| Author | Message | ||
     Robinpeck |
My 98 Buell S1 Lightning has major big bubbles in the tank sticker that says "BUELL American Motorcycles"...lots of them and they shift around...and it all seems to be under some sort of coat of clearcoat so I can't easily take it off and replace it. I was told by the previous owner that it is caused by gasoline (fumes?) leaking out through the plastic tank...anybody else experience this? What can I do to replace them? | ||
| Tbolt98 |
Unfortunately a very common issue covered in depth here... you can do a search but will probably end up repainting it! And... the bubbles will most likely spread on the tank also! | ||
| Mmmi_grad |
you want to pop these as soon as they appear with a razor blade so the sticker can breath. You cant stop the cause, only buy time. | ||
| Robinpeck |
So its just something Buell owners live with? | ||
| Hogluvr |
Buell at one time was doing a "goodwill exchange" on the tanks, for $100 they would replace the defective tank with a new one with decals that wouldn't bubble. Since Buell's demise yes, now it's just something we live with and expect, they all seem to do it eventually. | ||
| Jim2 |
I wonder if you can use a needle to poke small holes (through the sticker only) as a preemptive strike before the stickers start to bubble or before they get worse? Just a thought I DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA IF THAT WOULD ACTUALLY WORK, but I might try it myself if I had one of the affected tank. | ||
| Fahren |
Someone suggested to me using a hypodermic syringe to suck out the air from the bubbled area(s). I haven't tried it yet - not an IV drug user or a diabetic, so I don't run across small syringes that often. | ||
| Robinpeck |
You can see from the photo how bad they are...and see that the previous owner slashed some with a blade.....is there a source for new stickers?...I have thought of a repaint anyway, because there are some scratches on the tank near the seat caused by same previous owner's belt buckle.  | ||
| Harleyelf |
I tried removing the air with a syringe - didn't help the appearance. Once they detach from the paint they have stretched too far to ever adhere again. Got a set of the thick ones. You can see where the edges of the old letters were but only if you look real close. | ||
| Robinpeck |
The thick ones? Stickers? Where do you get them? | ||
| Harleyelf |
I got them at the stealership. There was a recent thread listing the colors still available. "S3 logo tank adhesive" thread from 11-27 or so. Anonymous posted a list of part numbers. Check with sponsor Bumpus. | ||
| Robinpeck |
"You can see where the edges of the old letters were but only if you look real close." Do you mean sticking the new sticker right over the old one? | ||
| Harleyelf |
All the white plastic came off when I rubbed it with my thumbnail. The outline of the old letters can be felt by running your finger over it better than it can be seen. This was not a stock paint job, a local painter used the floppy letters on his crash repair job. I got the whole painted body, fairing, tank, and fender set for $300 when he couldn't re-register the repaired bike as a S3 - don't know what happened to that bike, but I have a spare body for mine. See my profile for a picture. | ||
| Jos51700 |
I emailed court about getting replacement factory-style a few weeks ago, and then again a couple weeks ago. Nothing. Maybe he'll read this. | ||
| Harleyelf |
Check with Bumpus. There's a list of available colors in the S3 Tank Logo thread from the last week of November. | ||
| Lornce |
The cure was to apply the lego-block Buell decals on top of the clear coat layer - After a repaint of the original. The original paint seemed to breath the volatile fuel constituents better than the decals - which would trap them. Be careful which clear coat is used with a re-paint or it might catch the fumes, too. | ||
| Robinpeck |
It all sounds like an expensive fix...purchase of decals, a pro repaint,a specific (?) clearcoat, decals over the clearcoat,....I guess I'll just live with it. | ||
| Ratbuell |
If you're good with an X-acto blade, you could just remove the existing letters and put $50 worth of new block-style decals in their place... My S1W originally had under-clear decals like yours. It bubbled. A lot. So, I found a later style "recall" fuel tank - apparently they did a goodwill replacement campaign back in the day - that had the new style raised letter decals. They're very similar to the XB and 1125 tank decals as far as application and construction go, and I haven't had a problem with them yet (or with the original block decals on the '01 M2L). | ||
| Robinpeck |
Where can you get these $50. worth of decals? | ||
| Harleyelf |
See previously referenced list. Get the "Lego-block" style and a little roughness on the paint where the old letters used to be will be minimally noticeable. | ||
| Robinpeck |
Can't find it | ||
| Harleyelf |
Here, I posted another comment to it. Now it's on top. | ||
| Robinpeck |
Thanks |
