Yamaha RD400 Restoration

[Scoobynut_imp]

So I'm going to enter my RD400 in a show at the end of the month and thought I would clean up one of the small cosmetic issues, but without altering the originality as much as possible (I'm sure the Hoarder will appreciate this and hope he doesn't think I made an irreversible alteration -- which it isn't, the vinyl adhesive is easily removed if wanted ) . When I bought the bike in 2011 the only part of the tank or side panels that had any flaw was this part of the left side tank decal:

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There are a few companies out there that sell nice, accurate replica decals for the RD400, but as this was the only flaw in the decals I decided I would try to keep the original decals if possible. Not to mention the full decal set is $80 and I would've only needed this one. I ran to the local vinyl decal sign shop and asked if they had any adhesive glossy vinyl in the colors I needed. They gave me a 2"x1" sheet of white and baby blue (free of charge!) and I got to work. As you can see there was a lot of trial and error involved...

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If you look closely you can see where the repair was made, but if you're standing more than a few feet away it's virtually undetectable. And, as I said earlier, I can easily remove it if I decide to replace the decal at some point, unlike touch up paint. I'm feeling like a pretty clever dog with my little touch-up that cost of grand total of $0.00.

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