Safety stickers on Motorcycles
Discussion
My new Speed Twin has got 3 big ones on the lovely Matt coloured tank, all I see if I look down.
On the headlamp, on the chain cover and even on the engine. Luckily a mix of yesterday's downpours and engine heat got rid of the one that tells me where to put the oil.
Are bikes sold to morons these days?
I picked them all off after my commute home in the rain yesterday but what do I do about the residue on the Matt paint without damaging it?
Cheers.

On the headlamp, on the chain cover and even on the engine. Luckily a mix of yesterday's downpours and engine heat got rid of the one that tells me where to put the oil.
Are bikes sold to morons these days?

I picked them all off after my commute home in the rain yesterday but what do I do about the residue on the Matt paint without damaging it?
Cheers.

You would need to check a small area of the matt paint finish first, but I swear by this stuff.
https://www.everbuild.co.uk/products/cleaners/glaz...
Use it on all sorts of surfaces. Vinyl floor/worktops at home, removes tar/tyre marks from bumpers on cars/trim, plastic shell suitcases (removes all belt marks from airports), basically anything where I need to remove a sticky mark or clean a surface, this is my go to.
jj
https://www.everbuild.co.uk/products/cleaners/glaz...
Use it on all sorts of surfaces. Vinyl floor/worktops at home, removes tar/tyre marks from bumpers on cars/trim, plastic shell suitcases (removes all belt marks from airports), basically anything where I need to remove a sticky mark or clean a surface, this is my go to.
jj
My 2018 Honda CB650F owner's manual has plenty of good instructions I'm glad to say. 
To the OP, is there lacquer on the paint? If so, some white spirit should shift the glue without damaging the paint. Clutch cleaner, or any type of thinners may well be too harsh, and WD40 is recommended by others a mild cleaner.
White spirit / WD40 will leave a residue though (being oil derivative) so the whole tank will need cleaning afterwards, not a chore I presume if you want to look after it. :Alternatively, replace all the stickers, but it seems you don't want them.

To the OP, is there lacquer on the paint? If so, some white spirit should shift the glue without damaging the paint. Clutch cleaner, or any type of thinners may well be too harsh, and WD40 is recommended by others a mild cleaner.
White spirit / WD40 will leave a residue though (being oil derivative) so the whole tank will need cleaning afterwards, not a chore I presume if you want to look after it. :Alternatively, replace all the stickers, but it seems you don't want them.

I’ve had a couple of matt Triumph’s and I’d be very careful about using any type of chemical cleaner on a matt surface.
I just heated up the glue residue using a hair dryer and then gently removed it using a damp chamois leather. If that doesn’t work then use a specific matt paint cleaner.
I just heated up the glue residue using a hair dryer and then gently removed it using a damp chamois leather. If that doesn’t work then use a specific matt paint cleaner.
Neal H said:
I’ve had a couple of matt Triumph’s and I’d be very careful about using any type of chemical cleaner on a matt surface.
I just heated up the glue residue using a hair dryer and then gently removed it using a damp chamois leather. If that doesn’t work then use a specific matt paint cleaner.
This is the route you should be going down.I just heated up the glue residue using a hair dryer and then gently removed it using a damp chamois leather. If that doesn’t work then use a specific matt paint cleaner.
Also heating up the stickers before you started to peel them off would have left little to no residue.
CypSIdders said:
Ethyl alcohol or meths will do a better job than WD!
More chance of damaging the paint though. The WD approach uses the friction of the cloth to get the stickiness off, and the oil to coat the the bits you've rubbed off and stop them sticking again. There should be no chance of oil damaging the paint, but with a matt paint it might be trickier as you could end up filling it a bit and making it glossBloody annoying.
I went for this colour, Ironstone, as it looked like a colour I would have had the tank painted elsewhere but now concerned I'll ruin it cleaning up the sticker mess.
So any mistakes and it may well end up having to be painted.
Maybe I should just stick something I like over it
I've got dinnerware that still has remnants of stickers on them despite washing and scraping.
I went for this colour, Ironstone, as it looked like a colour I would have had the tank painted elsewhere but now concerned I'll ruin it cleaning up the sticker mess.
So any mistakes and it may well end up having to be painted.
Maybe I should just stick something I like over it

I've got dinnerware that still has remnants of stickers on them despite washing and scraping.
I bought isopropanol from ebay for this reason - I haven't tried it on matt paint but it hasn't damaged anything cleaning up hundreds of motorcycles
I can never understand why owners don't remove them immediately, I'll buy an older bike and it will still have the ugly stickers on the tank telling you to wear a helmet etc FFS !
At least you've removed them quickly so there's no colour fading
I can never understand why owners don't remove them immediately, I'll buy an older bike and it will still have the ugly stickers on the tank telling you to wear a helmet etc FFS !
At least you've removed them quickly so there's no colour fading
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