Well guys its official...... we hate the fork reflectors ! This afternoon having read so many of you having problems getting the damm things off, I thought I'd have a go myself this afternoon and share my method of removal after trying plastic tyre levers, screwdrivers, chisels, fishing line etc etc all without success.. Now I know this method may not suit all of you........ cos you may not have the right gear......but all I can say is it worked for me. See photo's below.... s So here we have the dreaded fork reflector and after trying all sorts ways to remove it I had one option left to try ! Came off ...no problem ! But then your left with that horrible sticky stuff..... Now I know some of you have used everything from Tar Remover to Nail Varnish Remover (Those of you with a disposition) but I found P40 got through it in no time Once I was done with the P40 grade sanding disc I used a fine P240 grade disc just to smooth the edges.......... Finally a couple of coats of Silver Hammerite ...the smooth stuff though! Not the Hammered looking stuff ! And here you have it ! the final result ! A job well done! Oh and while I had the brush out ........... Thought it deserves to be Highlighted......don't you?
I personally would have used an oxy acetylene torch to further cure the Hammerite but there you go, each to their own ?
HAMMERITE !! The smooth stuff of course ! Not the hammered looking stuff :Facepalm: Method; Brush in / dab in your paint, don't worry about any excess around the letters just give the recesses a good cover...and walk away...let it dry.....then... with a flat paper towel or linen cloth dabbed with some thinners ...wipe over in one complete pass to rid the excess keeping the cloth as flat as possible, you'll have to do several passes but use a clean area of cloth each time....once removed and your happy ..have some back to black spray at hand to dilute/rid the thinners that may discolour or damage the plastic if left!...and there you have it! :Smug:
That`ll be another one that`s no longer Euro 6 compliant then!!!!!!! It amazes me that you would want to remove a reflector that could make you more visible to other road users and therefore avoid getting driven into like AirCon`s brother did last night !!!!!
My local garage said they will get the valet guys to remove them before I pick the bike up as they've seen to many scratched forks with people trying to do it themselves. Apparently with the right chemicals it comes of real easy.
Correct me if I'm wrong but reflectors on the sides have a very limited window of use. How often is your bike side on other than you waiting to pull out of a junction, with another car coming towards you. In this case it's really you, that needs to see the other vehicles.
On a crossroads I always angle the bike 45 degrees towards the way I'm planning to turn for a better get away. This means that the reflector is rendered useless but my headlights and reflective strips on my bike gear work fine.
What's wrong with turning left? or straight on for that matter! I agree with @JH_1986 and @ColT ... 70% of bike accidents normally happen the other way round with cars pulling out from junctions ...along with the line " I just didn't see him" and that's in the day time. If your at a junction waiting to pull out ... only you access the risk before crossing that line.... get hit by a car then ... sorry... but you've left it too late reflectors or not. Don't get wrong I'm sure you'll be more visible at a junction to oncoming traffic but it still comes down to you... when to cross that line.
If there is even a scintilla of a chance that a reflector of any sort,size, location gives a another road user the split second glimpse that you are there its worth keeping in my opinion.
Here's an idea; How about we stick some lights on each side of the bike and make them orange so they don't confuse people. They could even flash to really get people attention. They would be far more use than reflectors as they would work in the daylight not just at night and they wouldn't get mistaken for road markings.
