Hello So i need your advice again Just taken the fuel tank apart on my new to me 748 and have found out the lining of the tank has started to part company,the tank itself has only a light amount of surface rust and no signs of anything heavy.I can deal with the surface rust,anybody had this problem and any advice on solutions or do i deal with the light rust and see how it goes ? I have removed the loose lining about a quarter of the tank and the rest is stuck fast The bike has been stored for many years when i bought it Thank you Dave
This is one solution that I have used successfully, https://www.frost.co.uk/brands/por-...MI6fCR1fi3jgMVipJQBh0btxLrEAAYASAAEgIX0fD_BwE. Andy
And this, https://www.caswelleurope.co.uk/caswell-ethanol-proof-fuel-tank-sealer/, is another but I have not used it. Andy
Thank Andy i was trying to stay away from tank sealers has i dont ride that much anymore because of my dodgy knee so it may sit around a lot of the time
well Dave, you've hit on a controversial one, with two opposing schools of thought. If like you say, the tank really only has light rust, then I would have no hesitation in trying to remove the remainder of the "tank liner" which almost certainly wasn't even needed in the first place, and then just go ahead and use the tank as normal once you're happy that you've cleaned the interior as much as possible. i've welded up many fuel tanks during my life, car and motorcycle, and the most irritating waste of time for me has been removing tank liners in motorcycle tanks that have failed causing a massive cleanup mess before the steel has even rusted through or worst still, have failed to do the job and the tank leaked anyway. it's a free world, we can only state our own opinions from our own experiences. I appreciate that it's probably the best approach out of the options that are available if you can't weld or don't have access to somebody who can weld your tank, but in my experience it's still a massive waste of time in the long-term due to the low success rate.
just to be clear: – You say that the tank itself has only a light amount of surface rust and no signs of anything heavy, has the tank rusted through or does it have an aftermarket liner in it?
See Chris this is my problem, spent 40 years has a pro body man and ive seen first hand some of the products that people have seen advertised as a miracle cure when us in the know is far from that I could open a massive can of worms to tell people actually its crap I have heard some people have good results with tank liners but actually how long have they kept that bike before they sold it after a few years for it to fail on somebody else along the line my train of thought is when ducati lined these tanks they didnt know in years to come that there would be some fandango fuel that would cause motorists of cars and bikes big headaches
I learn something every day but i've yet to come across a 748 that had a fuel tank with an additional "lining" from the factory?
Sounds fine to me - last two 996s i had sat for 5 plus years and only developed light rust internally. Some people use a fuel stabiliser if they are going to let the bike sit for long periods and there are other approaches also if necessary.
My 916 has some kind of black lining/coating inside the tank. Not leaked yet and the last time I looked in there it all seemed intact.
Inside of a 1995 748 tank showing original factory finish (plus 11 year old petrol damaged fuel hose!!).
