here's the story - i got into a converstion with someone who made a comment about my side panels and a possible repaint. now, i'm not an expert by any means, but it injected a certain amount of doubt as to my bikes originally. he basically said that on all commandos, the lettering should be parallel to the top edge of the Z-plate, and my layout is a common painter's error. from his conversation, he seemed like he knew what he was talking about. my lettering is clearly parallel to the top edge of the side panel, and not the Z-plate. from the several examples shown, it verifies my lettering orientation. as i said, by no means an expert - i can only speculate what i have thru detailed inspection. still holding my ground - my Mk2 shows no signs of ever having been repainted.