It all started at a NESBA track day in April 2008. A bunch of us were down there, enjoying what was to be the last time motorcycles got to experience one of the scariest things in roadracing - the original turn 12. The morning was fantastic - weather was decent, the track was up to temp and there were some fast guys out there (I wasn't one of them).
It started drizzling a bit on the back section right after lunch, so the more cautious of us came in early. Leave it to Chad "I've not crashed in two years" Larsen to brave the little sprinkles of water and lose it going through turn 7 chasing 1:31s. The new, pretty paint on the bike was barely scuffed - but that gentle get-off started the whole idea. Over lunch, I grabbed a sheet of the "Bones" pattern I'd done at the DecalGirl office as a print test and we just started wrapping pieces of Chad's GSXR.
With no real training aside from skinning ipods, cell phones, laptops and game consoles at DecalGirl, we managed to wrap chunks of Chad's bike with the skulls. Not the whole bike - we didn't have enough material but enough to where covered the scuffs, attracted tons of attention and looked fantastic in shots by the track photo vendor.
The first wrap held up great - even lasting through two additional crashes later that season. The vinyl actually helped to hold the fiberglass bodywork together after it cracked and still looked pretty good when we finally pulled the busted stuff off.
Based on reactions in the paddock, the call was made to do some serious research into how feasible it would be to provide our fellow riders with the materials to wrap race bikes. Paint can get pricey, and it doesn't hold well on the lowers. We wanted something that was affordable, durable and eye-catching. Piggy-backing on DecalGirl's extensive (and expensive) array of equipment, proven production expertise and fulfillment capabilies was a natural - it would allow us to offer great pricing, fast shipping and proven material durability.
Mark Stern and myself wrapped other bikes during the season - you can see his blue and grey camo clad R6 in the gallery, Jason Crisamore's "death scooter" wrapped in Bones, the flame and charcoal GSXR (completely wrapped) and the TrackWraps 1098R with simple white plates and a carbon-fiber wrap to match the look of the stupidly-expensive OEM parts. The material is the same type that they use to wrap NASCAR cars, vehicles and is rated to last 5-7 years outside. The 150+ mph speeds we see on the track can take their toll on the finish over time (especially for those of us that do dozens of track or race days per year), but the protective gloss coating on the wrap makes it less susceptible to chipping that paint. Our extensive on (and off) track tests prived it holds up pretty damn well in all but the nastiest of crashes. With most patterns, even if it does get a bit rashed, you can take a leftover piece from the initial installation and throw a patch over it. Suffice ti to say, we ended the 2008 track season with a solid grasp on the concept and have ramped up to bring it in time for next season!
See you at the track!
Ryan Peters
TrackWraps
