Saddlebags trim / plastic film over strips

[Bull Durham]

I bought me Nomad last year, it is a 2005 model. The guy I bought it from never took off the plastic film that covers the saddlebag trim pieces, the 3 strips on the side.

I have tried, now with being weathered on, waxed over, etc; it's almost like they are a part of the trim pieces. I don't think I'd want to try Goobie Gone, might cause more problems.

Does anyone have any idea on what would be a good product to take off the plastic film? I even tried a hair dryer hoping to warm it up and be able to peel off, no go. I get like a millimeter at a time, have to keep picking at it. At that rate, it would take 3 years to get it all off.

Any suggestions?

[ballast]

Just be careful because anything that will clean it off will probably screw up your paint. I learned the hard way not to use hand sanatizer over the saddlebags http://s2.images.proboards.com/angry.gif:(" title=">:(" border="0"/> one more reason for my paint job.

[Bull Durham]

I just noticed on your sig picture, did you take your trim pieces off?

[ballast]

I just noticed on your sig picture, did you take your trim pieces off?

I did. They are simply too fragile to get off in a condition where they can be reused. To replace them with OEM parts is about 300 bucks. So I just left them off and am pretty happy with the look.

[oldbikers]

I have the same problem with by 05 so I think I am going to take my off like ballast if I can get them off with out messing the paint up as I don't want to repaint mine.

[Bull Durham]

I saw another thread on here I believe, because of the cost of replacing those strips with OEM, someone was using the chrome strips you can buy from Pep Boys. By there pictures they looked pretty nice.

Oldbiker, you have the plastic film still on yours? Ever try taking it off? After about an inch, I gave up.

Ballast, I do like the look of your bike without the strips, looks nice.

[nomadtom69]

When I got my 06 last year It took me about 10 hours to get it off little piece by little piece I was lucky he had never waxed it.

[Bull Durham]

What did you do, just keep picking at it? With what, your fingernails or what?

[nomadtom69]

Had a plastic stove top cleaner that I used . It is for cleaning the glass top stoves . Just took time and worked it off little at a time . I think I heated it some with a hair dryer

[Bull Durham]

I don't have a glass stove, but I think I've seen one of those cleaners, kind of a smooth scratchie thing, green in color?

[nomadtom69]

They are about 2-3 inches square and taper to a edge for cleaning the stoves mine is brown that and finger nails.

[AlabamaNomadRider]

I have never taken mine off either. Have thought about it a few times but still haven't. There is a problem called Goop and another called Goo Gone. Both of thes would probably take them off but not sure what it would do to paint. I was thinking of just using the hair dryer and see what happens.

[nomadtom69]

It ain"t easy

[oldbikers]

I tried to get mine off for about a year I would try something different each time. I used a hair dryer and plastic scraper but that did no good a friend brought me some stuff from his body shop said they use it to remove decals but before I tried it on the bike I used it on an old car I had and it took the decal right but also took all of the paint off around so I just gave up. Gene goo gone works great to remove glue but it won't do any thing until you get the plastic off then it will clean up and sticky stuff that is left.

[cactusjack]

I still have the plastic covering on one of my bags. I guess I removed one side and forgot about the other. After 3 AZ summers, that stuff isn't coming off now.

[Loafer]

I didn't know they were there, until I washed at a car wash, I was using the "engine degreaser". When I noticed that one of them was hanging off. Scared me. After noticing the Japanese writing on them, I picked and pulled them all off. Not sure if it was the "degreaser" or the high pressure spray, but it wasn't to hard to get them off. Seems like the dealer should be pulling that off, when they prep the bike for sale.

[mobandy78]

I went ahead and pulled the OEM pieces off and added the chrome trim from the auto parts store. It really makes the bags look better, I think. Here's the picture...

[wiz]

When I got my 06 last year It took me about 10 hours to get it off little piece by little piece I was lucky he had never waxed it.

That sounds like what I did with my '07 when I got it. Pick away for a long time and eventually it is done.

[ballast]

I went ahead and pulled the OEM pieces off and added the chrome trim from the auto parts store. It really makes the bags look better, I think. Here's the picture...

How did you clean up the ends of the strips after you cut them?

[mobandy78]

I went ahead and pulled the OEM pieces off and added the chrome trim from the auto parts store. It really makes the bags look better, I think. Here's the picture...

How did you clean up the ends of the strips after you cut them?

I just used a pair of sharp scissors to round off the edges. They are not perfect, but you can't tell just by looking at them. I may have used a razor blade to finish it off, I can't remember now. But I think I just used scissors.

[Bull Durham]

Loafer, how many years were they on before they started coming off with the degreaser?

MoBandy, I love what you did with the trim pieces, I just worry that if I pulled mine off, I wouldn't be able to get the new trim pieces to look that nice like yours.

I wonder if something like WD-40 would work without hurting the paint of the saddlebags. I think someone should try it, and let me know............................

[cactusjack]

Loafer, how many years were they on before they started coming off with the degreaser?

MoBandy, I love what you did with the trim pieces, I just worry that if I pulled mine off, I wouldn't be able to get the new trim pieces to look that nice like yours.

I wonder if something like WD-40 would work without hurting the paint of the saddlebags. I think someone should try it, and let me know............................

I wouldn't. It might cause the adhesive on the aluminum strips to release.

[oldbikers]

I said earlier that I liked how it looked with out any strips on the bags so I went out to the garage and took mine off and I like it better so at the nationals I will have some strips for sale at the swap meet. http://s2.images.proboards.com/grin.gif

[Loafer]

The bike almost two years old, when they started to come off at the car wash. I was amazed that I hadn't noticed they were there.

[mobandy78]

MoBandy, I love what you did with the trim pieces, I just worry that if I pulled mine off, I wouldn't be able to get the new trim pieces to look that nice like yours.

I wonder if something like WD-40 would work without hurting the paint of the saddlebags. I think someone should try it, and let me know............................

Bull, it really isn't that hard to do, trust me. It only took a few minutes to get them cut and put them on. The cuts don't have to be perfect by any means. Mine are not... if you look at them extremely close, you can see that they are not uniform. But, the strips are not something that anybody is going to pay close attention to, unless it's in a bike show and getting judged.

I used WD-40 on mine after pulling the old strips off. I sprayed it on a rag and used that to wipe off the adhesive. It didn't seem to affect the paint any.

[ridemslow]

Gadget offered a cheap alternative. Chaek his site, but it involves about $20.00 and peel-n-stick chrome trim thats used on cars, available at Autozone and such places. Worth looking into. I just bought a new door for my right side on E-bay, and it already had the strips on it. Got the door for $159.00. Those strips sell for like $46.00 each, the door list for $403.00.



I just noticed on your sig picture, did you take your trim pieces off?

I did. They are simply too fragile to get off in a condition where they can be reused. To replace them with OEM parts is about 300 bucks. So I just left them off and am pretty happy with the look.

[rickyboy]

I couldn't tell you if the plastic is on or off mine. I bought my Nomad new and haven't had any issues with them. Mine look good.

[Loafer]

Get down there real close, if they are still on there, there will be a Japanese word on each strip.

[minst7877]

I peeled them off my 99 last fall. Thought the stripes looked strange and when I had it on the lift I realized it was because of the plastic still covering the strips. It actually came off mine pretty easily which really surprised me but they sure look better now.

DC

[Loafer]

I peeled them off my 99 last fall. Thought the stripes looked strange and when I had it on the lift I realized it was because of the plastic still covering the strips. It actually came off mine pretty easily which really surprised me but they sure look better now.

DC

When mine came off, I thought they looked way better. http://s2.images.proboards.com/cool.gif

[macmac]

Tuff call..... The oem strips are brushed stainless steel, just wicked thin SS, on sticky tape.

Fingernail works, so cow horn would work, but it's tuff getting cow horn anymore.

Once the film cracks like desert mud it's really hard to get that stuff off GENE!

A hair dryer might help alot. I really don't dare reccomend any chems..

Alternate chrome trim can be cut with a shapened pipe/chisel in any shapes you want. That's easy.

[Bull Durham]

They should look better, Loafer, the plastic film isn't suppose to be on them.

[Loafer]

Tuff call..... The oem strips are brushed stainless steel, just wicked thin SS, on sticky tape.

Fingernail works, so cow horn would work, but it's tuff getting cow horn anymore.

Once the film cracks like desert mud it's really hard to get that stuff off GENE!

A hair dryer might help alot. I really don't dare reccomend any chems..

Alternate chrome trim can be cut with a shapened pipe/chisel in any shapes you want. That's easy.

Cow horn? http://s2.images.proboards.com/shocked.gif Where do you shop? http://s2.images.proboards.com/grin.gif

[macmac]

It so happens I make powda horns and have some cow horns, but I am aware most people don't. I suppose I could cut a few scrapers and you guys could mail them around.

[snarleybill08]

I just noticed on your sig picture, did you take your trim pieces off?

I did. They are simply too fragile to get off in a condition where they can be reused. To replace them with OEM parts is about 300 bucks. So I just left them off and am pretty happy with the look. how do you get them off with out hurting the paint? i would like to get mone off. bill

[mobandy78]

Gadget offered a cheap alternative. Chaek his site, but it involves about $20.00 and peel-n-stick chrome trim thats used on cars, available at Autozone and such places. Worth looking into. I just bought a new door for my right side on E-bay, and it already had the strips on it. Got the door for $159.00. Those strips sell for like $46.00 each, the door list for $403.00.




I did. They are simply too fragile to get off in a condition where they can be reused. To replace them with OEM parts is about 300 bucks. So I just left them off and am pretty happy with the look.

That's exactly the replacement trim we are talking about... makes the bags look real good with the chrome instead of brushed stainless.

[mobandy78]

I did. They are simply too fragile to get off in a condition where they can be reused. To replace them with OEM parts is about 300 bucks. So I just left them off and am pretty happy with the look. how do you get them off with out hurting the paint? i would like to get mone off. bill

Bill, I was able to just pull my OEM strips off in one try. Getting the glue off was a little more trickier. I used an old t-shirt rag sprayed with some WD-40 to wipe the glue off. Was cautious not to wipe outside of the indention for the strips. It was a hot summer day when I did it, so the strips came off fairly easy.

[NomadLance]

These comments were helpful as I just bought a 2006 Nomad 1600. One bag had no plastic strips and the other had all three, but one was starting to come off with another one soon to follow. I couldn't find any place that had the OEM strips available, and even if they did, I think the cost would not be worth it.



I ended up removing the three strips from the bag that still had them. As others have mentioned, they had the plastic film with Japanese lettering. They actually ended up quite easy to remove. On one I used fishing line to floss it off - worked just fine, but did leave a good amount of adhesive. The other two I pulled off - worked even better since the adhesive tended to stay with the strip so there was less to clean off. On one of the two I used a plastic putty knife to lift up the edge, and then pulled it off. I used Goo Gone Spray Gel to help dissolve the remaining adhesive (just sprayed on a rag and wrapped it around my finger to limit it to the channels of the strip and avoid the rest of the bag door) - worked great, although I still had to use my fingernail and the plastic putty knife to get some of the bits to come off.



It looks great now, and I may end up leaving it just like it is. Or, I could always get the chrome strips mentioned above.

[ldhthept]

Ive got a full set of all 6 strips that I took off of my 06 years ago. If anyone needs them sure I could come up with a price.