What have you done to your XS today?

The best way to avoid flash rust after a freshwater rinse is to toss a bottle or two of alcohol in the tank, swish it around, then carefully blow dry the remainder with a hair dryer....I say carefully because you dont want to ignite the alcohol fumes with the hair dryer.

Interesting you left the Evaporust residue in the tank. Does it rinse out easily afterwards?

While rummaging around the garage I found half a jug of methyl hydrate and will swish that around if I decide to rinse the tank with water now.

Part of me says I should bite the bullet and put a liner in it now.
 
Interesting you left the Evaporust residue in the tank. Does it rinse out easily afterwards?

While rummaging around the garage I found half a jug of methyl hydrate and will swish that around if I decide to rinse the tank with water now.

Part of me says I should bite the bullet and put a liner in it now.
I've had no troubles rinsing dried product out with a garden hose.

If you did have trouble, you could always re-wet the evaporust first with a small amount of fresh evaporust, then drain, then fresh water rinse. It doesnt coagulate and I've always found it very forgiving to work with.

Just remember the alcohol rinse and warm air dry immediately thereafter to absorb and dry any remaining water residue....that is the key.

Then preserve with some two stroke oil swished around....that'll keep it rust free for as long as you need.
 
I've had no troubles rinsing dried product out with a garden hose.

If you did have trouble, you could always re-wet the evaporust first with a small amount of fresh evaporust, then drain, then fresh water rinse. It doesnt coagulate and I've always found it very forgiving to work with.

Just remember the alcohol rinse and warm air dry immediately thereafter to absorb and dry any remaining water residue....that is the key.

Then preserve with some two stroke oil swished around....that'll keep it rust free for as long as you need.
Thanks I’ll go at it tomorrow.

If the tank is bare metal, such that it can flash rust, does keeping it full of fuel during the riding season keep the rust under control? I never had a problem with rust before and honestly was quite surprised to see a few spots when I emptied the tank this winter.

For the oil bath, I found some never to be used again 10W40. Goud enough or is there something you like about the 2 stroke oil?
 
If the tank is bare metal, such that it can flash rust, does keeping it full of fuel during the riding season keep the rust under control?
Keeping it topped off as much as possible is the best way. I'm sure you know all this, but as fuel burns off, the vent in the cap lets air in. Air contains moisture. When the moisture gets cooled by the fuel, it condenses to water and sinks to the bottom 'cause it's about 2 lbs/gl heavier than gas.
So the more air you keep in the tank, the more you're butting up against corrosion issues. In the hot part of summer here, humidity can climb to 90%. I'll go out of my way to try and top the bike off after every ride or every 25-30 miles of short rides to the hardware store or whatever.

Which brings me to a minor rant... those who drain their tanks in the off season. Why?!?
Gas contains practically no water. Unless you're replacing that gas with pure nitrogen, you're using the air conveniently floating around your garage. What's the humidity of that air you just let in... 25-50%. Guess what that does at night when the tank cools down? Turns to water and puddles at the bottom of the tank. That won't happen with nice pure non-ethanol gas.

Go find some premium, booze free gas and top it off when you put it to sleep. Your tank will thank you.
 
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. . . That won't happen with nice pure non-ethanol gas . . . Go find some premium, booze free gas and top it off when you put it to sleep. Your tank will thank you.
Ah, alcohol-free gas, them were the days.

E5 is the lowest we can buy in Scotland and probably most of UK. Letting the bike sit is not good so best solution IMO is to keep using the bike . . .
 
Tank treatment completed. I emptied the Evaporust; rinsed well with warm to hot water; added 2L methyl hydrate and sloshed that around well; emptied and warmed the tank with a hair dryer; put the snorkel foam my hair dryer and let the air run from the opening to open petcock openings for 1-1/2 hours. Super dry inside. Added 1L motor oil and gave the inside of the tank a good coating. I’ll drain the oil in a day or two then reinstall the rebuilt petcocks.
I think that’s it for the XS now until riding season 👍🏻

A1E1AE5C-C9F2-4664-9843-4EF65A071BDC.jpeg
 
Thanks I’ll go at it tomorrow.

If the tank is bare metal, such that it can flash rust, does keeping it full of fuel during the riding season keep the rust under control? I never had a problem with rust before and honestly was quite surprised to see a few spots when I emptied the tank this winter.

For the oil bath, I found some never to be used again 10W40. Goud enough or is there something you like about the 2 stroke oil?
I just prefer the 2 stroke oil because its typically more sticky and clingy, same reason I use it on dirt bike/dual sport foam air filters.

Jim illustrated the point very well regarding leaving tanks full of pure fuel as well.

The biggest issue I have with keeping tanks topped off believe or not is evaporation. They all tend to drop on their own in my climate controlled shop...I keep it at 53 degrees all winter, because as you might well imagine we know a thing or two about humidity here in the Northwest (Northwet!).

If I dont stay on top of it, my tanks tend to drop from topped off and rust starts forming along the backbone hump....just have to remember to keep an eye on em.
 
Tank treatment completed. I emptied the Evaporust; rinsed well with warm to hot water; added 2L methyl hydrate and sloshed that around well; emptied and warmed the tank with a hair dryer; put the snorkel foam my hair dryer and let the air run from the opening to open petcock openings for 1-1/2 hours. Super dry inside. Added 1L motor oil and gave the inside of the tank a good coating. I’ll drain the oil in a day or two then reinstall the rebuilt petcocks.
I think that’s it for the XS now until riding season 👍🏻

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Well done. :thumbsup:
 
I just prefer the 2 stroke oil because its typically more sticky and clingy, same reason I use it on dirt bike/dual sport foam air filters.

Jim illustrated the point very well regarding leaving tanks full of pure fuel as well.

The biggest issue I have with keeping tanks topped off believe or not is evaporation. They all tend to drop on their own in my climate controlled shop...I keep it at 53 degrees all winter, because as you might well imagine we know a thing or two about humidity here in the Northwest (Northwet!).

If I dont stay on top of it, my tanks tend to drop from topped off and rust starts forming along the backbone hump....just have to remember to keep an eye on em.
Thx for your advice. I didn’t have sufficient qtys of 2 stroke oil so motor oil had to do the job. I’m pretty sure it will be ok.
 
Thx for your advice. I didn’t have sufficient qtys of 2 stroke oil so motor oil had to do the job. I’m pretty sure it will be ok.
For long term storage of tanks I use a homebrew....

Take some plain ol' general purpose grease. Set a blob about the size of a golf ball in a container. Stir in some acetone until the grease has melted in and you have a cup or two of water thin mix.
Pour that in the tank and slosh it around.
Pour off the excess and set it out in the driveway for an afternoon.

Acetone vapors are heavier than air, so set the (now open) petcock openings at the lowest point and open the cap.. Once the acetone has boiled out of the tank, what's left is the grease clinging to the walls. It's like cosmoline and will last damn near as long.
 
For long term storage of tanks I use a homebrew....

Take some plain ol' general purpose grease. Set a blob about the size of a golf ball in a container. Stir in some acetone until the grease has melted in and you have a cup or two of water thin mix.
Pour that in the tank and slosh it around.
Pour off the excess and set it out in the driveway for an afternoon.

Acetone vapors are heavier than air, so set the (now open) petcock openings at the lowest point and open the cap.. Once the acetone has boiled out of the tank, what's left is the grease clinging to the walls. It's like cosmoline and will last damn near as long.
I should have qualified that with a caution....

Acetone will eat paint... both in liquid and vapor form. Most of y'all know I'm a painter, so most of the time I don't care about paint, I'm storing a tank that needs paint in the future.

So if there's paint you're right proud of, be extra careful with that mix lest you damage the paint.
 
View attachment 343707
Mix 'N Match
After a January of dull days, I got back at the '76. I needed to have the instruments mounted to put on the new harness but I had to sort through a box full.
View attachment 343708
Couldn't find a green face plate tach that looked like it worked so went with a non faded one.
Tomorrow - wiring...
I have a green face Tach from a 77,
 
Today I resumed working on a 72XS 2 I purchased back in October “24”for my 65th birthday.Removed the rotor to send to Jim to rewind.Unsure if the charging system even is working correctly as I haven’t had it running long enough to check.Not going to assume it does so I’m sending it to Jim.His workmanship is superb.This I unquestionably do know from his prior service. I rebuilt the carbs shortly after I aquired it.A tank inner cleaning and new petcocks tomorrow.All the other proper procedures ahead before starting and a test ride.Hopefully ready for spring.
 

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Love that paint, Don!!
Thanks Jim. I actually cheated a bit.Unsure of what extreme a preservation or restoration I’ll do until I get it running correctly and everything working as it should I did a stripe and cleared it so it’s easier to look at while I work on it.It surprisingly came out better than expected.The PO paint job wasn’t horrible so I had a decent palette to work with.😁
 

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Rolled Taffy out of the lockup today.
Installed some new shelving to get things off the floor and make much needed space.
Then I couldn’t resist having a go at the bike. Plugs out and a little lube down the bores; a few turns to get oil pressure.
Iggy on and press fire…….. As usual Taffy fires up first press. After a minute choke to half, and nice fast idle. Then choke off and regular 900 - 1000rpm. Try some throttle and Taffy pops and bangs and don’t like the extra fuel.
Bugger…….. Same as it ever was :( :umm:
 
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