• There were many reasons for the change of the site software, the biggest was security. The age of the old software also meant no server updates for certain programs. There are many benefits to the new software, one of the biggest is the mobile functionality. Ill fix up some stuff in the coming days, we'll also try to get some of the old addons back or the data imported back into the site like the garage. To create a thread or to reply with a post is basically the same as it was in the prior software. The default style of the site is light colored, but i temporarily added a darker colored style, to change you can find a link at the bottom of the site.

Dave & Teds Most Excellent Adventures 2013

Yes, I did, and so far, what I've done looks GREAT, but haven't taken pics yet

dave, did you clearcoat the red parts yet ? let's see some pics.:popcorn:

The 1st time I did this in the Spring, it was a totally new learning experience, as I had never done any painting from a spray can before & was afraid to try the clear coat, so I left the parts without it. With all of y'alls suggestions & a little trial & error learning curve, I'm now happy to report, tho not perfect, the parts came out really well, much better than before. As suggested & learned, propper prepping and patience is 80% of the battle.

The parts from my first try, without clearcoat, started chipping easily & showing signs of wear, which I wasn't very happy with.

Version 2 parts have all been sanded, primed, 5 coats of paint and 7 coats of clearcoat & the difference is night & day & they should stay bright, glossy & chip free for a long time to come. Being winter, I had no choice but to do all the painting & prep in the spare bedroom thats not used, with windows open and ceiling fan on high for ventilation, along with the thermostat set at 70F. While not ideal, it worked, tho sadly I'm still not finished.

I did all the parts in the picture, but now I need to dissasemble Teds Red Sled even more to remove the rear speaker grills, unlike the fronts, they don't 'pop' out, they actually 'pop' in, requiring me to once again remove the rear passenger speaker pods to get them out ..... frustrating.

Even more frustrating is trying to remove the 2 metal pivot brackets & the dog-bone casting (the one that broke & had to be replaced last summer) that hold & move the windshield casting support in place & up and down. I now understand why BRP said the dealer had to replace the entire motor & mechanism instead of just the metal dog-bone support, they made it all into one big piece. I tried removing them to bring them in to paint, cause I know how I am, and from the drivers seat, I'll be able to see the 3 ugly gray casting supports under the bright Viper Red windshield mount & it will drive me batty. I can't stand the OEM grey castings, they just look so cheap to me & I can't stand them. I realize most ppl would probably just leave these 3 small castings alone, cause from the front view, I don't think they would really be that obvious. But every time I get in the seat, I'll be seeing them & it will get under my skin & drive me crazy over time.

Anyone else done this, any suggestions? I was going to take the entire windshield motor & suppost castings off and bring them inside to paint, got everything unscrewed and the one wire harness unplugged, but then I ran into 2 wires that are together and they seem to be hard-wired with a connection inbetween that looks as if it has shrink wrap over it. I'm a fish out of water here, and am afraid to try and disconnect them, for fear I may not be able to get them back correctly. The wire colors don't even match, with all 4 (2 in 2 out) having different colors, so that's got me perplexed & procrastinating. I thought about covering the Spyder except the 3 bracket castings & painting them in place, but its too cold in the garage & no ventilation, so that's not feasible.
 
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Hopnel makes a dash bag that would block your view of those brackets while in the driver's seat. I like it & is much easier install than what you are proposing. If you get it, super glue the Velcro down on the dash, as they will not stay stuck on at highway speeds, even if you clean the dash before applying.

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Painting of the windshield brackets is complete

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We went from the above OEM grey casting color to the satin black below. Should just blend in with the top cover now.
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Covered the front of Ted's Sled & spray painted satin black the windshield brackets in place. Turned out well.


ENJOY the RYDE
dav n ted~
 

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Finished painting the red parts except rear speaker grills

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These turned out great using the Viper Red from TouchUp Direct paint & clear coat. You can tell a HUGE difference between the 2 dash bezels, as I redid the spare in the same Valspar paint I used before. I didn't think there was that much difference, but as you can see in the pics, there is. I'm very happy with the end results & now just need to redo the rear speaker grills, & we'll be done with this little part of modding.



ENJOY the RYDE
dav n ted~
 
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Look what I saw . . . . NOT HAPPY

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This about gave me a heart attack when I saw how much had leaked out this time. The Service Manager at Middletown Cycle never called to say the parts came in yet, so I'll once again be bugging them again today. This is frustrating.
 
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Yup, we covered the front with a tarp & painted in place

View attachment 62459[/QUOTEDave, can you just remove dash cover on top and tape off. Using newspaper for the larger areas should be fine. :thumbup:
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I'm guessing you missed the post above, but I just finished doing similar to what you suggested this weekend. I was just worried about doing them in the garage as the temp. was only in the mid-40's & the can was saying for best results, only use around 70F, but they still turned out fine :clap:
 
I never really thought of it, but painting those parts black will also make it easier to spot a crack in the dogbone...:thumbup:
 
Roadtrip to Pitbull Power Sports Grand Opening this weekend

Ok, so this weekend is the Grand Opening of Lens (formerly of Cowtown fame & Host of SpyderFest) New store, PitBull Power Sports. Since Teds Red Sled is still awaiting parts, we thought we'd do the unthinkable & actually cage it to the Festivities in the Cougar. Won't be nearly as fun as trip'n Spyder Style, but at least we do have this option, along with extra space. Tho honestly, I'd only recommend the space for one other adult for comforts sake, as the 2 rear seats are rather tight, but totally usable. Just thought I'd throw this out there and see if any one else from the Cincy/NKY. area would like to join us. Figure head down early Saturday mornin, leaving around 5am, spend the day at the New Store & let Teddy schmooze, grab a cheap hotel for the night, stop by Sunday morning if anybody's going to be there and head home Sunday afternoon. If anyone is interested, just send me a pm.
 
Dave & Teddy :)

I have a small present for Teddy I'd like to send along only I need a little info and your mailing address :) Can you do me a big favor and tell me how long including the buckle Teddy's collar is and send me your address in a PM so I can send our present along !

Nicole & Jake
 
Ok, so this weekend is the Grand Opening of Lens (formerly of Cowtown fame & Host of SpyderFest) New store, PitBull Power Sports. Since Teds Red Sled is still awaiting parts, we thought we'd do the unthinkable & actually cage it to the Festivities in the Cougar. Won't be nearly as fun as trip'n Spyder Style, but at least we do have this option, along with extra space. Tho honestly, I'd only recommend the space for one other adult for comforts sake, as the 2 rear seats are rather tight, but totally usable. Just thought I'd throw this out there and see if any one else from the Cincy/NKY. area would like to join us. Figure head down early Saturday mornin, leaving around 5am, spend the day at the New Store & let Teddy schmooze, grab a cheap hotel for the night, stop by Sunday morning if anybody's going to be there and head home Sunday afternoon. If anyone is interested, just send me a pm.

We will be looking forward to seeing you and Teddy (especially Teddy :roflblack:) again............it's been awhile!:yes:
 
Just an FYI: Doing a little story 'housekeeping' & putting it all in one Mega post

Ive gone back up and edited my original DREAMS: post and deleted all the following seperate Parts and added them all back in to the Main post to make it easier for all of you to follow along, as it seems daily life (& work) keeps getting in the way of my ability to properly tell a story. Hope this format will make it easier for Teddy's fans to enjoy our Adventures, plus it gives me time to sort thru the thousands (yes, I just checked & according to this site, we have over 1359 pics uploaded-WOW-lol) of pictures that we've taken while on our Adventures and I can properly add the correct picture that goes along with the story time-line. Kind of like having a real life illistrated novel for your reading enjoyment:thumbup:

Forgive me tho, as I'm far from any type of profesional, and often times, the format size of the uploaded pictures can sometimes be too small or too large & blows up your screen. I know I know, I can go thru & edit them, and some I do take the time to do that, but with having so many, its not something I want to dedicate alot of my free time to do, if that makes any sense. Just keeping up with the story can be a struggle in itself along with daily working and living. So bare with me & if you have any suggestions or advice, feel free to post it.


On a side note, one good thing about posting the 'Next Chapter' so to speak in a new post, kept the thread 'alive' for those of us that generally just check the 'New Posts' tab when we log on to SpyderLovers. With me just going back & re-editing that one previous post over and over again until I get the story completed, this thread won't update as having something 'NEW' added, and I'm afraid some ppl might miss the new stuff that has been added, so please keep this in mind, and remember if your interested in that DREAMS story, you'll continually have to keep going back to that main DREAMS post to check & see if I have updated it with the next chapter. :banghead:

Another way of keeping this thread 'Alive' and current so it shows up in the 'New Posts' is for ppl to post something on here. Feel free to share your Adventures or pics as well, especially if you have any relating to a current topic or subjust. Like if anyone has any pics from Lamonts Bar-B-Q from last year, or stories about it, feel free to share them here. Its always good to see anothers' perspective of the same event, no?;)
 
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This about gave me a heart attack when I saw how much had leaked out this time. The Service Manager at Middletown Cycle never called to say the parts came in yet, so I'll once again be bugging them again today. This is frustrating.
Dave, was wondering if the leaking issue was ever straightened out:dontknow:. I am just asking, as this seems to be something that could cause you major headaches if not fixed. Plus the fix would give other spyderlovers an idea what to look for if they see something similar. Hoping it is fixed and Teddy and you will be on the rode again!
 
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