| Author | Message | ||
     Socal |
Hello all, today a friend and I decided to clean the Mikuni, fuel lines and tank to get the 96S1 running a little better, and to prep for a ride next weekend to benefit a wounded warrior project. Everything was pretty straight forward for the most part, but when I went to dump the old fuel out of the tank I swished it around a bit and took a look inside during the middle of the day with sunlight showing right in. Wow. Looked like thousands of fiberglass strands had broken loose and were part of the old fuel mixture. Also, numerous clumps of what I'll call "gel", for lack of a better description. A brief history on the bike: I purchased it in 2002 and used to ride it daily for about 3 years, then went to a handful of times a month during the next few years, and in the past 4 or 5 years probably only ride it 500 to 1000 miles a year. This last stint it had been sitting the longest, I think the last time I rode it before today was last summer a few times. Anyways, washed out the tank about half a dozen times with water, each time swishing the tank around vigorously when it was about half full to get rid of any remaining junk. After the 4th or 5th time the water looked much cleaner, so we let it dry out before adding fresh gas and going for a test ride. After the new fuel and cleaned up Mikuni it fired up with authority. Topped off the tires and checked for tight fasteners and took it for a brief spin. Just wondering if anybody else has noticed this, and if so, any fixes? A small in-line fuel filter right after the petcock valve maybe? Is it only a matter of time before this tank breaks apart from the inside out? Maybe has to do with me leaving old fuel in it for so long? Thanks, Tony | ||
| Harleyelf |
Caswell tank sealant. | ||
| Dannybuell |
fiberglass? I thought the gas tanks were blow molded plastic. | ||
| Blackm2 |
It's just old fuel. I dealt with the exact same thing. In fact it still has crap floating in there. Just ride if it runs. | ||
| 1313 |
I thought the gas tanks were blow molded plastic. Partially correct. Definitely plastic, but produced by rotational molding/rotomolding. Definitely NOT fiberglass! 1313 | ||
| Hootowl |
Nylon, yes? | ||
| 1313 |
Yes, as I recall, the painted tanks were Nylon. The non painted tanks were PE; S2 LDPE, X1 HDPE - if memory serves. Plastics - the wave of the future (MANY years ago...)! 1313 | ||
| General_ulysses |
Almost certainly a delaminated tank liner of some sort, probably caswell or similar. These tanks don't need liners and liners won't stick to them inside over the long term. These tanks are not made of fiberglass, but a Nylon type plastic, I believe. Just clean the crud out, run with a filter a while until you're sure all the crap has been purged and then fahggettaboutit. |
