Off With the Emblem ...or... Tank Logo Removal

Many of you have already done this... I didn't see a reason for this until 1st of July 2000... When a car almost ran himself off the road trying to see what was written on my tank!!!

Ok, here's the whole story: I was sitting at a traffic light, which had just turned green, when a guy in a red car pulled up in the left lane... He looked like he was trying to look at the bike (no surprise there :-). I was rolling at an average speed, in no hurry, but pulled away, as he was almost stationary... Then the guy pulls up beside the bike again, in the left lane (fast lane), this time while we are moving down the road... and slows down again, trying to look at it. At this point I thought I might know the guy and slowed to see if he was fishing for a wave... but he wasn't looking at me, he was trying to see what was written on the tank!
Now, I can't even see it, stood near the bike - I knew there was no chance for him to read it from a moving vehicle... Plus, he was putting all our lives in danger with this activity... (he wasn't looking straight ahead much of the time).
The lights here are set up so that when you get to the next ones, they are already green... and he was continually keeping apace with the bike... So, as a favour to the traffic behind him, I picked up some speed... I thought he'd drop it as he saw the bike pull away... but he picked up speed too. This made the whole situation even more dangerous, as we were now travelling at a higher speed and he wasn't paying attention to where he was goin!
Finally -of course, it had to happen- in a curve his car mounted the curb with a loud, unnerving, scraping -CRUNCH- but he soon regained control, thank God! I took the next exit away from him... He couldn't follow, as he was in the left lane! Phew! What a nut!
Today (2nd July 2000) I am removing the emblem off the tank...

Please Note: I tried to document the whole process with pictures every so often for the record. It was made harder with the blood leaking from my nose and forehead! - Give the pictures time to load, they are full size. This means when they are all downloaded to your hard drive viewing them is instant.

Removal	AGAIN?! Blood & Sweat... but no tears... Well, sort of.
Let me explain something first... You know how you can easily remove the windshield? Then you can easily put it on again? Well, you don't always remember as easily that you've put the damn thing on again, do you??? - Why am I telling you this? Well - this just might happen to you!!! Perhaps, if I tell you, whatever you might think of me, you'll not be so quick to make the same mistake... Ok, ok, then, Mr. Perfect! We can't all be like YOU then! *ahem*
	... as I was about to push the bike into the garage, to remove the emblem - I forgot that I had recently put the windshield back on... So when I heaved with all my might, forward, I, of course, knocked my face straight into the windshield! - So, please be careful. Go on, laugh, it's ok. I can smile about it now :-) ... but WOW, the pain! A masochist's dream! - but I'm not one, so: Major OUCH!). (The sweat is the body fighting the pain! - When we macho types get older, we don't cry. Instead we just sweat. So when you hear someone say: "don't sweat it" it's really 'macho' for "don't cry".)
	Ok, on with the show... Here's the BEFORE pic... I was visiting some of the 1500LC's ancestors... Nice to get the whole lineage there, side by side. Curious about how on earth they managed to evolve into a Japanese monster!!! Horses have a hierarchy... and the brown one is the mare. The rest are gelded males... Some people say they don't care after it's done... but I think they give a shit... and I can prove it - Check out the stud on the left!
	Ok... First... You need to consider... DO YOU REALLY WANT TO DO THIS!!! Ok, if you're SURE, we can proceed... First trick - The emblem is made of hard plastic. It is held on by a sponge-like glue mass. You can use a metal scraper, but make sure you get the blade between the emblem and the sponge... (NOT between the sponge and the tank surface)... So between emblem and sponge. Ok.
	Use the blade against the sponge, to pry the badge away from the tank.
	Soon it will be quite loose... Some have advised to HEAT the tank / emblem up before you proceed... I just went for a fast ride... That heated the whole thing up quite a bit.
	-Voila-... It hangs loose!
	Phew... Now the -picking-/pulling and scratching begins... be careful to use only your hands... No metal objects, if you don't want the tank scratched. It takes a good while... especially if it's as cold as it was here... This being Iceland and all.
	Well, there you have it... Most of the goo is off... and there's the emblem's back. It's just hard plastic. - I used methylated spirit to clean the last bits off the tank. Some have suggested the use of alcohol... I don't use alcohol, so I used methylated / surgical spirit instead.
Ok... Other Side...
	Wow, this side was much easier... It wasn't as well stuck on... Here you see how it's fastened. It's gooey!
	*Squelch* - Hah! That was quick! This side was off in minutes!
	Hey! There's that WARNING sticker... Stjáni's girlfriend was getting on my case the other day, asking if it wasn't time, with all the customising I was doing, to remove that silly warning sticker... Plus, it's in a language I can't even understand! - Right, razor blade was used to get a corner free, then just pull it off. Then methylated spirits, again... to clean the adhesive.
	Wow... look at that shine! Wow. It's a brand new motorcycle, man! For sure, man! For sure, man! Can you dig it? - For sure, man! We're all just hippies at heart, aren't we!
	Phew! There it stands... Awesome. ... Now I'm going to have to start thinking seriously about that skull emblem I wanted to put on there :-) Skulls rule, man! - For sure, man!

icelandknight@unforgettable.com © 2000