-
Enjoy XS650.com? Consider making a donation to help support the site.
XS650.com receives a small share of sales from some links on this page, but direct donations have a much greater impact on keeping this site going.
How To Fix Gas Tank
- Thread starter richardthemotorcycle1
- Start date
-
- Tags
- restoration
richardthemotorcycle1
XS650 Guru
Thanks grepper, should I heat that up (heat gun) before trying to pop it out?
Last edited:
richardthemotorcycle1
XS650 Guru
Thanks, of course I would have drained the gas first lol.
Ooh, nasty.
Cheap fix:-
Fill the dents with Bondo.
Easiest fix:-
Buy another tank.
You can even swap to a Standard tank, it drops right on and holds another gallon of gas.
Best fix:-
What grepper sez but squirt some dish soap in there and swill it out with hot water a time or two and she won't blow.
<edit> Just draining the tank is not good. Torching a tank full of gasoline vapor is just as hazardous as torching a full one <edit>
Use an oxy-acetylene fluffy flame to anneal the dent area.
Grind off the dent area down to bright metal.
Braze 5/16" flat head screws onto the center of each dent.
Use a slide hammer on the bolts to pull the dents out.
Torch the bolts off again.
It won't be perfect but nothing a smear of Bondo won't fix.
Cheap fix:-
Fill the dents with Bondo.
Easiest fix:-
Buy another tank.
You can even swap to a Standard tank, it drops right on and holds another gallon of gas.
Best fix:-
What grepper sez but squirt some dish soap in there and swill it out with hot water a time or two and she won't blow.
<edit> Just draining the tank is not good. Torching a tank full of gasoline vapor is just as hazardous as torching a full one <edit>
Use an oxy-acetylene fluffy flame to anneal the dent area.
Grind off the dent area down to bright metal.
Braze 5/16" flat head screws onto the center of each dent.
Use a slide hammer on the bolts to pull the dents out.
Torch the bolts off again.
It won't be perfect but nothing a smear of Bondo won't fix.
It ain't the gas it's the fumes.
richardthemotorcycle1
XS650 Guru
I don't know if that what did the damage, and if that's what did it, how do you fix that?
Just double check the fork stops as mos' likely they're ok. If not then you have to beef up or spread forward the metal tab on the neck as failure there could occur if that tab gets pushed back to the neck-or a stop on the lower triple is missing/broken.
Consider the advice on the Standard tank......great upgrade for function.
Consider the advice on the Standard tank......great upgrade for function.
richardthemotorcycle1
XS650 Guru
Thanks Rick, we will check it out, haven't pickup bike yet so I wouldn't know until then, I will be you guys posted.
Yes looks like a "fork print" to me which brings up a BUNCH of maybies.
fork tubes bent
triples bent
front wheel tweaked
frame bent
Not that those are there but you sure want to be carefully looking!
first check is check smooth easy fork action.
Then careful eyeballing of alignment from the side and front.
This is not easy, it can be bent enough to need new parts and still be hard to see.
OK to the original question. Yes it's much easier to find a much better tank than trying to straighten that thing.
NOTHING containing water will reduce the chance of a tank explosion, unless the tank is full of water while you work and you can't get water hot enough to allow metal working.
I have done about every stupid gas tank trick known to man and many of them could be fatal!
The only way I know of to make a tank safe for torch work is to rinse it with a strong solvent, think acetone, then completely dry THAT solvent out before applying heat. Using this procedure is at your own risk also.
My take is gasoline vapors strong enough to cause explosion are trapped in the varnish on tank walls and bottom and especially in seams, until all build up is out heating can easily result in explosion.
Let us know how the inspection goes?
Back in the day story warning! After a thorough tank "rinsing" working dents with a torch in my rickety old garage. A serious oh FLUCK moment as a blow torch of flame erupted from the cap opening, a full three feet of flame, then that waiting for the disaster pause for inevitable explosion and unbelievable relief as the flame subsided and just went boop and blew out. Made me rethink the exposed paper backed fiberglass insulation in the ceiling!
PS you would not believe how BAD a gas tank looks after even a couple of PSI of compressed air blows the tunnel out like a pig's stomach at a buffet.
fork tubes bent
triples bent
front wheel tweaked
frame bent
Not that those are there but you sure want to be carefully looking!
first check is check smooth easy fork action.
Then careful eyeballing of alignment from the side and front.
This is not easy, it can be bent enough to need new parts and still be hard to see.
OK to the original question. Yes it's much easier to find a much better tank than trying to straighten that thing.
NOTHING containing water will reduce the chance of a tank explosion, unless the tank is full of water while you work and you can't get water hot enough to allow metal working.
I have done about every stupid gas tank trick known to man and many of them could be fatal!
The only way I know of to make a tank safe for torch work is to rinse it with a strong solvent, think acetone, then completely dry THAT solvent out before applying heat. Using this procedure is at your own risk also.
My take is gasoline vapors strong enough to cause explosion are trapped in the varnish on tank walls and bottom and especially in seams, until all build up is out heating can easily result in explosion.
Let us know how the inspection goes?
Back in the day story warning! After a thorough tank "rinsing" working dents with a torch in my rickety old garage. A serious oh FLUCK moment as a blow torch of flame erupted from the cap opening, a full three feet of flame, then that waiting for the disaster pause for inevitable explosion and unbelievable relief as the flame subsided and just went boop and blew out. Made me rethink the exposed paper backed fiberglass insulation in the ceiling!
PS you would not believe how BAD a gas tank looks after even a couple of PSI of compressed air blows the tunnel out like a pig's stomach at a buffet.
richardthemotorcycle1
XS650 Guru
Thanks gggGary, I will do as you say, when putting money down on this bike it looked in great condition and i didn't see any signs of laying it down, I have to ask the guy how the tank got damage, hopefully not a hard fix concerning the forks.
richardthemotorcycle1
XS650 Guru
I finally got a good look at the front fork, it looks like the front tab broke off, still have the stops on either side, doesn't look like any other damage, probably have wield a piece of metal there.
