Warped Steamer Tank

[BR]

I've had my '98 Steamer for several years now and a problem has gotten progressively worse.  My gas tank seems to have "settled" a bit.  Fits on bike ok but the two rear hold-down bolts are a good 3/8" off now (they sit behind the holes in frame bracket).  Other indicator is that the plastic side panels that bolt to the tank don't line up towards the back.  It seems clear that my tank has settled or flattened out a bit.  I can find no other reasonable explanation.  Tank has been off of bike for many weeks at a time while I was fooling with cards or valves and sat on the floor. Has any body else seen this before?  I was thinking of emptying the tank, heating it up somehow (too late for summertime sun/heat) and "helping" it back into shape with some creative pushing.  What a PITA!
Any suggestions are welcome.

Brendan
'98 Steamer
San Jose, CA

[Mudhen]

Hey Brendan,

While it has never happened to me, I've certainly read about it.  However, I never thought it was a permanent thing - ie, it may happen while the tank is off for service, but once you got it back on it would once again stretch to fit, then the next time it was off it would fit ok.

Could it be your vent is clogged up?

Heat is the only thing I've heard people doing.  I wouldn't think it would take much sun to warm it enough with it empty.

Or maybe when your wife isn't looking stick it in the oven...350 for 20 minutes...  :lol:

Pat

[Stretch]

Ah, the joys of plastic.

Be careful how you store other plastic items as well.  I know a fellow who is trying to massage a used fender back in shape after the previous owner laid something on top of it for a while.

[BR]

Hey Mudhen, Stretch,

Thx for the comments.
I figured this summer I would attempt to push the tank into place after riding it home on a hot day.  Never got around to it so I'll need to try to heat it somehow. (won't fit in the oven   ).  Prob stick it in a box with some small space heaters feeding it hot air for a while (carefully).  Vent lines are good and bike was running well during the few times I actually rode it this summer (shameful how few miles I put on it annually!  :oops: ).  AND, I really should check how I'm storing all that removed plastic as they've been decorating my wall for months now.  I don't need to add to the problems and I really want bike back together.
I'll report back on the results.
Regards,
Brendan

[Stretch]

Is the tank completely free of fuel, as in bone-dry?  If you can still smell gasoline in the tank, I would not recommend putting the tank in a box with space heaters.  The heat can cook gasoline vapors out of the plastic, causing them to build up inside the box.  The electrical components in a space heater aren't sealed air-tight, and one small spark in a box full of gasoline vapors can ruin your whole day.

You'll want the vapors to dissipate.

Sorry, I don't mean to sound preachy.  Stretch the Fireman just doesn't want good folks to get hurt.

[Stuie]

Exactly the same issue here this week!

Got my bike back up after a few weeks in disassembled state.

I didn't get the forward and two rearwards bolts all back in. I just went for the two rears. I thought about taking a drill and shaving the forward slot a bit larger but, I have not really checked it out yet to make sure it wouldn't cut into the fuel area.

I do plan to do that but, I will try the warm sun method first I just read above. I am riding the bike now with just the rear two installed. It is firmly held with all of the fairing bolts installed.

[Mudhen]

My tank has also been off for a few weeks...hope I'm not going to run into this, too.  When your tanks were off - how did you leave them?  Flat down, on their sides, etc??

Mine is laid up on its side to keep the fuel away from the tap...

[Stuie]

Thats how mine was. The side fairing (r/h) tweaked enough to not be able to get the middle screw out (sorta locked itself in the hole and loosened the nut in the tank so it just spins) so, i have to leave the r/h fairing on the tank when I pull it. Thats the side I leaned it on. Opposite the petcock.

Change petcocks also, if you have a leaky one. That was my problem. Outside of floats not cutting off the fuel all of the way. I got mine from :
http://stores.ebay.com/Motorcyclists-General-Store for 69 bucks. It is a Mikuni petcock so any Mikuni dealer may be able to get it.

[BR]

The many times I had my tank off, it has always just sat on the floor flat on its bottom.  Not tilted up/down or sideways... just flat on the garage floor on a pc of carpet (it's that way now actually).  Just can't imagine this happening.  What few miles I did ride this summer, were done without the side panels and headlight cover on... sort of naked I guess.  The side panel bolt holes are off that much now.   :(   I'm not giving up tho.

Brendan

[Mudhen]

Thats how mine was. The side fairing (r/h) tweaked enough to not be able to get the middle screw out (sorta locked itself in the hole and loosened the nut in the tank so it just spins) so, i have to leave the r/h fairing on the tank when I pull it. Thats the side I leaned it on. Opposite the petcock.

Now there's a problem that I do have on my bike x2.  Pretty common that the insert starts to spin.  There are some threads around with tips on ways to fix that one - the one I like is taking a tiny drill bit and drilling down into the insert, snapping the bit off so the stub is stuck in it, essentially locking the insert in place.

I haven't done it yet, though.  I cut off the heads of the screws and am just using them as studs to hold the panel on while I put the bolts in - works sweet!

[TigerTrax]

Wait a minute...

I am not going to say it 'ain't so' but when I had my '98 (5 years ) I had that tank on & off at least 30 times..
Every time required an aligning/pushing to get the holes lined up.
Have an insert break free and you need to have a steady hand.
It always required getting one turn one about 50% of the screws. I
found that tightening from the 'inside-out' kept the plastic moving in the direction I needed more room.

As for the rear tank bolts... they can be a bitch:
 1. Those spacers move about.
 2. If you snug the top bolt too tight you can't force the tank
     fwd enough to line everything up.

I loved that '98 ... but dancing with the tank was a bitch.

Trax

[Stuie]

I got the solution figured out!

If you have engine guards (I have the Thunderbike ones), or I am sure there are other ways this would work...

I'll post pics later but I took one of my ratchet straps and hooked it to the upper bars of the crash bars and looped it around the rear of the tank. I located the front first and slowly cranked the strap down until the holes were close. Then with a flathead screwdriver, wedged the rubber tank standoff forward until the bolt would drop into the threaded hole.

Cranked the bolts down and it's done!

Headed back out to get the fairing and exhaust back on. Been working on it for 9.5 hrs now. Probably have 1 more to go before she's done.

Adios amigos!  8)

[BR]

Hello Stuie,
I also have the Thunderbike engine/case guards and it did not occur to me to try this.. (my mind is on carbs and coils lately).  Anyway, right now my tank is drained, dry and stripped of most hardware as I was going to attempt some localized heating of the tank to soften it up a bit.  But then I'm thinking, "imagine how hot the tank and surrounding parts get on a warm summer day just from the engine heat which doesn't exactly soften it up like a plastic milk jug".
I think I'll try your approach first.  Btw, all of my screw inserts are solid but the lower rear-most are off by a fook'n half inch.  I really need to open a smugmug account so I can post some pics of this.
Thanks for the tip.

Brendan
'98 BRG Tiger

[Stuie]

On the screw mounts. Mine were off too but, start in the middle and work outward. Put one screw in at a time and before lightly tightening the screw, with your hand, pull the fairing over the screw shoulder then get it finger tight. After you get all the screws in, tighten them the rest of the way. Leaving them loose helps to move the fairing around to get the screws in.

With the strap, After it got pretty tight and I saw it move forward, I would ratchet it and give the plastic 30 seconds or so to adjust to the tension. I was concerned about doing it too fast and cracking the tank but, it all worked out.





Note screwdriver position for wedging the lower rubber square bushing.

Good luck with your re-assembly!

Stu

[BR]

Just a little update on my tank.. sheesh, our last post on this hot topic was back in October.  I'm sorry to say that my Steamer has been mostly sitting all this time.  But now that I'm up and running great again (coils!), I could turn to getting my tank and body work back on.  I had been running with the tank simply unbolted in the back with no problem.  However, I was not able to get some straps so I simply used a short piece of wood and a long screwdriver and pried against the rear sub-frame's cross member just behind the coolant tank.  It took some pushing, but nothing excessive, to move the tank the ~1/2" in order to get the two rear tank bolts in place.  Tank was at room temp and it was clearly flexing during this but I easily installed both bolts.  However, the body side panel holes are still off so the tank itself still needs to settle in a bit.  I have not riddden it yet so it hasn't seen any significant heat which I'm hoping will help it move back towards its original shape.  Thats' it for now.
Regards,
Brendan
'98 BRG Tiger
San Jose, CA