How much does color matter?

[scott19]

I've recently been shopping for bikes, and I've realized how much the color of the bike influences my desire. For example, I wouldn't normally consider a first generation FZ1 as a candidate for purchase, but when I see one of the 2003 yellow and black editions, gears start turning. On the other hand, I find other bikes desirable regardless of what color they are available in.

How much does color influence your bike purchase decisions?  

[County Tar]

First vote.  Choice no. 2.  

[cultureslayer]

Bikes can be any color.  I like them all

My car is my least favorite color ever for a car, but it was too good of a price to pass up.  

Boston grun

[kevin_stevens]

You left out "any color *but* this one".  That's usually how I feel.

KeS

[2wTraveler]

Short of the bike having a hideous paint scheme...color really doesn't matter.

ex. hideous=blue and yellow CBR600rr  

[Andrew]

For me color makes no difference. If I so desired I could paint it another color

Anything but honda red that is

[bomber]

I want my next bike to start out the color of bug guts and road spooge.

It's gonna wind UP that color . . . . .

[falcofred]

I have a Ducati, it has to be RED
I have a KTM, it has to be Orange

Now I have to admit, some Ducati's do look good in White, and the Superduke looks good in Black also.

[bubba zanetti]

Colour is quite important to me.  Certain bikes just look great in one particular colour.

I remember when I saw my R100RS BMW for the first time. The colour just sold me ...


Tahoe


My current bike, KTM is a case in point. I could have gotten another one in Orange and saved a few bucks ...  but it just did not do it for me like the black.

[KLRchickie]

It depends on the bike whether the colour matters.

If my Monster had been ANY colour but silver, it wouldn't have been repainted so quickly - I really don't care for silver bikes.  Monsters look great in *any* other colour scheme I've seen, even orange...

A dual sport bike - I really don't care the colour, it will look like scratches & dings awfully quickly regardless.

My current bike, KTM is a case in point. I could have gotten another one in Orange and saved a few bucks ...  but it just did not do it for me like the black.

I have to agree that the NON-orange KTM's look MUCH better.

[maddjack]

I want my next bike to start out the color of bug guts and road spooge.

It's gonna wind UP that color . . . . .

 This  

[Papa Lazarou]

I couldn't care less about color. Colour, on the other hand, does make a difference.

A) unpopular colours make for a cheap buy.

B) I like Nortons in silver, Ducatis in red or yellow, and so on...

[falconati]

I'll pay a little extra for a specific color, but I'm usually happy with several options...so it hasn't been an issue so far.

[AutoXer]

Well, I hate the color yellow ... in anything.  Clothes, wall paint, house siding, anthing else you can think of, I just hate yellow.  So I would never ever buy a yellow bike, or even a bike with yellow trim.  Don't care for orange (boring), nor Kawasaki's lime green.  I prefer something more subtle and stealthy - black (2 of my three bikes have been black), followed by silver/gun metal, or dark blue.

[Frankienuckles]

The day I bought my leftover '03 gsxr 1000 I had gone to the dealer to buy a leftover '03 SV 1000( IMPULSE BUY!!!) because suzuki had a low interest promotional thing going on for leftover sv 1000's. Anyway the only color the dealer had was that copper color, BLECH! I liked the bike. I tried to like the color. The saleman seeing my inner turmoil kept on offering me a cheaper and cheaper price on the sv. I just couldn't geal with that copper color. Wandering around the sales floor while trying to make up my mind one way or another I saw the gsxr 1000 in suzuki team colors (blue, white and black) and I was sold. I had read all of the magazine reviews on both bikes so it wasn't a totally blind sales choice. In the end I got a pretty good deal on the gsxr, but not even close to as cheap as the copper sv though.

[Frankienuckles]

This is a rant!! I can't stand it when people repaint their bikes in the wrong brand specific color! example, that blinged out kawasaki racing green hayabusa at bike night, or that gsxr done up in Yamaha bumble bee black and yellow. There is some leeway, a honda gb500 looks very nice in british racing green and that is what it is going for anyway. Am I alone in this pet peeve? Is this just me?

[scott19]

This is a rant!! I can't stand it when people repaint their bikes in the wrong brand specific color! example, that blinged out kawasaki racing green hayabusa at bike night, or that gsxr done up in Yamaha bumble bee black and yellow. There is some leeway, a honda gb500 looks very nice in british racing green and that is what it is going for anyway. Am I alone in this pet peeve? Is this just me?

Funny you say that. I just bought a silver 03 SV1000 and have been riding around on it with my lime green/black/white jacket and green/silver helmet. I'm probably confusing some fellow bikers, but since the lime green on the jacket makes me more visible, I reckon it's ok. At least until I find a hi viz jacket I like.

I like British Racing Green on anything, and the metallic lime green on the Speed Triples and Moto Guzzis doesn't bother me, but pure lime green bikes should say Kawasaki on the side.

[Kneescrubber]

You left out "Red is the only color". It is the fastest color after all.

I like black but it isn't really a color.

Other colors are pretty, but for the most part, they're really really slow.

[jsanford]

I don't like anything asphalt-colored (silver, grey, etc.) after a car accident in the early '90s I partially blame on someone not seeing me, but I have bought a silver car and a silver Guzzi since then.

My first bike was ORANGE, which was somehow reassuring (safety-colored) and I eventually grew to love it.

I wanted a gold-framed Monster with a red tank, have a red-framed one with a black tank.

Anyway...sometimes a bike in the flesh beats out the color in the mind's eye.  But I think I'll draw the line at Kaw green and purple wheels.

[Frankienuckles]

If only the dealer woulda had a silver sv I would've bought it. They are sharp looking bikes.

[stealth1]

With most bikes 80% of the color choices are OK with me but if the bike I wanted was in one of the 20% I really didn't like I would pass on it.
I see my bike a lot and visuals are important.
It really depends on the bike.
On a Kawasaki sport bike, lime green would be my first choice, but I wouldn't want it on any other bike.

[scott19]

I don't like anything asphalt-colored (silver, grey, etc.) after a car accident in the early '90s I partially blame on someone not seeing me, but I have bought a silver car and a silver Guzzi since then.

One of my reasons behind making this poll. The silver naked SV I bought was only available in silver and blue, neither of which I'm crazy about. And even though I agree with your thoughts on silver, it does look better on the SV (IMO), and I was willing to cross two states to get one in that color.  

[tigertim955]

I buy any colour of bike as long as it's RED .

( the Beezer's chrome and blue-it suits the bike. Maybe I'll paint her red one day. )

[STJoe]

While I've seen bikes in other colors that I find appealing, all of my bikes have been red.  

[Papa Lazarou]

COLOUR!!! Can't you peeps spell?????

[scott19]

COLOUR!!! Can't you peeps spell?????

We're busy here. We just don't have time for "U".

Start pronouncing "Z" as "ZEE" and not "ZED" and we'll talk.

ZEE as in ZEE-bra makes sense
ZED as in ZEHb-ra makes no sense

(Can you tell I've been watching Long Way Down this week? It makes me   every time Ewan says "Zebra")

[county]

I have never owned a bike that wasn't black or silver (gray)...not that I don't like other colors (And dislike others) but black and silver are acceptable..

[DFH]

We're busy here. We just don't have time for "U".

.... so busy that a fondness for dumbing down spelling is equalled by a fondness for redundant words... y'all, y'know what I mean, y'hear and the use of the word "like" as punctuation...

Start pronouncing "Z" as "ZEE" and not "ZED" and we'll talk.

ZEE as in ZEE-bra makes sense

As in what holds tits up?  

ZED as in ZEHb-ra makes no sense

. As zebra an African word, may I suggest their pronunciation is the one that counts

(Can you tell I've been watching Long Way Down this week? It makes me   every time Ewan says "Zebra")

Travel programs are a pain, letting the world intrude into the living room in such direct fashion

As the quote goes "separated by a common language". If were all the same that would be dull.

[scott19]

As the quote goes "separated by a common language". If were all the same that would be dull.

Amen, DFH! Now tell me, who is this "Bob" and how is he my uncle?

[DFH]

Amen, DFH! Now tell me, who is this "Bob" and how is he my uncle?

From memory it means "job done"... maybe a person from the British Isles (Limey to you Scott19, a Pommy to me) could help... Papa, care to step up?

[scott19]

From memory it means "job done"... maybe a person from the British Isles (Limey to you Scott19, a Pommy to me) could help... Papa, care to step up?

  Yeah, that's what it means. "Who is Bob and how is he my uncle?" is my signature on a GPz900R forum that I'm a member of. I'd say it's 70% Brits on there, 27% Aussies and 3% whatever is left over (including me). There are times I have to read a paragraph twice to decipher it! Separated by a common language indeed!

[BlueRidgeKat]

I'm sick of black bikes, but for whatever reason when I find a really good deal on a new or used bike the damn thing is always black. Therefore............. I still have a black  

[Papa Lazarou]

I'm sick of black bikes, but for whatever reason when I find a really good deal on a new or used bike the damn thing is always black. Therefore............. I still have a black  

At least you managed to spell "Black" properly....

Now, then, Vincent and Velocette were black...and Panther and, and....

[just roy]

trucks black, wifes car is black, 4 of seven bikes are black. maybe it's my mood.

[Poustman]

A related matter is safety factor of a given colour.  Asphalt gray/silver, silhouette-only black:  these are probably harder for other drivers to see.  White, yellow, red (in whatever order) are probably the easiest to see/most likely seen.

I like bright colours on bikes, anyway:  white and yellow especially.

Black looks fantastic, in my opinion, but I know black bikes are less obvious to my eye in terms of visibility.

2 cents.

[stealth1]

A related matter is safety factor of a given colour.  Asphalt gray/silver, silhouette-only black:  these are probably harder for other drivers to see.  White, yellow, red (in whatever order) are probably the easiest to see/most likely seen.

I like bright colours on bikes, anyway:  white and yellow especially.

Black looks fantastic, in my opinion, but I know black bikes are less obvious to my eye in terms of visibility.

2 cents.

Maybe
But a bright headlight stands out more against a black background.
From the front the headlight is what they are going to see, not the paint job.
There's lots of experts and lots of opinions.

[ANZAC]

With most bikes 80% of the color choices are OK with me but if the bike I wanted was in one of the 20% I really didn't like I would pass on it.
I see my bike a lot and visuals are important.
It really depends on the bike.
On a Kawasaki sport bike, lime green would be my first choice, but I wouldn't want it on any other bike.

Nailed the answer here  

[greywolf]

I actually deferred purchase of the FJR because I hated the plum color , when they swithed to black metallic .. I went for it

[LadyNinja]

My Ninja is Candy Plasma Blue. I don't care for plain silver, black or white unless they are part of a unique paint scheme. Color matters to me in everything I purchase.  

[DNA]

Well, I hate the color yellow ... in anything.  Clothes, wall paint, house siding, anthing else you can think of, I just hate yellow.  So I would never ever buy a yellow bike, or even a bike with yellow trim.  Don't care for orange (boring), nor Kawasaki's lime green.  I prefer something more subtle and stealthy - black (2 of my three bikes have been black), followed by silver/gun metal, or dark blue.

I agree - hate yellow & strongly dislike white.

I prefer the darker colors  and all of my street bikes have been either Black or sliver.

[davemeister]

For me color makes no difference.

[Papa Lazarou]

For me color makes no difference.

You have cut through the crap there, babe, a Gordian Knot winner.

I'm white and Welsh, and the racial abuse I get has only been occasional.

[blackjaxx]

I don't care what color it is a long as it's BLACK.

[MonkeyNuke]

I don't care for multi colored paint schemes or graphics/decals.  I like the bike in a single solid color.  The Frame or the wheels can be different, but the contrast to the body panels has to be correct.
Also, I do like black and silver, but I prefer something that is more visable.   The color is an important part in the descison making when purchasing a new bike.

[turbo.mp]

I gotta say I definitely prefer some colors over others and in some cases so much that I'm willing to go the extra distance to get it.
The good side is that I'm not picky and most bike makers put out some decent/appropriate colors so I haven't ever had to go out of my way to get what I want.