tips on fuel tank

Just bought an '84 VF700F that is in pretty rough shape. Anyway, I'm rebuilding it and it's definitely gonna need a new tank, opened it up today and there is rust caked on all over. What are my options as far as a new tank? What are some tanks you guys have modded or seen modded onto these bikes? I know i can always go with stock but I'm not sure what other year models will fit, or if tanks from other bikes would be doable, which would open up my possibilities. Thanks.

-Lucas

 

If the exterior of the tank is still in decent shape, you can restore the inside with quite a bit of elbow grease. I know that most people will stick pea gravel in the interior of the tank once off of the bike and rattle the rocks around on the inside until most all of the rust is knocked off. This process can take a while to complete, but once nearly all the rust is gone you can go back in the tank with a cream that will re-coat the interior of the tank and should seal it as well. There are probably some restoration sites on the web that will be more helpful than my little bit of info, I'm just passing on some second hand knowledge, never really tackled the issue myself.

 

I seem to remember squirrelman recommending a place that had something better than the cream, possibly an epoxy type of sealer? It might be worth searching the forums or PM'ing him to find out.

Good luck on the rebuild!

 

Here is a link for tank rust removal from another forum:

Rust in Tank - VN750 Forums


Also a link for the sealer product:

POR-15 Inc.


Hope this helps.

 

I've restored several older bikes (early 70's) in the last couple of years that needed the tanks cleaned and sealed. There is a company on the web that you can get a great kit that cleans, preps, and then seals the tank, even if it has small pinhole leaks. Go to this link, CYCLE TANK REPAIR KIT-POR-15 Inc. . As Bunky said above, the company is Por-15, and they specialize in chemicals for this type of applications. This link takes you to there cycle tank repair kit.

Good Luck,
GeorgiaRider

 

say there is a chunk ready to come off the tank? is it repairable? Any way to weld or solder it back on and then prep inside and outside for restoration? I just got the bike two days ago and its been raining since so I haven't had that much of a chance to look at it. Rain is finally supposed to stop today so I will pull the tank off and see what the real deal is condition wise. Thanks.

-Lucas

 

If the tank is so badly rusted that you can peel back the metal all the way through the tank, IMO I would replace the entire tank. Sounds like the integrity of the metal is compromised, and even with sealing the tank, you would still have trouble down the road. If it was just pinholes, I would fix it.

 

Here are some pictures of the tank. I removed it and there was liquid inside. Thinking it was water from the recent downpour i tried emptying it but it was actually gas. I rotated the tank every which way to see if there were any leaks and there doesn't seem to be any. Is it repairable? Other than that spot on the top the rest is in good condition.





Thanks.

-Lucas