearly as many of them as you do the red or black ones.
 
I like both paint schemes. They both look better out in the world, even if it's a fake world! 🤣

Customizing motorcycles is a cool form of creative expression. I also appreciate that some prefer to see original paint left alone as there are plenty of rough examples out there to serve as blank canvases.

One of the selling points of the new scheme lies in the chrome fenders and fork lowers. I'm not sure how easy/hard that will be to accomplish. Have you thought about that?
 
stl360+450 said:
I like both paint schemes. They both look better out in the world, even if it's a fake world! 🤣

Customizing motorcycles is a cool form of creative expression. I also appreciate that some prefer to see original paint left alone as there are plenty of rough examples out there to serve as blank canvases.

One of the selling points of the new scheme lies in the chrome fenders and fork lowers. I'm not sure how easy/hard that will be to accomplish. Have you thought about that?
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Yes, I absolutely have. There used to be several pretty decent chrome plating shops in San Antonio, but with EPA rules being so tough they are all gone. I’ve found several places online that can do the chrome but I don’t know at what cost. Also, I’ve seen several ads for new chrome fenders that seem pretty decent but I’m sure they’re from China and I don’t know about their durability.

As an alternative to the chrome fenders, here is something that AI came up with all on its own:
6CD87DF3-4293-493D-89EC-ADAC0A1FF22B.png
Still has the chrome swing arm and kickstand but other than that it’s mostly just paint. The fuel tank seems a little off to me, as it’s a bit smaller and the side panels aren’t the right size. It may be that AI took the tank from a later model Honda? Also, the addition of the black areas on the exhaust are odd. I don’t know why it did that. Of course I think I’d have better luck understanding why my wife does some things than I would understanding AI.
 
Yes. If you look close at the loading dock picture, the posture of the bike has changed and the shift lever is different. I guess the AI models have so much to draw from that they have a hard time not messing around with little bits here and there. Took me multiple tries before it would stop altering the perspective and stick to the motorcycle in the uploaded image. I only use the free tools so far.

Honestly, with the fenders painted also, it suffers a bit from too much of the same for me, similar to the all-white version. Chrome fenders always look nice and they complement pretty much any color.
 
ancientdad said:
Just curious, is this going to be a real project thread? Or just a thread about pictures of the project?
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It will become a real project, but not until I finish my other one (a black 1968 CB 160 being correctly restored). I actually don’t want to touch this white one until I finish the black one because the white one is totally original and serves as a model for how to re-assemble the black one. No matter how much we may think we’ll remember everything, time has a way of messing with our memories and I don’t want to end up with, “now where does this bolt go?” problems. My restoration methodology came from several old GTO’s that I completely restored from the frame up. I meticulously took a zillion pictures and then carefully took every nut and bolt and bagged and labeled them and logged them on an excel spreadsheet. It all made the re-assembly much easier. My first restoration was a “put everything nut and bolt in a coffee can” and that was a very good lesson on how NOT to do a good restoration.
 
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