WingNut Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Many of you probably know or have done this already, but I got tired of the warning stickers on the gas tank so I removed them today. If you buy a CBR650F in Thailand there are actually 3 stickers on the tank and 2 of them are in Thai language, so they are just useless eye-sores to a non-native speaker like myself. It was real simple. I just used a hair dryer to heat them up first. Then I used my finger nail to start removing them and then just grabbed hold of the stickers with two fingers once they started pelling and pulled them right off. It took me less than 3 minutes to remove all 3. The heat from the hair dryer softens the glue and then they come right off. All 3 left a bit of glue residue on the tank though. So then I just took a soft rag with some Sonex sprayed on the rag (German made WD-40 lubricant equivalent sold in Thailand) and then gently just rubbed the glue residue with the soft rag and Sonex, which after less than a minute dissolved the glue and removed it all. No need to rub hard. Just keep going over the glue residue and after a few seconds the lubricant starts breaking down the glue and it just dissolves into the rag. Then I took a baby wet-wipe to remove the oily lubricant from the tank and I was done. Then dried the tank with a dry rag. Whole project took less than 10 minutes. No drama and not risky. No risk of damage to your paint or your gas tank. If the stickers bug you too, then just remove them. Easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BKKBike09 Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 I believe a new bike is legally required to have all those stickers on at time of delivery. I asked Yamaha to take them off before I rode away from the showroom but they refused. They did however lend me a rag and a can of Sonex ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaorop Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 you've now lessen the re-sale value to a thai....lol.... most keep every possible sticker on anything the buy and use even if it were meant to be removed before you use it...555.. you ought buy a Japanese atv, they have about 6 warning plates that are riveted aluminum recessed in the plastic...talk about eye sore, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shurup Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 you've now lessen the re-sale value to a thai....lol.... most keep every possible sticker on anything the buy and use even if it were meant to be removed before you use it...555.. you ought buy a Japanese atv, they have about 6 warning plates that are riveted aluminum recessed in the plastic...talk about eye sore, Here, here! I still have the tags on my 10yo underwear, I reckon it worth more. On anther hand, the stickers on my ATV don't bother me as they're anyways coveted in mud so just don't see them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingNut Posted March 10, 2015 Author Share Posted March 10, 2015 I believe a new bike is legally required to have all those stickers on at time of delivery. I asked Yamaha to take them off before I rode away from the showroom but they refused. They did however lend me a rag and a can of Sonex ... I believe your right. I asked Big Wing about removing them for me and they advised against it too. I guess it is safety law, but I can imagine there are millions of bikes out there with far worse infractions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingNut Posted March 10, 2015 Author Share Posted March 10, 2015 you've now lessen the re-sale value to a thai....lol.... most keep every possible sticker on anything the buy and use even if it were meant to be removed before you use it...555.. you ought buy a Japanese atv, they have about 6 warning plates that are riveted aluminum recessed in the plastic...talk about eye sore, I agree. They leave stickers and labels on everything and save boxes. I once sold a second hand camera and the thing the locals were most interested in was the availability and condition of the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingNut Posted March 10, 2015 Author Share Posted March 10, 2015 Here is what the 3 stickers looked like that I removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingNut Posted March 10, 2015 Author Share Posted March 10, 2015 As you can see the stickers got a bit melted by the heat, but all came off in one piece. Not difficult at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheresWaldo Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 I did exactly the same thing with my Kawasaki. But be careful. If you use a heat gun, much hotter than a hairdryer, and you get it a little too hot, you can take off the paint, which would be a heartbreaker. Another thing I recently learned is great for removing price tag and sticker glue residue from almost everything -- plastics, PVC, etc. -- is turpentine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubberSideDown Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 I left my bike in the sun for 20 minutes, and the stickers peeled right off- a little WD-40 took care of the residue, and that was that. From this: To this (the different gas cap helped, of course): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gsxrnz Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Here is what the 3 stickers looked like that I removed. ImageUploadedByTapatalk1425966502.524613.jpg Did you realise that the bottom sticker says "Do not remove stickers from fuel tank". ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaorop Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 (edited) I left my bike in the sun for 20 minutes, and the stickers peeled right off- a little WD-40 took care of the residue, and that was that. From this: image.jpg To this (the different gas cap helped, of course): image.jpg Looks much better, that orange one off to the side was horrible. But you kept the 95 gas one? is that a reminder to not speed or not to stick E85 in.... I just picked up another NSR, and it has the original paintwork (body work heavily scratched though) and it has all those tank labels. The tank paint work is good so i will probably keep them on. Its getting on for classic status so all original is how i like them. Edited March 11, 2015 by kaorop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubberSideDown Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 ^ I left the '95' sticker just in case I wasn't paying attention at the pump and the gas jockey tried to fill it up with 91 even though I asked for 95- it might at least help him catch his mistake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingNut Posted March 11, 2015 Author Share Posted March 11, 2015 All the guys pumping gas at the Shell station near me are Burmese. Good luck finding one that reads Thai, much less one that is interested what the warning stickers might say on your bike. Just sayin. I think better to watch yourself what they are putting into your bike than relying on a sticker. But that's just me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingNut Posted March 11, 2015 Author Share Posted March 11, 2015 Here is what the 3 stickers looked like that I removed. ImageUploadedByTapatalk1425966502.524613.jpg Did you realise that the bottom sticker says "Do not remove stickers from fuel tank". ? Oh no, I didn't realize that. That's horrible. Silly me. For now I've reattached the old sticker temporarily to avoid any problems and I've ordered a new one from the dealer. Do you think I'll be ok? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingNut Posted March 11, 2015 Author Share Posted March 11, 2015 I left my bike in the sun for 20 minutes, and the stickers peeled right off- a little WD-40 took care of the residue, and that was that. From this: image.jpg To this (the different gas cap helped, of course): image.jpg I like that 95 sticker. I assume that means you should go up to 95 before dropping into second gear? Strange though, my sticker says 135. I guess Honda and Kawasaki are different? [emoji6][emoji106][emoji108] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubberSideDown Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 ^^ I'm hoping they understand what the '95' means- whether they understand Thai hopefully won't be an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutchbike Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Do you guys realise in years to come these stickers will be worth quite some money LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eisfeld Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 The CBR500R sticker says 91 though Honda recommends 95 and I always use 95. Not one time has the sticker caused any hesitation with the fuel pump staff. Sorry to crush your hopes RubberSideDown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubberSideDown Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 ^ Yeah, but going up a grade is way more common than going down, and generally won't cause an issue. I do know for a fact that they wouldn't fill my diesel truck up with gas when my wife asked for E91 (which was of course my fault for letting her use my vehicle...) That said, you're probably right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gweiloman Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Haha. All these posts reminded of another recent post (not sure if closed or merely inactive) where we were talking about go faster stickers on bikes and tyre pressures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubberSideDown Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 ^ Well, the weight removal has quite a beneficial effect- I figure it equates to adding 8hp minimum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WheresWaldo Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 I left my bike in the sun for 20 minutes, and the stickers peeled right off- a little WD-40 took care of the residue, and that was that. From this: image.jpg To this (the different gas cap helped, of course): image.jpg A solar heat gun! Cool, er, I mean hot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
santo78 Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 I going to buy matte black 650 , I am kinda afraid to damage matte paint while remove stickers. How to do it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingNut Posted March 11, 2015 Author Share Posted March 11, 2015 I left my bike in the sun for 20 minutes, and the stickers peeled right off- a little WD-40 took care of the residue, and that was that. From this: image.jpg To this (the different gas cap helped, of course): image.jpg A solar heat gun! Cool, er, I mean hot! I thought only madd dogs and Englishmen would voluntarily put their bike out in the burning sun for 20 minutes, but what do I know. [emoji16][emoji15][emoji47][emoji6] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubberSideDown Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 ^^ I did a quick search on removing stickers from matte paint, and the procedure looks to be the same- heat, fingernail picking up an edge and slowly peeling it off, and then cleaning up th residue with WD-40 or the equivalent (do NOT wax for your bike's matte paint). If you really want to be extra careful, soak the stickers in WD-40 overnight before attempting removal. Either way, I'd find out all I could on Google first just to be sure- I didn't really research it, but just gave it a cursory glance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taninthai Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 the hair dryer is a great method you can also use it to remove any go pro mounting points from bike or helmet.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingNut Posted March 11, 2015 Author Share Posted March 11, 2015 RSD your right on any matte finish surfaces on a bike. Never good to hit anything matte with wax. [emoji108][emoji106] Also, Sonex, the German WD-40 equivalent seems to be more readily available and cost less too. Ever since I've been in Thailand, which is an embarrassingly long time, I've always used Sonex as a lubricant for pretty much everything. The girls complain a bit sometimes, but what can I say [emoji14] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingNut Posted March 11, 2015 Author Share Posted March 11, 2015 Actually, soaking in WD-40 or equivalent overnight first sounds like a good idea. Could probably skip the hair dryer that way. I'm curious though if it would start to dissolve the clear coat surface on the paint though too after a while? I doubt it, but that would be a bit of my apprehension on that technique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WingNut Posted March 11, 2015 Author Share Posted March 11, 2015 Well, think I'll take the bike out for a spin now that I've removed all the bulky stickers. It should be faster now that I've shed all that extra weight. [emoji28] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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