“chrome” Hawk

“CHROME” HAWK

WHEN CW ASSOCIATE EDITOR MARK CERNICKY COULDN’T decide on a color to paint his resurrected Honda Hawk GT NT650 project bike, he approached Sport Chrome (www.sportchrome.com) in Westminster, California. After some discussion about Cernicky’s chrome-helmet-wearing past life as a skateboarder, owner Jonathan Reed came up with a (ahem) brilliant idea: polish, not paint! Quite a bit of elbow grease removed all traces of paint on the steel tank and brought out the Hawk’s inner glow. Reed began looking for someone capable of etching a paisley pattern atop the tank. He ultimately learned of Latisha Wood (www.latishawood.com), an artist recognized for her signature metal engraving, and had her perform her magic on the tank. This is the beautiful result. Interested in a similar treatment? Sport Chrome offers the service, including all prep, polishing and engraving, for around $1200.

John Burns