Intruders-Alert

So I pulled off my tank over the weekend, man that thing was nasty & full of rust. The petcock is rotted out, fuel lines were so bad I had to remove them forcefully.

I emptied the fuel tank into a drain pan for proper disposal and nearly threw up at the smell. First time for everything I guess! Why don't people use stabil like they're supposed to?

Anyway I cleaned out the 2nd petcock (seemed to be fine), and threw some fuel hose down an auxillary gas tank I had lying around & hooked it up to the fuel pump to cycle some fresh fuel through it, it spit out some nasty gunk but eventually it was running clean again thank goodness! Will install an inline fuel filter once I get this thing to somewhat behaving status. The carbs took some coaxing but they appear to be getting fuel now, but I highly doubt the jets are clear, so I'll probably have to rebuild them and probably swap the jets out as I think I'm going to do the cone air filter mod (yes I'm aware, probably a silly idea, but it'll make it more easily serviceable for me down the road.)

The thing still won't fire, it did try to for a split second, by that time the charge was so low there was no chance it'd have started, so I'll probably try again tomorrow, we'll see!

On to my question for you all, how the heck am I going to get all this rust out of the tank? There are no holes in it, and no pinholes either. I'm trying to avoid using Kreme to seal it (I hate that stuff). Alternatively, finding an aftermarket tank is near impossible. Has anyone installed a tank from some other bike on this thing? All input is greatly appreciated, positive or negative.

Try taking a small light-weight chain and slosh it around in the tank. Be sure to remove the tank petcock.

Use vinegar, along with the chain, to help cut the rust loose. As bad as you say the tank is you will have to do this a number of times.

And if by chance you need a fresh tank.. I have one i might sell since it might be a while before i'll even need it.

Herb I have just put rocks in off the drive and have fun shaking over and over with cleaner of choice mixed in.

old time rider wrote:Herb I have just put rocks in off the drive and have fun shaking over and over with cleaner of choice mixed in.

Yeah, I have used nuts, bolts, rocks, just about anything you can think of, but the chain is easier to get out when you are done, especially with this tank.

I have also used muratic acid to help break down the rust but the vinegar works just as well and is easier to wash out.

I cant remember the chemistry but a level teaspoon of salt per cup of vinegar increases its effectiveness

All great ideas, There really is a lot in there, I'm surprised it's still held together!

Fill with vinegar and let it soak fir a few days.
I added 1/2 lb of BBs .
Gave it a good shake left side right side and upside down.
The tank came out like new.
I like vinegar because it is acid but it is only 5 or 6 percent.
It cleans rust but won't spoil paint or kill pets.

Prince made a good point IMO about pets. If you use the bad stuff make sure to get rid of it in a safe way.

The biggest problem for me right now is how to get the huge chunks and the rest of the "fluid" out of the tank, the petcock was removed as it was toast, it's quite a challenge to remove it all, hell maybe a wet/dryvac rigged up somehow?

But some good news!

I got her to fire up under her own power and off the front carb, the rear appears to be working but I don't think it's firing, rear exhaust is cold.
Plus if I turn down the choke she quits, this thing sure needs a lot of TLC... But I'm glad to have the project.

More to come guys, I appreciate the tips!

Well after a couple of days of some soaking with vinegar and a pound of gravel plus some rigorous shake & quake, I got ALL of the damn rust out of this thing! All the rocks are gone too. I cleaned it up, rinsed it out a few dozen times, and tossed a little oil in it for good measure, now it's sitting still with some fuel in it until the NOS petcock arrives on Monday. I am most certainly installing an inline filter on both lines for good measure going forward. Thanks guys!

Be careful with the inline filter. I picked up some cheap ones locally after a little while the ethanol gas destroyed the cement holding the filter to the plastic body causing a whole load of crap to be fed into the carbs.
I have ordered a couple of these,: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorcycle-Scoo ... RN&vxp=mtr
I will have to see if they are better when they get here.
Can't be any worse though.

[emoji41]

Lechy wrote:Be careful with the inline filter. I picked up some cheap ones locally after a little while the ethanol gas destroyed the cement holding the filter to the plastic body causing a whole load of crap to be fed into the carbs.
I have ordered a couple of these,: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorcycle-Scoo ... RN&vxp=mtr
I will have to see if they are better when they get here.
Can't be any worse though.

[emoji41]

Bought one of those when i fitted aux tank to the 1400. Was good for 6months then i noticed a drip on the ground, was gas from the filter. As it came with various sizes of plastic tails i thought one may have cracked with vibration, pulled it off and tails were good but just one of the chrome ends had come loose. Thread loc and all good [emoji41]
For the price i think an OK buy.

hammerite wrote:Well after a couple of days of some soaking with vinegar and a pound of gravel plus some rigorous shake & quake, I got ALL of the damn rust out of this thing! All the rocks are gone too. I cleaned it up, rinsed it out a few dozen times, and tossed a little oil in it for good measure, now it's sitting still with some fuel in it until the NOS petcock arrives on Monday. I am most certainly installing an inline filter on both lines for good measure going forward. Thanks guys!

The new petcock should have a fine wire-mesh filter...I would recommend only using that. Also, the float bowls usually allow any sediment to settle to the bottom, and draining mine I didn't find anything. Nothing in the tank either when I detailed the bike after purchase.

The pod filters came in today, and being industrious I went ahead and installed them, and wouldn't you know it? The rear cylinder came alive and is firing normally. The choke appears to behave somewhat normally now, although I do believe all the throttle cables & choke cables have to be replaced, one of the throttle cables is causing the throttle to stick wide open.

I really need to start recording this stuff!

Spacecoast wrote:

hammerite wrote:Well after a couple of days of some soaking with vinegar and a pound of gravel plus some rigorous shake & quake, I got ALL of the damn rust out of this thing! All the rocks are gone too. I cleaned it up, rinsed it out a few dozen times, and tossed a little oil in it for good measure, now it's sitting still with some fuel in it until the NOS petcock arrives on Monday. I am most certainly installing an inline filter on both lines for good measure going forward. Thanks guys!

The new petcock should have a fine wire-mesh filter...I would recommend only using that. Also, the float bowls usually allow any sediment to settle to the bottom, and draining mine I didn't find anything. Nothing in the tank either when I detailed the bike after purchase.

Thanks man, I'll certainly take that as a suggestion, we'll see how it behaves once I install it in the tank. I would just hate to have to do this all over again, which is why I was considering throwing a couple of filters on the 2 lines, or perhaps simply one before the fuel pump.

Installed new petcock & cleaned out tank with new fuel lines today. While I had it "opened up" I bled the clutch, and what do ya know? It works now. Transmission seems to be shifting fine, although it does seem to grab a little in first gear.

Anyway, idle is pretty high & rough with the typical popping and sputtering. The throttle cables are grabbing where it wants to go WOT and a little manual readjust of the throttle cable and some fiddling with the throttle cable yoke down by the adjustment knob of the rear carb seems to settle it down a little, but it's cutting off. I'm assuming carb sync needs to be done.

I haven't taken it on a test ride yet as the tires are badly dry rotted out and it's not worth risking an accident.

The good news is, it's running under its own power, and starts fairly reliably!

I think you will find that although you have got out a lot you will have loosened a lot that is still there and will come lose and accumulate later. I had this years ago. I finally cut the tank in half with a grinder. Im glad I did as I was able to see the trouble laying in wait.

Its a good strong tank made from thicker material than I thought it would be

I tacked it together and took it to a radiator repai shop that oxy acetylene it back up like a little old lady had kittted it together. He assured me it would not leak-- he was correct. Paint and filler, -- no lots of filler. That was years ago.

Sick of Ethenol fuel hardening my rubber pipes and dumping fuel out on the garage floor as I slept I have done away with the stock petcock.

It was a simple soldering job without damaging too much paint to solder a brass fitting on the back left hand side of the tank.

A now turn of the fuel as you would a proper bike it is contained and isolated, I sleep better.

Oh yes in line fuel filters ( before the pump) cheap and carry a spare.

I hear you Fred,

So I had to figure out what the heck was binding up the throttle cables, and found it. All of the fuel lines are a mess, I have to rerun everything. Whomever tore into this thing before I got my hands on it appeared to have ran all of the cables incorrectly, even the carb sync cable is run OVER the clutch line, any kind of pressure or movement on top of that clutch line will cause the sync to be off. One other problem remains, most of the cable housings have separated from their respective barrel end caps, so they are popping out and the inner supporting cable housing wire is getting caught in the cable yoke causing WOT. So yeah, complete replacement of all of them is in order, and I'll run everything correctly based on the actual diagram. Also the choke cable is really loose, seems like it might not be working properly on the rear carb.

FWIW it will idle now as is, but only for a couple minutes then it dies off, i still think the floats are gunked up or there is crap in there. I wonder if I should run some seafoam through this thing LOL!

I guess I should pull these carbs out and rebuild them afterall, might make my life a bit easier all around in the long run.
I'll try to keep you guys posted as I work on it if you're interested. I appreciate the comments and advice guys!