Tank emblem replacement to... something else

Just wanted to know if anyone changed out the emblems on their tank to something other than the stock YAMAHA block lettering. My emblems are shot, though I could probably repair them with a bit of work, and I'm not really wanting to debadge and bondo. Found a brand new set of the block styles on ebay for $50 for the pair, but I'd really like a look that was a little more streamlined.

So has anyone done anything like this?

 

if your badges are NOT screwed in, there should be no need to bondo. i pulled the badges from my Seca and the tank was smooth as a baby's bottom...

they were attached with a double sided adhesive foam tape...

i just peeled them off and sent the to Wizard down under...

d

 

My '82 Maxim has the screw-in kind unfortunately and thus, the long indention in the tank with a bar for the screws. If worse comes to worse, I suppose I can fill, sand and paint. I think the circular Yamaha star or possibly the Yamaha fork would look good on the tank if it could be bent correctly to the contours.

I've thought about this. It's only two and a half inches across though.



Or possibly something like this.



Obviously that's for a Dragstar though.

 

What about having a graphic painted on the tank....?? That way if you change your mind, youre only a sander away from changing.

 

Oh, kind of like THIS...



here it is on the bike...

 

*Nice* Ltdave! Really like that look. I've thought about painting graphics, but it's been done by so many before and I'm wanting something kind of offsetting the lines of the tank anyway.

The more I think about it, the more I want to take that Dragstar emblem maybe buy those and grind out the "Dragstar" part of it, get another piece of plastic and print out the "Yamaha" lettering on a piece of paper as a template, paint the background where the Dragstar was black and then place a chrome painted "Yamaha" glued on top of the black background. Would take some time and a steady hand (and the "A" lettering would be a pain in the butt three times over...

*sighs*

Now that I typed all that without even knowing what the results would be... ugh. Maybe I should just buy some ones that will fit stock and not worry about it. Then I think "ugh" again to that. We'll see... Got several months of free time between November and March to think about it and do it.

 

Try these laser cut options:
www.emblemzz.com
http://www.cruisercustomizing.com

 

my tank was painted like this in 1994...

i just never knew about this place until last year...

 

Take a look at my bike in my gallery. I through on a couple of triple chrome plated emblems that say limited edition. I felt the same way you do about the old school Yamaha emblem.

 

If graphics is your "cup of tea" search ebay. There you can get just about anything. The good graphics are thin enough to where you can lay them on the tank, or any other part for that matter, spray a few coats of clear, and it will look like it was painted on. No visible out line what so ever. If you go to my gallery, you will see I have a graphic on my tank. I got that one from a local autoparts store for 5.95 plus tax. I laid it down, put 3 coats of clear.

Hell, if you wanted, since the graphic/decal is sticky on the back side, you can apply it like "pin strip" and never clear coat it. That way if you change you mind or want to update, all you have to do is remove it, clean the part, then apply a differnt graphic.

 

The picture quality leaves a lot to be desired,but click on my gallery.This bike is a 1982 Yamaha 650 Maxim. I filled the emblem mounts and used gel-dome tuning fork badges. If I remember correctly,the badges in the photo were 2.5" in diameter.They have since been swapped for smaller diameter badges,which I prefer. Maybe a good reference photo for the mods you wish to do.