Gregory Bender
 

Tank badge removal

Moto Guzzi V7 Sport, 750 S, 750 S3, 850 T, 850 T3, 850 T3 California, V1000 I-Convert, V1000 G5, 1000 SP, Le Mans, Le Mans II, Le Mans CX 100, Le Mans III, Le Mans 1000, 1000 SP III, 1000 S, California II, California III, California 1100, California Jackal, California EV, California EV Touring, California Aluminium, California Titanium, California Special, California Special Sport, California Stone-Metal, California Stone-Touring, California Classic, California Touring, and California Vintage models

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I extracted this information from LeRoy (Bob Sharp) who posted it on the old Yahoo! MGconvert news group (which has now moved to Groups.io). In LeRoy's own words:

While I see that you've been successful in removing the badges, here's a tip for future work of this sort. Most auto trim shops and suppliers sell a variety of thin but stiff plastic pry tools that are commonly used for prying apart the many kinds of plastic clips used for automotive interior trim. This sort of tool is perfect for prying off the tank badges. Start gently at one end, but don't pry too hard or you'll tweak the soft metal badge. You'll quickly see where the pins are and can then work them out more easily.

As you've found, the tank badges on Converts (and other Guzzis of this era) have two pins on the rear side that are part of the casting. These have a slight knob on the end that engages with the retainer on the tank and provide the grip. There are two things to be mindful of when preparing to replace the badges:

  1. The badges should have a curve in their profile to match the curvature of the tank. Be careful in tweaking them to help them confirm to this curve as it's possible (likely) to get the pins out of whack with the badge. In this case, the badge won't want to seat back into the retainers as their alignment will be skewed.
  2. Be mindful of paint build-up in the retainer clips. A bit isn't bad as it will aid in the interference fit of the pins. Too much paint build-up will make installation of the badge difficult and you'll be tempted to give it just a bit harder whack to seat it. That's when an oops is likely to happen with your fresh paint. Instead, use an X-acto blade to clear out any excess paint and a gentle hand to thump the badge back in place.