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1976 Moto Team Champion orange paint code/color?

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1976 Moto Team Champion orange paint code/color?

Old 10-25-21, 11:32 PM
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Bjenkins
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1976 Moto Team Champion orange paint code/color?

Hello All,

I've been meaning to introduce myself to the forum but up until now have felt absolutely too ignorant to even be relevant. I'll do the intro next. I've already asked a couple of questions of the group and gotten great info, now I have another:

A few months ago I rediscovered Motobecanes. I hadn't owned one since college in 1977 (a white Mirage). All this started when I was looking through Ebay and saw a beautiful 1977 Grand Jubilé. I fell in love all over again, bought it, and had it shipped to Dallas from California. I've since cleaned it up, learned and rebuilt all of the systems (which were in great shape to begin with) and now I'm a fat old dude trying not to fall off.

Next, in the course of devouring all knowledge Motobecane, I came across (no pun intended) the orange Team Champion. Love became lust, and I scoured Ebay and Craig's List daily for four months. Nothing. Then a couple of frames. Then, out of the blue, a beautiful 1976 Champion Team in Montreal that I snatched up so fast my keyboard experienced a red shift. It felt like a Ferrari barn find! Bike Flights got it here intact, and now I'm setting out to publish a blog on the upcoming restoration. The hubs, rims and seat aren't correct, but everything else is. I'll go to the intro section next and post some photos and a little more about myself, but for now I've got a question. Is there any prevailing opinion on the orange paint color?

I'm sure this will ignite a whole other debate about whether to repaint, but the paint is thin in places, damaged in others, and the frame deserves a correct repaint. (A friend of mine who is an experienced restorer suggested powder coating, but that doesn't feel right to me). If necessary, I'll learn to shoot it and do it myself since I'm a ridiculous perfectionist, but I need to know where to start with the orange. I've got two or three colors on the frame because of sun fade (this bike has been well-loved but well-used). Or maybe someone can suggest a great paint shop who would respect the historic nature of the bike. I'm in Dallas.

Thanks for any info, and here are a couple of shots of the Grand Jubilé and the Champion Team. Sorry, I tried to upload some inline photos but kept getting an Alert message with no other info. Tried smaller file size or as attachment, still didn't work. I've posted attachments to the group before.

Thanks,
Brian Jenkins
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Old 10-26-21, 12:13 AM
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merziac
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@Bjenkins

Well, we gotta have pics or it didn't happen, just the way it is and nothing is irrelevant, your questions will spur thought that may bring up other new questions and keep us hopping.
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Old 10-26-21, 06:14 AM
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RAL 2004 is a pretty close match if memory serves.
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Old 10-26-21, 08:28 AM
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Welcome to the club!

IL
Patina...

'75 Champion Team

Less patina....

'72-ish(?) Super Champion

I have two of these orange bikes, a '75 Champion Team, and a 72 (I think?) Super Champion, which appears in all respects to be a Champion Team save for the name. Still not quite sure of its origin, but my theory is that it might be a European model. For both of these, I kept the paint as is. The Champion Team was raced hard back in the day, and I bought it from the original owner, who btw had a matching track bike. He also had the components anodized black back in the 70s by a shop in SoCal. The Super Champion's paint, while not perfect, is in much better shape.
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Old 10-26-21, 10:55 AM
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If there is a section of the paint that you’re confident is not faded, you could have a good body shop do a match.
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Old 10-26-21, 12:28 PM
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OK, so the uploads are working today! Here are a few pics of the Champion Team from the previous owner.
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Old 10-26-21, 12:39 PM
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Old 10-26-21, 12:42 PM
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The three RAL colors I have are 2000, 2004, and 2011.



https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...n-team-10.html
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Old 10-26-21, 01:23 PM
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Originally Posted by 75lechamp
IL
Patina...

'75 Champion Team

Less patina....

'72-ish(?) Super Champion

I have two of these orange bikes, a '75 Champion Team, and a 72 (I think?) Super Champion, which appears in all respects to be a Champion Team save for the name. Still not quite sure of its origin, but my theory is that it might be a European model. For both of these, I kept the paint as is. The Champion Team was raced hard back in the day, and I bought it from the original owner, who btw had a matching track bike. He also had the components anodized black back in the 70s by a shop in SoCal. The Super Champion's paint, while not perfect, is in much better shape.
Thanks for the info! Beautiful bikes. And now, you must hand over the Bimmer.
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Old 10-26-21, 02:44 PM
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Franklin Frames in Ohio does great paint work.

That being said, I'd ride it as is.
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Old 10-26-21, 03:43 PM
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Originally Posted by cb400bill
Franklin Frames in Ohio does great paint work.

That being said, I'd ride it as is.
Just nail down the color. Ask CV-6
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Old 10-26-21, 05:11 PM
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If you want, I can send you some paint samples of several shades of orange. Someone else over on Steel is Real had asked about a possible match, and I found the RAL2004 to be close. But he was doing a complete repaint.

My question to the OP is, are you planning on a total repaint, or are you just looking to touch up?

I had Franklin Frames recently restore and paint a 1971 Masi GC. Very happy with the quality of the work. Just be very specific with your instructions.

Last edited by satbuilder; 10-26-21 at 05:14 PM.
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Old 10-26-21, 05:37 PM
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Originally Posted by satbuilder
If you want, I can send you some paint samples of several shades of orange. Someone else over on Steel is Real had asked about a possible match, and I found the RAL2004 to be close. But he was doing a complete repaint.

My question to the OP is, are you planning on a total repaint, or are you just looking to touch up?

I had Franklin Frames recently restore and paint a 1971 Masi GC. Very happy with the quality of the work. Just be very specific with your instructions.
That would be great! I'll be happy to send them back to you. I'm still trying to make up my mind about how to do the repaint. The top tube is the worst area, with a couple of tiny dings, some rusted scratches, and thin paint at the rear. The chainstay has a lot of small dings. The decals need replacing. I may try masking off the worst areas and shooting sections. If that doesn't work I could always strip the whole frame afterward. I'm really leaning toward shooting the paint myself. I'm putting together a blog about this bike and my Grand Jubilé, and I think it would be interesting and satisfying to learn all of the skills involved in the resto. I'm trying to shoot video and photos as I go along, but doing that also makes everything take three times as long. In any case, thanks for the offer!
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Old 10-26-21, 06:38 PM
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Originally Posted by dedhed
The three RAL colors I have are 2000, 2004, and 2011.



https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...n-team-10.html
Yes, just looking online, the 2004 seems closest. I work with PMS colors and have all the books. I'm sure I can get a perfect match with those but it's pointless for paint. Thanks for the heads-up on the other thread.
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Old 10-27-21, 10:36 AM
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No info to add on the colourway numbers, but that should be a great build-restoration project. Always admired the orange Motos, please keep us updated as the work progresses.

Oh, welcome to the C&V sub-forum asylum! That BMW 2K1 tii is my grail car, been lusting after one since 1975.

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Old 11-13-21, 08:34 AM
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RAL 2004. Another gentleman from Sweden was looking for a paint match.
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Old 11-13-21, 08:37 AM
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2 snapshots, one in the shade, one in the sun. Top photo, top to bottom, RAL2004, RAL2008, RAL2009, RAL2011. Bottom photo same order, only the RAL2004 is on the right.

Last edited by satbuilder; 11-13-21 at 09:00 AM.
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Old 11-13-21, 08:54 AM
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Originally Posted by satbuilder
RAL 2004 is a pretty close match if memory serves.
Welcome to the club!
yes, get a sample of that in spray can and review BUT, go wet paint, don’t powder coat.

might consider Jeff Bock or Franklinframes.
for either, to assist, take a photo essay with dimensions, chrome terminations, essentially too much info, will make the painter’s job easier.

then small details, I think Gus Salmon creates French water slide Reynolds decals, superior to vinyl sticker recreations for those. Buy two sets. Plan, don’t panic.
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Old 11-13-21, 11:37 AM
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Thanks, that's great! I noticed when trying to match touch up paint with my gunmetal gray Grand Jubilé that since bike frames are completely tubular, the color changes constantly with the light and positioning. Having no flat surface to match to makes it harder. That being said, the 2004 does look closest to me in the photos. I'll shoot some pics with my frame when the samples get here.
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Old 11-13-21, 12:50 PM
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@satbuilder - that is a very helpful guide. Pretty close but not exact match. The RAL color system has been well accepted by powdercoat material suppliers and some paint mfgs.
The approach I would take would be with a sprayout sample of RAL 2004 in hand and the fork, visit an auto paint supplier, probably on a week day and see if they have a formula that matches to RAL 2004, have them refine from that.
inside of fork and under the bottom bracket and chainstays will have the best unbleached color.

I happen to like Chromabase as it shrinks down very well, does require a clear over. If going DIY, I suggest some testing to confirm the clear won't attack any graphics you apply.
Note, decades ago, the Reynolds water slide transfers were on top, the clears of the day would attack the decal. (not that they lasted very long anyway)
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Old 11-13-21, 01:19 PM
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I did a Trek 400 in RAL2004 and it looked great. No idea if it would match a Moto, but a great color.

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Old 11-22-21, 01:10 PM
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Color Swatches on 1976 Champion Team

Hello All,

Thanks Satbuilder! I got the color swatches and attached them to my frame in a couple of locations. Also shown is the new pump, which is a shade darker than the bike frame but close. The RAL 2004 is closest in color, just a little bit brighter which may ultimately be cut back a bit by the clearcoat. The RAL 2009 is close also, but a little more brown/red and a bit darker than the original. The other two colors, RAL 2008 and RAL 2011 are too yellow. The bike is now stripped down to the frame with only the top and bottom headset races to remove. I've got a 12" piece of 3/4" copper pipe to make a poor man's Campy race remover with. Thanks for the tip, Satbuilder!

Brian



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Old 11-22-21, 04:00 PM
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Pretty darn close... at least on my monitor.

You are NOT going to powdercoat this right? Lug and detail fidelity should be respected.
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Old 11-22-21, 04:27 PM
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Correct. I am not going to powdercoat it. What's more, I'm going to be trying for a soft final clearcoat to give it the correct enamel look. By that, I mean to wet sand and polish the clearcoat so that it isn't too shiny.

Also, today my new rims arrived. Here's what I bought from a really nice seller on Ebay. Super Champion Médaille d’Or 700c tubular sew-up rims 36h PAIR (2) - NOS 282gms. I think they should be considered a correct option for the bike.


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Old 11-22-21, 10:15 PM
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those are the same rims as my first race wheels, but I weighed 135#.
The next year after I was winning races, I went to Super Champ Competitions, approx 350 grams.
And a set of Arc en Ciels too, the lightweight set year two.
and another set of SC etoiles that were near 400 grams each.
The insurance to finish the race to provide points for the races that had a team trophy.

for a light rim those are pretty strong, appears you scored a long term supply.
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