Fuel Tank Repair?

Hi-

I'm new to owning a bike and new to this group. I've searched the
posts here, but I can't really find the answer to my problem w/my bike.

I have a Ninja EX500 in the garage-waiting for spring. I rolled it out
into the driveway to take pics of it today and proceeded to push it
back in the garage. On the way in my left foot slipped on some ice and
I dropped the bike on the left side. Luckily (I think), it landed on
the snowblower-therefore not hitting the floor. Well the snowblower
punctured a hole in the side of the fuel tank about the size of a
pencil. It's right about in the middle of the tank. The fairing is
fine.

Besides being drenched in gas and feeling really intelligent, I now
wonder what to do. Can this be repaired? Is there any type of
compound that would seal the hole from the outside? I figure I have
nothing to lose if I try to repair it-it's not like it will function
the way it is now.

Sickening....

Thanks for reading!

Gaye

 

it's fuel. it's a potential firey death.

take it to a pro body shop that know how to fix fuel tanks and let them
do it.

 

Zowie wrote:

You need a friend who knows (really knows, not just thinks) how to do
fiberglass layups. Done properly, it can hold fuel forever. Done wrong,
well, at least it's an ugly mess.

 

There are epoxy puttys that might do the trick, otherwise I
guess you might braze it.

You do not under any circumstances want to put a flame near it
until you've flushed the tank repeatedly with water and possibly
filled it with CO2.

Lots of times, it works better to leave the kickstand extended
when you're pushing a bike around. That way, if you can manage
to let it fall to the left the stand can catch it for you.

 

Rob I realized that today after I picked up the bike!

I don't really want to take the tank to a shop unless I have to. The
bike wasn't that expensive to begin with and I don't have a lot of
money to spare. I would of course like it to run and look decent, but
I'm willing to put some work into it myself. Welding it isn't
something I'm going to attempt-don't worry.

I've taken a photo of the damage, I will post it in a bit.

Thanks!

Gaye

 

Pic of the bike before the incident-

http://webpages.charter.net/dollxchange/ninja1.jpg

Pic of the tank-

http://webpages.charter.net/dollxchange/ninjatank.jpg


Gaye

 

Zowie wrote:
Can this be repaired? Is there any type of

I did an emergency fix to a crack in my tank with JB Weld Epoxy 5 years
ago thinking it would get me home and then I would get it fixed right.
40,000 miles later it is still there and working fine. I have a friend
who did the same thing to the tank on his truck, still going strong.
Sand the paint off and fill the hole with the Epoxy, let it dry and
touch it up with paint. It will get you by for as long as it take to
find a new tank.


--
tc
~v~ 1245
sj, ca
'96 D1L
'03 DL1000

 

A stick of gas tank repair putty might run you $5-$10 at
any auto parts store. If it were me, I think I'd do
some web searching for ideas, perhaps try to push/pull any
flared edges back into place, then have at it with some
putty.

You could also take it to a radiator shop and get an estimate.

 

Yes next time I will hurl myself under the bike if I feel it falling!
By the way...the junky snowblower it fell on is fine of course.

I've been looking on the web and haven't found much yet but a bunch of
ads for places that do tank repair. I did come across this though-
http://www.prp-porstore.com/page/por15/PROD/TankSealers/CTRK
I wonder if it's worth the money?

Would a radiator repair shop want to do a repair on a gasoline tank?

Gaye

 

Por-15 is good stuff for pinholes and cracks but not for pencil
sized holes. For that you'd want an epoxy putty, possibly followed
by Por-15 if the putty failed to seal it completely. Permatex
and others make this kind of putty and you can find it at any
auto parts store.

A couple of years back I had to get a diesel SUV tank sealed and
my recollection is that I got it done at a radiator shop. Get on
the phone and do some calling. With luck, you might hit a sympathetic
motorcycle enthusiast.

 

Did you look at the kit in the link? It advertises a cloth patch for
holes/thin spots. I'm not entirely sure how suitable or successful it
would be in this case (certainly you would want to at least bend the
metal back as close to the original shape as possible first), but it's
not obvious that it wouldn't do the job.

The OP could also call up or e-mail the POR-15 folks directly. I had
quite good experiences with their support over the phone, some years
back. Of course, I was working for a shop, and we were evaluating their
products for significant use, so that might have adjusted their
attitudes.

I agree though: making some local phone calls is a pretty cheap and easy
way of getting information. The internet is great, but the phone book is
also good!

 

Check out JB Weld. It should work. It's an epoxy w/ 2 tubes that you mix
together and when it hardens, it'll hold anything.

 

I'll give the JB Weld a try. I've heard that suggestion from quite a
few people now. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Oh my biker neighbor said to use JB Weld and then Kreem. Anyone used
that before?

 

Yes, I used it on my GSXR-750, when the gas tank got some water in it
and developed a pinhole leak. Many years later, it still doesn't
leak...

 

My experience with cars and motorcycles has been that it costs more to
paint the item after repair than it does to buy a used replacement.
So, it boils down to how good you want it to look.
A proper brazing job can be safe and effective. But you'll be left with
a big burnt paint spot on the tank. Maybe you can put a decal over it.

I'd never risk it myself, but I heard of a friend of a friend who did a
really stupid thing. He used a reamer to clean the burrs off the hole.
Magnetizing the reamer first helps catch the chips and reduce the number
that fall inside the tank.
Then he soldered a nut to a washer and permatexed a gasket onto it.
Similar washer and gasket on the outside. Bolt thru the assembly.
Had to fashion a magnet on the end of a wire to coax the inside
washer into position. So, he had a bolt thru the tank instead of an
ugly burnt spot.

My lawyer insists that nobody should ever try such a stupid and unsafe
thing. It's not worth burning your house down when it leaks in the
garage. Always have your bike professionally repaired and tested for
safety by a qualified technician. Always pay for new genuine parts.
And Never, Ever put a bolt thru your gas tank.
mike

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JB weld will do fine, just stay away from fuel additives, especially Stabil,
or it will compromise the bond.

I tried to find a welder to patch the tank from my cb750 but they wouldn't
do it. Often times the process of welding opens the hole up further and
they can't do a proper job for a fee that people are typically willing to
pay. Add to that the liability if the tank begins to leak around the weld
and a fire ensues, it's just not worth it to them. It's more headaches than
they wish to undertake.

 

I'm trying to recall the names of the places, but there are 3 of them - that
I'm aware of... Two of them are related - supposedly, one being in GA or NC
or somewhere near there and their comrades in Canada. The other unrelated to
the first two, is here in PA.

These 3 do the same thing but in a different manner. One or two of them, cut
the tank in half, strip it to bare metal, seal all holes, coat it, bake it
and rejoin the sections. They return it to you ready to paint. The remaining
company doesn't cut it in half, they drill multiple holes, spray it out, get
all rust out, seal, bake and return to you for painting. They charge about
$300 from what I was told - for "my" tank, according to damage. They
guarantee it for life. One of the steps may have been reversed in my
describing it, but you get the picture.

I'll try to find the card for the company here in PA, but in the mean time,
maybe someone else has heard of them????

cl

 

Permatex makes several two part puttys which they say are specifically
formulated for gas tanks. Not sure about additive issues, but seems
like a reasonable choice.

 

Thanks for the replies-but I'm not going to spend $300 for a tank
repair on a $1000 bike. If it's just about how good it looks
afterwards-well it's not my main concern. I want it to function
properly...I'm sure I can make it acceptable on the visual front. I
can't believe it has to be repaired by a "professional" for an
exorbitant amount of money. I understand that some people don't like
to repair their own vehicles and that's fine with me-but I DO like to
repair my own and am looking for suggestions and opnions on doing it
myself. I truly don't think I'll end up in a firely mass if I use a
do-it-yourself product...the products must have been successful in the
past to still be in production.