Caswell

[Earthscape]

Will the Caswell 10 gallon tank liner kit be enough to do the odd-shaped Tiger tank?  I'm hoping to get a little ethanol-swelling defense.

[ssevy]

Yes. My Tiger tank was my second use of this product, and it worked great. I wrote a review for webbikeworld when doing my Legend tank. It's a pretty good overview:

http://www.webbikeworld.com/t2/caswell-fuel-tank-sealer/

[Earthscape]

Thanks!  I had read your review previously - good stuff.  I definitely didn't want to start the process only to find out that the 10 gallon pack wouldn't finish the job with all the curves and pockets of the tiger tank.  Ethanol is the bane of my existence at this point.

[ssevy]

It is the curse that we all live with. Curiously, we can now find non-ethanol at most stations in our region. Not so easy to find in many places I have toured however. Since sealing both my fuel tanks, I have not had to clean another carb or suffer with any additional fuel problems. I would even seal a tank on a brand new bike were I ever to purchase one.

[Earthscape]

My biggest issue with ethanol is tank swelling, and paint/decal bubbling.  My Tiger tank has been empty for a while and has shrunk back down to the point where it is at least relatively easy to mount.  Without lining the tank it will swell back up in a day with ethanol back in it, and I'd like to try to avoid that.  Once it's swollen, it's nearly impossible to take off and re-install.
I have major swelling with every plastic tank, but some bikes only have a few mounting points which make the swelling not such a huge deal.  Bikes with many mounting points like the Tiger and big KTMs are an absolute nightmare.  Unfortunately, there is no E0 anywhere near me.  Although, there is a small airport near by, but I don't know much about aviation fuel, how that would work in a motorcycle, and if I would even be allowed to fill up.

[nickjtc]

On my '96 Steamer I gave up trying to fight with the alignment of the mounting screw holes, and 'ovalised' them in the appropriate direction. This meant that the rearmost ones on the side were about 3/16" off centre. Not really noticeable with the rubber grommets underneath the screw heads.

[ssevy]

While my tank was empty during my quest to install a new petcock, it actually shrunk so perfectly that the holes no longer had any side loading on the tank bolts, and several loosened and fell out!

[Earthscape]

That's where my tank is now.  It's been empty for longer than I want to admit while I've waited for time to replace the steering head bearings (unexpected other bike purchase and restoration in the meantime).  Although, for many years now my routine has been to empty the tank dry and keep it in the house to let it return to normal size over the winter.  While it's off drying out and shrinking I do any other maintenance necessary.  Did the caswell keep your tank from swelling back up after?

[ssevy]

Yes, it sealed it completely.

[Earthscape]

On my '96 Steamer I gave up trying to fight with the alignment of the mounting screw holes, and 'ovalised' them in the appropriate direction. This meant that the rearmost ones on the side were about 3/16" off centre. Not really noticeable with the rubber grommets underneath the screw heads.

I'm trying my best to avoid having to do that.  I couldn't picture how the side fairing would fit with the tank even with elongated holes because my fairing would distort in an effort to span the distance that the tank had swollen (hard to explain, but probably all steamer owners have seen it).  Do you have any pics of how it fits this way, particularly in the area of the transition from the narrower to the wider part of the tank and fairing?

[Earthscape]

Yes, it sealed it completely.

That's good to hear, as I don't think E0 is going to be available any time soon here.

[nickjtc]

I'm trying my best to avoid having to do that.  I couldn't picture how the side fairing would fit with the tank even with elongated holes because my fairing would distort in an effort to span the distance that the tank had swollen (hard to explain, but probably all steamer owners have seen it).  Do you have any pics of how it fits this way, particularly in the area of the transition from the narrower to the wider part of the tank and fairing?

This is a pic of the bike with the tank at "full swell". Sorry it's not closer. But as you can see everything fits together ok with the holes in the side plastic modified.

[Earthscape]

This is a pic of the bike with the tank at "full swell". Sorry it's not closer. But as you can see everything fits together ok with the holes in the side plastic modified.

Not bad at all.  Wouldn't even know from looking at it.  At "full swell", my rear tank mount bolts won't line up.  Funny, it wasn't that long ago that no one believed that ethanol made tanks swell!

[Earthscape]

Yes, it sealed it completely.

Another question - did you remove the tank filler cap, petcock and low fuel sensor before doing the coating?  I'm assuming the cap vent outlet at the bottom of the tank can stay since it's not open to the inside of the tank...

[ssevy]

Yes, I pulled these and plugged the holes with a stopper. I installed a Pingel petcock, and left the mounting plate installed so that it would be covered by the seal and no fuel could sneak under the edge. Just be careful not to let the threads get the Caswell on them.