Replacing KTM decals -- say goodbye to Mr. Bubbles!

[Soberman001]

Originally Posted by Orangecicle

From Christmas Eve:

I ordered a set from Steve. Nice guy on the phone. Look foward to the mod in a couple weeks.

[Soberman001]

Orange,
I pulled off the larger section of the decal under the seat section. I left the 'K' portion of the decal in the upper right of the drivers right side of the bike. In other words, I have a k that is part clear coat and part black left on the bike.

Do I have to install the entire decal because of the layer of clear 3m decal over the whole thing? In your pics, you seem to install yours in two parts?

Am I making sense?

[Orangecicle]

Originally Posted by Soberman001

Orange,
I pulled off the larger section of the decal under the seat section. I left the 'K' portion of the decal in the upper right of the drivers right side of the bike. In other words, I have a k that is part clear coat and part black left on the bike.

Do I have to install the entire decal because of the layer of clear 3m decal over the whole thing? In your pics, you seem to install yours in two parts?

Am I making sense?

You should be able to replace just the portions of the decals that are problematic. I have also left the "K" portion of my clutch-side decal as well. My original decals came with some clear material between the two tank portions of the decals, and I had to cut that away. The only clear on the decals should be clear just directly over the black, which gives the decal the same look as the original clear coat.

[Soberman001]

That makes perfect sense. I am now back at it. Thanks. Pics to follow!

[Soberman001]

allrighty boys. I have finished side-one of the compass decal install. The decal quality is good, and Orangcicle directions work great! Thank you!

Now... here is the sticking point (pun intended). Orange's machine is a 2005 and that is what the templates were designed with. Believe it or not, the decals on the 2005 seem slightly smaller than those on the 2004.

I precisely razor cut the outline of the OEM decals when removing them. I was within 0.5mm outside sometimes inside the line leaving a hair width of black decal remaining after pulling off the main sections. When installing the new compass, I started in the upper right (clutch side of the bike) so that I could like up the "K" which is the more complicated edge of the design. I fit the "K" like a puzzle piece into the outline left from the OEM decal (the clear coat edging is a great guide). Then started working my way down and left with the squigy thing. There are very few bubbles and no folds. When I got to the far left edge on the bottom, I see that the cut out for the bolt recess doesn't line up. It is ~1" off to the right (too short).

I started checking the other edges of the entire decal and found they are all short between 1/4 and 1/12 inch including the leading edge near the radiator. The only part that is lined up perfectly is where I started at the "K". Even the area right under the seat isn't lined up and there is a narrow strip of exposed flat (non clear coat) paint.

So.... there are too questions I have.
1. Is it possible the bikes are the same and the decals from two different years are slightly different? This is only a bitch because they clear over the decals so when you cut the OEM decal off, the outline of the OEM has to match (perfectly) the outline of the Compass.
2. Second, is it possible the bolt hole (see picture) is in a different spot from 2004 vs 2005?

Finally, I have installed a lot of decals and there was no way to stretch it. I installed it with the paper still attached to the back the way it should be done. There is no way to stretch a decal when still on the paper and taking it completely off the paper and trying to pull at it seems risky and inappropriate.

Thoughts?

[Soberman001]

here is the picture of the bolt recess area.

[Orangecicle]

Originally Posted by Soberman001

allrighty boys. I have finished side-one of the compass decal install. The decal quality is good, and Orangcicle directions work great! Thank you!

Now... here is the sticking point (pun intended). Orange's machine is a 2005 and that is what the templates were designed with. Believe it or not, the decals on the 2005 seem slightly smaller than those on the 2004.

I precisely razor cut the outline of the OEM decals when removing them. I was within 0.5mm outside sometimes inside the line leaving a hair width of black decal remaining after pulling off the main sections. When installing the new compass, I started in the upper right (clutch side of the bike) so that I could like up the "K" which is the more complicated edge of the design. I fit the "K" like a puzzle piece into the outline left from the OEM decal (the clear coat edging is a great guide). Then started working my way down and left with the squigy thing. There are very few bubbles and no folds. When I got to the far left edge on the bottom, I see that the cut out for the bolt recess doesn't line up. It is ~1" off to the right (too short).

I started checking the other edges of the entire decal and found they are all short between 1/4 and 1/12 inch including the leading edge near the radiator. The only part that is lined up perfectly is where I started at the "K". Even the area right under the seat isn't lined up and there is a narrow strip of exposed flat (non clear coat) paint.

So.... there are too questions I have.
1. Is it possible the bikes are the same and the decals from two different years are slightly different? This is only a bitch because they clear over the decals so when you cut the OEM decal off, the outline of the OEM has to match (perfectly) the outline of the Compass.
2. Second, is it possible the bolt hole (see picture) is in a different spot from 2004 vs 2005?

Finally, I have installed a lot of decals and there was no way to stretch it. I installed it with the paper still attached to the back the way it should be done. There is no way to stretch a decal when still on the paper and taking it completely off the paper and trying to pull at it seems risky and inappropriate.

Thoughts?

I've not seen this. My bike is a June '04 build (2005 model), and the decals are really, really close to perfect fit. If you're not happy with the fit, I'd send some pictures to Steve at the sign shop and see if he would be willing to modify the design for your bike and get you an appropriately fitting decal.

[Soberman001]

Originally Posted by Orangecicle

I've not seen this. My bike is a June '04 build (2005 model), and the decals are really, really close to perfect fit. If you're not happy with the fit, I'd send some pictures to Steve at the sign shop and see if he would be willing to modify the design for your bike and get you an appropriately fitting decal.

OC
I put the drivers left side on and the same thing. The decal is shorter than it should be so the cut-out for the body bolt/fastener is in the wrong place and about the same 1/2-1" off the recess. Seems like KTM may have used different decals on your bike than mine. Or the decals on your bike are set (slightly) further back on the bike than mine. That would cause the same problem with the recess alignment.

On the brake side of the bike, the decal on my bike is larger than the Compass decal, so I can only assume after all this, the decals on your bike are different and moved back a tad.

I will work with Steve to see if he can edit the decals a bit in each direction. Actually, the elimination of the recess cut out would be fine since I can cut it with an exacto knife. Then, he can digitally stretch the decal's height and width just a bit as long as the dimensions around the M or the K don't change.

Anyway.. I tossed a bit of money down the drain on this one but hopefully I helped someone else out in the process. And I got plenty of practice putting the decals on so it should be easy next time.

Thanks for all you did on this project.

Scott

[Orangecicle]

Originally Posted by Soberman001

allrighty boys. I have finished side-one of the compass decal install. The decal quality is good, and Orangcicle directions work great! Thank you!

Now... here is the sticking point (pun intended). Orange's machine is a 2005 and that is what the templates were designed with. Believe it or not, the decals on the 2005 seem slightly smaller than those on the 2004.

I precisely razor cut the outline of the OEM decals when removing them. I was within 0.5mm outside sometimes inside the line leaving a hair width of black decal remaining after pulling off the main sections. When installing the new compass, I started in the upper right (clutch side of the bike) so that I could like up the "K" which is the more complicated edge of the design. I fit the "K" like a puzzle piece into the outline left from the OEM decal (the clear coat edging is a great guide). Then started working my way down and left with the squigy thing. There are very few bubbles and no folds. When I got to the far left edge on the bottom, I see that the cut out for the bolt recess doesn't line up. It is ~1" off to the right (too short).

I started checking the other edges of the entire decal and found they are all short between 1/4 and 1/12 inch including the leading edge near the radiator. The only part that is lined up perfectly is where I started at the "K". Even the area right under the seat isn't lined up and there is a narrow strip of exposed flat (non clear coat) paint.

So.... there are too questions I have.
1. Is it possible the bikes are the same and the decals from two different years are slightly different? This is only a bitch because they clear over the decals so when you cut the OEM decal off, the outline of the OEM has to match (perfectly) the outline of the Compass.
2. Second, is it possible the bolt hole (see picture) is in a different spot from 2004 vs 2005?

Finally, I have installed a lot of decals and there was no way to stretch it. I installed it with the paper still attached to the back the way it should be done. There is no way to stretch a decal when still on the paper and taking it completely off the paper and trying to pull at it seems risky and inappropriate.

Thoughts?

Soberman, I did have one thought. What was the temperature at the time of your install, and were the tanks full or empty? We know these tanks grow and shrink depending. My measurements and install were done in the cold. Your install might have been done under different conditions. The decals will "give" once installed, but they won't with that backer material on them. So, this might be another issue to keep in mind in the future.

[Soberman001]

Originally Posted by Orangecicle

Soberman, I did have one thought. What was the temperature at the time of your install, and were the tanks full or empty? We know these tanks grow and shrink depending. My measurements and install were done in the cold. Your install might have been done under different conditions. The decals will "give" once installed, but they won't with that backer material on them. So, this might be another issue to keep in mind in the future.

The bike had not been used in more than a day and the temp outside was 76-78 in the shade so I would say the tanks (which are 1/2 full) should be about as normal as you get.

I can see how a decal would stretch without the paper but that would mean installing them and then tugging on them to get them to stretch. Seems like a risky process seeing as all edges would need to be tugged by 1/4-1/2 to get them to fit to the original spot. Not sure I could make that work easily without ripping them.

If Steve is handy on the design computer, the changes should take him less than 15mins. Just has to expand a couple of the edges outward. I am not at all worried about the part that goes under the edges of the seat but I would like the bottem edge to run along the same line as the original. Then, I can have Steve remove the cut out for the bolt recess and I can just razor that myself.

One thing I do have.... is tiny little pimples that I can't seem to get rid of. Not full bubbles that can be popped but little bumps. Did I not use enough water/soap during the install?

The surface was super clean.

When I put larger decals on my Aprilia race bike, a day in the sun made all the bumps go away. This hasn't happend with the KTM.

[Orangecicle]

Originally Posted by Soberman001

The bike had not been used in more than a day and the temp outside was 76-78 in the shade so I would say the tanks (which are 1/2 full) should be about as normal as you get.

I can see how a decal would stretch without the paper but that would mean installing them and then tugging on them to get them to stretch. Seems like a risky process seeing as all edges would need to be tugged by 1/4-1/2 to get them to fit to the original spot. Not sure I could make that work easily without ripping them.

If Steve is handy on the design computer, the changes should take him less than 15mins. Just has to expand a couple of the edges outward. I am not at all worried about the part that goes under the edges of the seat but I would like the bottem edge to run along the same line as the original. Then, I can have Steve remove the cut out for the bolt recess and I can just razor that myself.

One thing I do have.... is tiny little pimples that I can't seem to get rid of. Not full bubbles that can be popped but little bumps. Did I not use enough water/soap during the install?

The surface was super clean.

When I put larger decals on my Aprilia race bike, a day in the sun made all the bumps go away. This hasn't happend with the KTM.

I did most of my decals dry. I did capture some tiny air bubbles along the way -- like you describe, not really bubbles but little imperfections. Steve suggested that those would go away with time, and they have. If you captured a real bubble, you might want to prick the surface of the decal with a needle to speed the process along.

[Venturer]

I just completed the decal replacement following the instructions above. All went fine and the tank looks new again. My bubbles were pretty bad. A relatively cheap fix

[Venturer]

Originally Posted by Venturer

I just completed the decal replacement following the instructions above. All went fine and the tank looks new again. My bubbles were pretty bad. A relatively cheap fix

Scratch that. One side now has a lot of little bubbles. Frustrating. I may have the black part painted.

[Goss]

I removed my decals and then purchased professional pin striping tape and after removing the adhesive residue I basically duplicated the decal in spray on bed liner. Even the KTM letter portion on the tank.

Results were great. Will see how that lasts.

[speedmonkey7]

I like the compass. The flames would look better if they weren't in color, but done more in a relief (if that is the correct term) like the compass. The ride the world part looks really good with the compass too. Did they have a material that looks black in the daytime, but reflective at night? That would be pretty cool. I need to do this too, so I am subscribed!