Hi Forum. This is my first post. Has anyone determined if the warning decals on the fuel tank can be removed without damaging the paint? The manual says that in "some cases" the decals may be under the clear coat. (I found the manual pdf online.) I am considering a 2022 Gold Line Bonneville but not sure whether I could stand permanently looking at the stupid decals on what is otherwise a beautiful paint scheme, I live in the USA. Are those decals applied to all of the bikes worldwide? Seems like all the videos I watch about the bike show the decals in place on the gas tank near the filler cap.
I've just removed them from my Goldline Street Scrambler with a matt blue tank. They came of pretty easy with the help of a hair dryer.
Thanks! Was hoping they weren't under the clear coat. These days you never know. Seems we are always being warned about something.
Greetings, @MotoMick, and welcome to the forum. I've never had difficult removing decals from the painted parts of any new bikes I've bought. In fact, removing them is one of the first things I do (along with removing reflectors) when I bring a new bike home and get it in the garage. As @Pegscraper said, removal can be even easier with the use of a hairdryer to soften the adhesive. We're looking forward to see a photo of two of your new Bonneville if--sounds more like when--you get it.
ITank sticker are fine to remove, I'm sure, but I wonder, are there any legal requirements for reflectors on bikes? In the UK there has to be a reflector at the read of the vehicle but I don't know about the sides.
Legally, manufacturers have to put reflectors on new bicycles and motorcycles and dealers have to sell them with them on. I have no idea if there's actually a law for the bicycle or motorcycle owners that there must be reflectors on your bikes. But I've taken reflectors off all of my bicycles for the past 30+ years and each of my motorcycles for 10+ years without a peep from anyone. I'd say the way they're attached in the first place indicates that those who install them know they'll more than likely be taken off.
All the dafty stickers came off easily on my new SS, also all those little dabs of chalk or paint, which i think are inspection marks. Why do they leave all those dabs on there, i think they should come off at PDI ? Fork reflectors also came straight off but i have kept them just in case.
I believe not having a red reflector on the rear of the bike may be a MoT failure (our mandatory, annual check for vehicles over three years old) but someone can correct me if I'm wrong. It would be another reason for the Rozzers to pull you over as well. Best not give them any excuses in my opinion. The amber reflectors I don't know. I'd never considered removing any but it does improve the look of your Harley and I'm curious now.
I always take the amber ones off the forks and rear number plate holder. My Speed Triple passed an MOT with them removed, so I don't think it can be a legal requirement, although the red rear one is.
A rear reflector is a legal requirement but not those on the side AFAIK. Their presence doesn't bother me TBH so I leave them on, much the same with the "tail tidies" that seem to do little other than cover the back of the bike and rider in road crap in bad weather.
The best solvent for removing the stubborn glue that decals leave behind is petrol. If you've ever spilled petrol on your tank you'll already be aware that it won't damage the finish. Unlike other solvents that tend to spread the adhesive into ever thinner layers, petrol just wipes it clean in one go leaving no residue.
I've been using a dab of lighter fluid on a rag per a recommendation by the service manager at my Triumph dealership. And more recently, @capt and @Dartplayer turned me on to tea tree oil which works great...and smells better, too.
Acetone or brake/clutch cleaner have always worked for me. What surface the glue is stuck to will obviously have a bearing on your choice of solvent, especially those with a paint finish.
Yeah I would like to know that as well that is how to remove the fork reflectors I deal with the free state of Missouri later !
Now I'm a bit curious, too, @Octoberon. But on some things I'd rather "ask for forgiveness than ask for permission". Reflectors on my motorcycles is one of those things. Here's why. Before After One of the other small but mighty mods I'm planning on my Fat Boy is a a change from that sticky-outie license plate holder you see flapping (figuratively speaking) in the breeze. I'm replacing it with this when it's off back-order. It's something that's a bit legally suspect. I've even read the AZ regulations on license plate display and it's unclear. Mostly the law reads that the plate must be "readable". All of the guys I know that have been around the block (including a friend who is a cop) have said that the police really don't seem to care about the vertical position of a frame like this as long as it's readable. I'll take my chances.
You make a compelling case for the removal of reflectors. I'm not too bothered about the red one on the back of my bikes as that aspect is already ruined but the yellow number plate we have to display. There's a reasonable case for them as well, if you're parked up on a dark road an don't want some unobservant idiot in a car clattering in to your pride and joy. Not that many would leave their bikes in such a vulnerable place. A lot of people here, particularly with sports bikes that are naturally narrow at the rear, used to replace them with slim, single line, plates, but it seems less common these days. Presumably because they got fed up with being stopped by the police, who have been known to hang around outside racing circuits, ready to pull people over and caution or fine them in droves. Or perhaps it's just because there are fewer sports bikes around than 20 years ago.