When you buy a brand new motorcycle, your bike has warning stickers or safety stickers on the fuel tank. These stickers advise you to wear a helmet, never drink and drive, check tire pressure, read the owner’s manual and much more. Often there are also badge stickers, emblems and dealership stickers on your bike or even car’s body.
These things are pretty obvious to us and we just wish to remove them. Many riders feel these decals and stickers are to be retained but it is not so.
These warning stickers on your bike’s tank are usually made from paper or vinyl. These decals or stickers can be easily removed with little patience and few day-to-day tools.
Before proceeding to the removal of stickers, check whether your state or countries jurisdiction allows the sticker label removal as legal or not otherwise it can be problematic to you.
Simple steps to remove stickers from the bike fuel tank
Take a photo!
Some information provided on the sticker label may not be present in the owner’s manual and still be important for you. So, take a picture of the sticker label before planning to remove it.
Use a blow dryer (any hairdryer will work!)
The first step is to warm the glue or adhesive that sticks the sticker or the decal to the bike’s fuel tank. For this, you need to warm the sticker and its immediate areas.
Any hairdryer can be used here to heat the sticker. Keep it a little away from the stick and heat the area.
Do not use hot airgun as they are very hot and can lead to melting or paint coming out. All you need to do is warm up the sticker.
Use WD40 or Goo Gone
Once the sticker heats up, use a spray such as WD40 or Goo Gone on the sticker and surrounding areas. Let it soak for a minute or two. Avoid using solvents as they can remove the fuel tanks paint.
Peeling the sticker
After this, use your fingernails to lift the sticker from one side. Peeling should be done from the edges and never use sharp objects like a razor blade or knife as they can dent the bike’s body. Once you start peeling, it will take some time and patience. Some part of the sticker may get teared up at some points and will not be removed. Don’t worry, you can later remove the residual using WD40 or an eraser.
Once the sticker is removed, you can easily remove the leftover part of the sticker by applying WD40 or Goo Gone and then using an eraser to wipe it out.
