Cut off tank bolts

[Aeschere]

Hey there,

It seemed best to open another thread instead of polluting my other one.

The previous owner has cut off the tank bolts and thought using velcro to secure the tank to the fairings would be good enough. It bugs me a lot, especially since the caps were glued on and came loose when I tried to remove the tank the first time (no-one told me that they were cut off). However, the remainders of the bolt are still stuck in the tank and don't want to budge. I have tried several times to loosen them with pliers but to no avail, any suggestions on how to remove those ends?

The picture is just one bolt, this is the same situation all around the tank. I keep wondering why someone decides to do this?   

[threepot]

Not had this problem myself,but I'm sure theres plenty of info under 'search'?

[Nick Calne]

Spare tank from Ebay might be a better bet now.

[Spendo]

my 96 steamer has the same problem on 3 of the bolts
when trying to remove them, the insert in the tank plastic just spins, so i had to cut them off.
fortunately i had enough left to securely fasten the side panels.
i agree with the previous post, might be best to buy a replacement tank on ebay
TS

[P3aK]

Or you find a drilling machine with a chuck large enough to bite over the leftover bolts (IF they're long enough) and you run the drill while pulling out from the tank.

That way the inserts will create friction to melt the outside plastic overhang and eventually pop out. You'll have to buy JB Marine Weld (important that it is the Marine version) and you glue the inserts back in. Do NOT, I repeat, DO NOT trim the sides of the melted hole more then that you can squeeze the inserts back in when putting them back. The tank is incredibly thin and you can easily puncture it.

It's the same principle as this How-To: http://www.tigertriple.com/forum/index.php/topic,4807&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=


If the cut bolts are too short to bite with the chuck directly, you can try holding it still enough with pointed pliers to drill 3-4mm into the cut bolt ( with smaller diameter drill) and try to make some new threads. With new threads, take a new bolt in corresponding size, screw it in, cut off the head, bite with the chuck and do the same thing. You need to be able to grab on directly to something in order to pull it out while spinning.

If you're contemplating buying a new tank, why not try this first, it can work. If it doesn't work, well hey get that new tank.

I did this to two of my bolts I couldn't get out. But I had the whole bolt and just cut off the head and was able to bite with the drill chuck directly on them.