removing tank stickers

[Rocky_imp]

Hand held hair dryer worked fine for me. As mentioned, keep it moving and test the decals gently with your fingernail until the glue is soft enough to peel away. Sometimes you can get the edges peeled off but have to give the center of the decal extra heat to soften that up. Works great.

Exactly how I did it.
I cleaned off any residue with a mild solvent and then finished with some regular car polish.
As long as the stickers stay in good condition you can leave them on if that's what you want to do, but if they deteriorate and are eventually removed the pristine paint under the stickers will be in pretty sharp contrast to the slightly faded paint of the tank.
That's why most of us get rid of them right away.
OTOH, you could buy a set of new stickers and replace them if the old ones fail over time.
I suppose it all depends on how long you intend to keep the bike and if it's exposed to a lot of sun.
I'm the epitome of anal when it comes to my "toys" so my bikes are always inside and out of the sun except when I'm out on the road.