Marbles Motors failed gas tank liner, then screwed up the warranty repair!

Today I set the valves, and torqued the head bolts. Not much left to do but put fresh air in the tires. :laugh2:

Ya I normally deflate my tires every year and put new air in them

Pink air! Pink air!

Come on guys? Air in the tyres? Back around 2000, Continental tyres in Germany were pushing "Conti Airsafe" as a better option. It was actually SF6 gas (Sulphur hexa Fluoride), more commonly used in high voltage breakers and bus bar systems, for its superior insulation properties. The idea of using it in tyres, came from its large molecules, preventing the gas from leaking through micro porosities in cast alloy wheels.
Just a bit of Sunday trivia, killing time while quarantined in Las Palmas, waiting to join my vessel around Wednesday, if testing negative. Covid 19 sure fucked up my job situation, as my company operates world wide.....
 
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quarantined in Law Palmas, waiting to join my vessel around Wednesday, if testing negative. Covid 19 sure fucked up my job situation, as my company operates world wide.....

I tried to find Law Palmas on the map. No joy. As one who was once a full time world traveler, I can only imagine how screwed up it is currently. My current employer is also operating world wide, but I'm operating at home.
 
Anyone remember this thread I started three months ago? when I said,

The gas tank was delivered back to them yesterday. Maybe I’ll get it back by Christmas! o_O

Well, I got my gas tank back today....Yay! It’s been a roller coaster of a day.......
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Going back almost three months to the day, I sent my tank back to Marbles Motors in Texas for agreed upon warranty repairs. I thought it was generous of him to warranty work that was two years old, we agreed to split the shipping costs. When we first talked on the phone he told me that the old liner would have to be burned out, thus ruining the paint and everything would have to be redone. So that was what I was expecting.

Three weeks after I shipped it, I contacted him for an update. He told me they were in possession of the tank and had taken it back to the shop that installed the liner ( I have since learned it is a radiator shop o_O ) and they denied it was any fault of theirs. But he was going to make good on it.

Mid November, 60 days after they received it, I contacted him for an update. Sorry for the delay he says, I’ve got bad news, my only painter was involved in an accident three weeks ago and broke his neck, he’s in intensive care and I don’t know if or when he can return to work. I’ve got 15 other paint jobs stacked up and I’m trying to figure out what to do. I’m working on a solution. I told him I could appreciate his dilemma and I could wait to see what he comes up with. At this point I was committed because he told me my tank had been started but he didn’t know what was left to do on it.

Today, early afternoon, 90 days after he received it , I again contacted him for an update. Two hours later he responded. He says , It was delivered to you four days ago and he sent me the Fed Ex tracking number and address he shipped it to. HE SHIPPED IT TO THE HOUSE I MOVED AWAY FROM , OVER TWO YEARS AGO!!! :banghead:
F**k the emails...I called him up.
He says, I shipped it to the address we had in our records. I said I haven’t lived there for over two years! I gave him my new address and specifically told him that I moved in our very first email.
He just stammered, Can you drive over there and see if it’s there?! :doh:


So I did. Immediately. All the way there, thinking no way am I getting my tank back. If anyone is even home, they’ll deny ever getting it. I knocked on a strangers door and a guy answered, I tell him who I am and what I’m looking for. And knock me over with a feather, the guy says yeah, he has it. It’s in the trunk of my car, I was going to take it to Fed Ex tomorrow. :) And oh by the way, my daughter opened it, but I told her she shouldn’t have done that. :cautious:
What the hell man, he opened my package? I mean I’m happy to get my tank back, but I’m thinking if it had been a new X-Box in there , he’d of been saying What package? :whistle:

So I get it back home, open box and all, and I can see he didn’t only cut the box open, he completely unwrapped my carefully packaged tank. You can see it had been tightly wrapped and taped with brown shipping tape, which has been cut. And the cheesy strips of yellow tape is his crappy attempt of re wrapping it.
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I realized right away, my tank hasn’t been repainted.
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Then I looked inside and see that it has a new liner in it. It’s a clear blue, a little sparkly looking and feels like glass. Very much different from the first liner. It also appears that this new liner was applied right over the top of the old liner. :banghead:
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I can still clearly see the old rust right through this new liner and I can see little pieces of rust suspended in that blue liner. At this point I don’t see much choice except to run it and hope for the best. I’m exasperated, and frustrated and just plain tired of dealing with this.

I should be up and running again in a few days.
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For our non American friends, Sorry for the Paul Harvey references, a bit of old time Americana.
 
And just one more gripe. Shipping it to the wrong address was just careless and inexcusable. This was a fail in SO many ways.

1. I gave him my new address , and told him I moved from the address he may have in his records, in our very first email exchange.
2. When I shipped him my tank, my return address was big and bold in the upper left corner.
3. He could’ve given me a courtesy call to let me know my tank was ready and verify the shipping address.
4. He could’ve sent me an email with shipping information and tracking number. I could’ve flagged the delivery with Fed Ex preventing the mis delivery.

Amateur. :cautious:
 
Can you post remarks on Facebook or something

No, I don’t have any social media accounts. I figured I’d just share with you guys. I can’t really explain what happened here. Marbles Motors is a well known company here that advertises in National publications and seems to enjoy a generally good reputation. I know others here on this forum that have had good transactions with him. I really had not expected him to warranty a two year old paint job, and I was impressed that he did. I’m inclined to think that my results were unusual.
But that doesn’t make me feel a whole lot better.
 
Understand what your saying, but the guys made the choice to redo the tank. Say your going to do something and then do a half arsed job isn't a recipe for good reviews. Been there and done that, when i have made good on guaranteed work, or had an accident where i have payed for it, and if your going to try to be professional you just have to eat it sometimes. Better to loose a little, (just don't make a habit of it, lol ), than to loose your reputation.......

Hope the tank holds up.
 
Take til after Christmas :cool: to cool off.
A lot of things DID go right, you have the correct tank with good looking paint in your possession. There's at least a chance this new epoxy liner will stick.
You have a great story to tell.
It wasn't the post office's fault.
And it's a good thing you moved, your old neighborhood has assholes in it now.
Might want to get that tank out in the sun a few days at all different angles before installing it.
 
I sympathize.
If it had happened to me, the one thing that I'd really like to know is what liner was used. Depending on the answer, it might help determine what to do or expect next.

In any case, I recommend that you ALWAYS add an ethanol stabilizer to the gas that you put in this particular tank from here on out. The one I like and have used for years is called Ethanol Shield. I think it's better than the competitors. All of the local small engine places stock it, or you can order it from Home Depot, etc.
 
It looks like they put a Caswell epoxy liner or something very similar in there. Three things have to be present for corrosion to continue. You must have an anode, a cathode, (both are within the steel tank) and electrolyte. As long as that new liner isn't breached anywhere, the electrolyte is not going to be present and you're fine. The epoxy (if that's what it is) should withstand whatever solvents are in your fuel. I had a XS1100 tank that the liner was lifting and there was more than a little rust under it. I gave it to a friend of mine because it was better than he had. I should have fixed it for him, but I was short on time. I wouldn't consider him a trusted mechanic. He removed the loose liner and rust by shaking a piece of chain around in there or something like that. He put a Caswell epoxy liner over the rust and remains of the old liner. More than five years later, it's still holding up fine. His current responsibilities keep him off the motorcycle, but he is still riding it occasionally. Only one person ever told me they had issue with a Caswell liner and that concerned the installation.
 
First of all that is a shit packaging job. I would expect more care from a reputable paint shop.
I agree with Marty, the liner does look like Caswell's blue tinted sealer. At least they spent the extra $10 for the color!
Should be fine.
 
I think I would do as Gary suggested, put it out in the sun for a day or two. Before using check and see if there is any chemical smell coming out the gas cap opening. I would want to make sure it's fully cured.
Be careful smelling the tank. I don't want to read about a Arizona man hospitalized from fumes from a bike tank.:laugh:
 
In defense of the neighbor, the package was in the trunk, which is reasonable if he was taking it to FedEx. He said his daughter opened it. He could be lying. It is Christmas time. He didn’t say how old the daughter is. Kids get excited about packages this time of year. So, he’s either a lying SOB, or completely legitimate.
 
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