Thanks Pooh. I'm pleased with the results so far. Tomorrow I'm putting on the Akrapovic and I'm a little ambivalent about how it's going to look. I like the dual polished exhaust cans look and having the left side of the bike naked will take some getting used to to.
But whenever it comes down to a choice between performance and aesthetics, you know which one's gotta win!
Tapeworks installation... I did it alone in one hour with no assistance, without removing any fairings, and ended up with perfect positioning...no bubbles and no wrinkles. And like you I'm no surgeon with my hands.
Here are some pointers:
1. Don't replace any of the stock decals because a) they're hard to remove, even with a hair dryer and b) putting the tapeworks decals over the stock decals leaves you the option of returning to stock easily.
2. The Tapeworks decals are made slightly larger than the stock decals and they're 100% opaque, so they cover the stock decals well no matter what colors you choose.
3. Buy some 99% isopropyl alcohol from your drugstore to wipe down the stock decals before applying the Tapeworks ones. Don't worry about removing built-up wax unless you've just put a fresh coat on.
4. Apply the practice decals supplied with your Tapeworks kit to your car (or better yet to the front window of your pesky neighbor's car) or some other smooth shiny surface to get used to handling the Tapeworks material. When you do your bike, apply the small decals (tailpiece, front cowl) first and work your way up to the big ones.
5. The big Jap character decal on the side fairings comes in three pieces (four if you count the "Hayabusa" word, so applying it is not as intimidating as it looks.
6. The Tapeworks material is thick (for a decal) vinyl. It's also strong so it doesn't tear at all. And it's stretchy so you can pull on it keep it smooth and 'force' it into position as you go.
7. Follow the application technique in the supplied instructions by pulling with one hand at at very shallow angle, and lightly tacking the decal down in a smoothing motion with the other.
8. As you 'smooth' it down, it's important to a) smooth the decal from the center outward to the edge to eliminate bubbles and wrinkles, and b) press only enough to locate the decal so you can remove it gently if your application goes off track.
9. Here is the most important tip: "Force" the decal to stay 'on track' as you apply it by ACTIVELY STRETCHING the material into perfect position AS YOU TRAVEL ALONG THE DECAL. If you allow the decal to get even slightly off track at the beginning of your application, you'll be WAY off track by the time you get to the end.
10. Then rub the decal down hard everywhere with your fingertips. If you do end up with a bubble or two, puncture them with a pin to let the air escape then press it down...there will be no visible flaw.
11. After the Tapeworks glue has dried for a day or two, apply a couple of coats of heavy UV wax.
ET VIOLA!!!!
Do not despair. It took longer to write these tips than it did to do the job.
PS: Consider leaving some of the stock decals on for color effect. For instance you can leave the red "R" in the GSX1300R tail decal and change the rest of that decal to the Tapeworks color.
