removing tank/side cover emblems

the XJ 650 is still in pieces, engine head on the bench, parts laid out on the garage floor, but I'm thinking about the eventual painting of the tank and side covers. Is there a eloquent way to remove the "YAMAHA" and SECA 650" emblems with breaking them? Replacements don't run to cheap!

 

Get a heat gun or a hair dryer, a piece of spiderwire (very strong fishing line). Heat the tank metal around the badge with the hair dryer (try not to heat the badge itself). Once the metal is nice and warm, just saw the adhesive backing off with the spider wire.

Gently heat what's left of the adhesive backing on the badge and clean it off with goo-gone or something similar... I hear WD40 works well too. Don't use anything too strong like carb cleaner as it might melt the plastic.

When you're ready to put the badges back on, get some Scotch super heavy duty mounting tape and place a couple of strips on the back of the badge, and trim it with a razor blade.

 

Niiice! thanks man

 

You don't really even need the heat gun as long as everything's at least at "room temp."

You can use mineral spirits to remove the residue without any ill effect.

 

I've also found that Dental floss works if you don't have fishing line. Take your time and let the floss do the work.

 

tank is being re-painted...so more concerned about getting the YAMAHA emblem off as opposed to marking the tank a little. Will be taken down.

Is there a good spot to get reproduction tank emblems? I have 3 of the side cover "SECA 650" as I bought a few used side covers, but the bike only came with one YAMAHA emblem on the left side of the tank. Found a spot online (http://www.reproductiondecals.com/) , but $45 USD seems crazy to me. Think I'd go with decals before spending that.

 

That's exactly why I decided bondo was a better option than a new decal! Sorry, I'm cheap!