Hello everyone,

I just learned that the 07 Brute Force has a new Blue color. It looks really nice on-line, and my question is this. For those of you who own this color, is it a shiny finish, and does it scratch up easily?

Thank you,

Pete

 

I saw one in person. The blue paint finish has lots of clear coat and seems to be really durable against scratching, much better than original Kawi's red or green. Looks really shiny and expensive, too. From distance I thought the blue quad was a Yammie for a moment.

 

I also just saw one in my local dealership and man, is it a good looking color!. Can't say how durable it will hold up but it does look good. My first thought when I saw it was, This looks great but I would destroy it the first time I took it on one of my romps...

Mud

 

The dealer in New York where I purchase all of my bikes is selling them for about $6,900, which is a little over a $600.00 markup. To me, it would be worth it, not only for the looks, but if the plastic is more durable than the other colors. I owned a Prairie 650 and the plastic would crack pretty easily.

Hopefully by the fall, I will be ready to purchase one, and this may be the bike of my liking.

Thank you for your input.

Pete..[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Yes its shiny. Yes it scratch's. Its plastic. One is Painted plastic & one is Molded-in-color plastic. Which do you think is more durable. You can keep that Pretty Boy Blue. Make sure they throw in the touch up paint.
Besides. Camo is the only way to go !

 

Good point Bash, but I cannot help liking that Blue color, but on the other hand, I have a tendency to wash my rides more than ride them, so maybe it isn't a good idea to get this color.

 

any of the special edition colors become very brittle in the cold: silver, camo, blue. I slid sideways off tree a tree going 10 mph, shattered my rear tire well.... It was only 6 degrees out

 

For Kawi fenders, there are 2 types of plastics:
1). Polyethylene (PE)
Earlier Kawi's red and green are made of color impregnated PE which is a thermoplastic commodity heavily used in consumer products (over 60 million tons are produced worldwide every year). Basically it is a polymer consisting of long chains of the monomer ethylene (C2H4). Camo is a special version of PE. Camo film is layed over PE then clear coated over for better adhesion and durability.
Pros - Flexible, no paint peeling, etc. (exception is that camo can peel off)
Cons - Easily scratched, not paintable. (exception is that can't see scratch on camo)

2).ThermoPlastic Olefin (TPO)
Recent special color Kawi fendes (bule, silver, KFX700 multi colors) are made of TPO - which is a trade name that refers to polymer/filler blends usually consisting of some fraction of PP (polypropylene), PE (polyethylene), BCPP (block copolymer polypropylene), rubber, and a reinforcing filler. TPO is is frequently found in outdoor applications because it does not degrade under solar UV radiation, a common problem with nylons. TPO is used extensively in the automotive industry.
Pros - Since painted and clear coated, much scratch resistant, shiny, and better weather-proof against UV.
Cons - More brittle due to hardness induced by multi layers of clear coat and the higher heat (quenching effect) induced during manufacturing. Paint peeling/chipping. More expensive.

 

Thank you for the in depth explaination of the different plastics that Kawasaki produces. I'm leaning towards the camo or blue, but like many others, I'd like the more durable of the two.

Pete