What have you done to your XS today?

I purchased a spare inexpensive seat that was highly deteriorated. Purchased a spare cover and placed it onto that seat.
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I drained and removed the gas tanks from both of my 77 Standard and 80 Special II. I keep them in the warm basement so I don't drop snow shovels on them over the winter. Also, keeps them from forming rust inside from condensation.
Need help what is the trick to removing the gas tank ours is a 1980 special we took out the rear bolt but have no idea how the front is held on = any help would be very much appreciated
 
Need help what is the trick to removing the gas tank ours is a 1980 special we took out the rear bolt but have no idea how the front is held on = any help would be very much appreciated
Lift the rear of the tank off of the post where you removed the bolt. Not too high but just enough to clear the post. Wiggle the back of the tank side to side while applying a pulling force rearward. Easier to do with an empty tank. There’s two rubber pucks that engage into pockets in the frame. They are probably stuck from age. When reassembling, grease the pucks and post for easier re/re next time.

This is for a ‘76 but I believe the ‘80 is similar.
 
You need to remove the fuel pipes and vacuum pipes if fitted. If the rubber bungs have become stiff with age, might need to wiggle the back end of the tank while pulling back and up. +1 to greasing the rubber pucks and the brackets on the tank before replacing.
 
Lift the rear of the tank off of the post where you removed the bolt. Not too high but just enough to clear the post. Wiggle the back of the tank side to side while applying a pulling force rearward. Easier to do with an empty tank. There’s two rubber pucks that engage into pockets in the frame. They are probably stuck from age. When reassembling, grease the pucks and post for easier re/re next time.

This is for a ‘76 but I believe the ‘80 is similar, maybe differing at the rear tank bolt.
Tank and side panels are off and at the paint shop

thank you for the advise

now I'm trying to find a post I made on this site about the turn signals do not work but can't find it.
 
Getting ready to Evaporust my tank again. I cleaned it last week, got it dry as I could, then thought I’d let it dry overnight before swishing around some oil to protect the tank. Big mistake as the darn thing flash rusted. The rust is very light and spotty but I’ll feel better doing it over again. I don’t want to contaminate my newly rebuilt petcocks so I made a couple of block off plates. For temp washers on the screws I used faucet washers. Problem is I couldn’t find my stash of gasket material. I’ll have to hunt for it tomorrow. I know I kept pieces of inner tube but they were nowhere to be found.

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Here are pictures of the Kickstarter I modified. The first picture shows what I cut off of the Kickstarter.
 

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Cardboard from a cereal box works pretty good as gasket material in a pinch. I've used it with good results. Put the shiny side towards the liquid. Good luck
Thanks, I was thinking of alternative materials. I rummaged around last night and found a box clearly marked “inner tube” right on the top of my shelf in my basement shop. I snipped off a couple of pieces and made some gaskets so I think I’m back in the game. 👍
 

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Getting ready to Evaporust my tank again. I cleaned it last week, got it dry as I could, then thought I’d let it dry overnight before swishing around some oil to protect the tank. Big mistake as the darn thing flash rusted. The rust is very light and spotty but I’ll feel better doing it over again. I don’t want to contaminate my newly rebuilt petcocks so I made a couple of block off plates. For temp washers on the screws I used faucet washers. Problem is I couldn’t find my stash of gasket material. I’ll have to hunt for it tomorrow. I know I kept pieces of inner tube but they were nowhere to be found.

View attachment 343359View attachment 343360
I’m getting ready to do the Evaporust thing again. It should be quick because it’s only a super light rust that’s on some parts of the tank from flashing. Once I rinse the Evaporust out, how can I dry it quickly, avoiding rust again before spraying it with oil? The darned thing rusted so quickly last time. I’m rather surprised because all other times I’ve used Evaporust, the surface remained quite resistant without additional treatment.

I was just thinking, maybe last time it wasn’t really dry and humidity levels in the tank were high enough for the rust to form overnight? I think this time I’ll try running a hair drier on very low heat ( or maybe no heat) to dry it quickly then add oil right away.

Any other suggestions?
 
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I’m getting ready to do the Evaporust thing again. It should be quick because it’s only a super light rust that’s on some parts of the tank from flashing. Once I rinse the Evaporust out, how can I dry it quickly, avoiding rust again before spraying it with oil? The darned thing rusted so quickly last time. I’m rather surprised because all other times I’ve used Evaporust, the surface remained quite resistant without additional treatment.

I was just thinking, maybe last time it wasn’t really dry and humidity levels in the tank were high enough for the rust to form overnight? I think this time I’ll try running a hair drier on very low heat ( or maybe no heat) to dry it quickly then add oil right away.

Any other suggestions?
I would go with the hair dryer. I derusted a tank using a POR15 kit and they recommended using a hair dryer and it worked for me.
 
I would go with the hair dryer. I derusted a tank using a POR15 kit and they recommended using a hair dryer and it worked for me.
Thx. Did you use higher heat or cool just for the air flow? I was thinking about using the discharge port from my shop vac - lots of air volume but no heat and lots of noise.
 
I’m getting ready to do the Evaporust thing again. It should be quick because it’s only a super light rust that’s on some parts of the tank from flashing. Once I rinse the Evaporust out, how can I dry it quickly, avoiding rust again before spraying it with oil? The darned thing rusted so quickly last time. I’m rather surprised because all other times I’ve used Evaporust, the surface remained quite resistant without additional treatment.

I was just thinking, maybe last time it wasn’t really dry and humidity levels in the tank were high enough for the rust to form overnight? I think this time I’ll try running a hair drier on very low heat ( or maybe no heat) to dry it quickly then add oil right away.

Any other suggestions?
I thought your experience rather odd too because of times when I've used Evaporust and was in no rush to put the tank into use, I waited on the fresh water rinse and just left the Evaporust residue in the tank as a preservative. Its always worked well leaving that slight yellowish looking film behind until later when I was ready to rinse and use.
 
I cut and buffed the tins and frame for my chopper this week so they're ready to go. Engine is apart now and internals out to Hugh for a rephase. I'll be blasting and cerakoting all the external portions of the engine next. Getting closer.....
 

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