I was wondering if you guys knew of any graphics available for the IMS 4.8 gallon tank on my xr650l? Its starting to yellow like they all seem to do, and thought some graphics might hide the yellow a bit and sharpen up the looks.

http://www.factoryef...rsal_p_474.html

Looks good on pretty much any tank.  I've had mine on there for about four years now and it still looks as good as the day I put it on there.  I didn't do anything more than clean the surface of the tank before putting it on.  I think they have other styles too.

XR's only on my 4 gallon Clarke~

Both of those look like good options, thanks guys How did you put those decals on? Any tricks I should know about?

every time I put stickers on my clark, they want to bubble up.

Sierra Thumper, on 17 August 2012 - 05:17 PM, said:

I put them on using the "wet" method with an application fluid. I used Rapid Tac but other application fluids work well also. Autozone and other car shops carried a fluid for window tint film that should be OK to use also. You basically trim the decal to where you want it. Make a few reference marks to position the decal. Make sure the tank surface is CLEAN and wiped off. Peel decal backing and spray application fluid on decal and the tank. Position the decal and use a squeegee or a towel to blot / force out the application fluid. Once done let it dry overnight.

The wet method allows you to position the decal and roll our the air bubbles and fluid. If you confident and have good hands you can do it dry but going wet gives you a lot of time and working room.

natey, on 17 August 2012 - 06:31 PM, said:

Same here. I'll bet the IMS is the same... gas fumes getting through the pores of the plastic tank I suspect.
I guess that is why the better graphics come perforated.

Sierra Thumper, on 17 August 2012 - 05:17 PM, said:

As I mentioned, I didn't do anything more than clean the tank and stick it on.

The Factory Effex stickers have a bunch of holes in them already so they don't tend to bubble like a solid sticker would.  I think I might have used some masking tape to mark the edges so that I got them both even, but I'm sure I didn't do more than that.

Those who have their stickers bubble up have my sympathy, but it hasn't happened with mine and it's been on there for four years now.

My mistake, I thought you had bubbles under the tank graphics during installation. I used Caswell epoxy tank sealer on my Clark tank before I applied graphics. The gas vapors do seem to leech through plastic tanks so I hear.

cal50, on 18 August 2012 - 05:57 AM, said:

thanks, maybe that's the key or "holy decals"

I used soft scrub with bleach and a green dush scrubbie to try and remove as much of the yellowing as I could. It has worked extremely well in the past on my stained/scratched white plastics, made them look new again. It took about 70-75% of the yellowing off my xrl ims tank, but I doubt I could ever get it true white again....and it was MAJOR scrubbing/waiting/scrubbing to get it as good as it is, which is pretty good compared to most other yellowed white tanks I've seen.
Bottom line is I will never buy a white plastic tank for a bike of mine. I'm going to just occassionally scrub this one down a little to maintain it now that I did the hard work getting 8 years worth of yellowing off
Down the road I will prolly get a red one instead

Sierra Thumper, on 20 August 2012 - 09:45 PM, said:

sounds to me that this is a perfect opportunity to experiment with alternatives. what to lose!  you might learn something huh!

#1  call or email  the manufacturer. If no good answer, try adhesion promoter, stain, dye, or Por 15(look at their site because it can be used on many and varied surfaces,,,,,,amazing shit). http://www.por15.com/#

Edited by natey, 23 August 2012 - 04:34 AM.