That looks like the way to do it, but the tank is all primer gray just the way I got it, but maybe I can still do the paint it white, tape over, then spray the candy orange. I think it would still be difficult even with a steady hand. The old tank is in the scrap metal dumpster at work. Maybe if I can find it I’ll dig it out and try to trace out a stencil? Hmm...

Paint is on my list for this summer. Having just retired recently, I now have the option of painting when the wind isn't blowing here in Wyoming, which is not very frequently. I am going to start with an oil tank or two just to try my hand at the whole process, including the taping of the stripes. See if I can tame that shrew...

It's not as bad as you might think, the roll of tape from ebay has enough length so one can make several attempts. I'm not a seasoned painter by any stretch, this was my first time doing a motorcycle tank, and first time for a stripe too. I just took pictures before to make sure distances from the curves on the tank were right. Hard to describe but where the stripe goes is rather intuitive to the curves on the tank, which is probably why they look so good



Black base color with green tape.


Final result.


I pulled the pin stripe tape immediately after spraying the final coat of white. I wouldn't trust myself to do it on a bike that was being restored, but on a rider it's well worth trying.

Thanks for the pics and encouragement. I’ll give that a try unless someone knows of a decal which it sounds like someone here would already know if there was. Thanks again for the tips!

There was a few years ago someone making a stencil for the RT/CT tank layout, so you might want to do a search for that. I did a CT-1 and RT-1 by hand based upon measurements taken of the tanks before they were stripped. Takes a few hours and attention to detail but its possible to get pretty good results by hand. Just a tip, use the 2K urethane clear over your base colors to keep your paint job from being ruined from the gas .

This is an incredibly difficult task to get both sides even flow and correct. Moto dad has the 5 mm tape. If you want it right, you need magic hands and eyes.

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I had this tank on my CB500 professionally painted and hand pin striped. Ive watched them, steady hand, no partying the night before. The tank originally has a big clear decal that includes the striping, then clear coat.

Pin striping is not cheap.