Tears as big as sheep turds are rolling down my face or Leaking Fuel Tank Blues

[nickjtc]

And another reply:

Hello, No problem, we can make even a single one. But that would be a bit expensive. Five or more would make lot of difference. Warm regards, Yamini Ahua

[Sin_Tiger]

"What do you have in your hand baggage Sir?"

"I see. And why are you taking a tank of Steam to Bangalore  " 

[Bixxer Bob]

I like the idea of taking a chance on the Chinese;  a kind of adventure that might turn out well but isn't the end of the world if it doesn't and you could be pleasantly surprised 

[nickjtc]

"What do you have in your hand baggage Sir?"

"I see. And why are you taking a tank of Steam to Bangalore  "

indeed! But seriously, does anyone have an old tank that could be sent to a manufacturer in India/Far East, to use as a copy??? I'd be happy to contribute to the postage, to avoid the aforementioned customs debacle.

The only issue with a metal reproduction that I see is the ability to attach the side panels...???

[Nick Calne]

I have a few tanks

What kinda cost are they talking about per unit?

[Sin_Tiger]

A cautionary tale doing that without the bike to mount it on.

In the 50's my father took a steam ship into Singapore with boiler tubes that had sagged from overheating. The Engineering Superintendent in true old arrogant colonial style showed the boiler makers the tube stack and said "you makee new ones same same OK". After refilling and flashing up the boiler to test it the water carry over problems were still there and a post mortem ensued. The boiler maker was called and the inspection revealed sagged tubes. "your tubes no good  " to which the reply was "my tubes velly good copy sama sama like you say but this no good, I make straight ones much cheaper for you, you wan?" 

After so many experiencing jelly mould tanks doing a Dali while they are off the bike, the chances of getting one back that fits is slim. Not saying they couldn't do it, I have seen very nice work in India (as common as a bland curry mind you) but I think I'd rather ride there and watch it being done 

[London_Phil]

Do we have linear measurement data for the distance between front and rear tank mounts on the frame. I'm assuming that the major issue is with the tanks getting longer and mounts no longer align.
I know the rear mount bolts to the frame, but I bet all ours are within a few mill of each other.
Anyone good with Google sketch up??

[Nick Calne]

I can do sketch quite well but capturing the tanks shape would take a very long time given the accuracy required. What we need is a 3d scanner of some sort that can output to a programme like sketchup or autocad.

The shape is complex and the number of fastenings is more than usual.

What manufacturers of tanks would do with the information is an interesting question! My guess is ignore it!

[ssevy]

I installed the Caswell Tank sealing kit tonight. You really need 70 degrees or more, but I think our 70 degree days are over until next May, so I did it at 65 degrees instead, which made the mix a bit thicker. Looking inside the filler hole it looks like I got good coverage, and I made sure and got a good solid coating over the petcock area. I trimmed a cork and then wrapped it with Teflon tape and threaded it into the petcock plate for the Pingel and it worked really well as a plug which was then easily removed.
To get the drying jump started I put the tank in the back of my van with the heater on high and left it in there idling for a few hours. Now I've brought it into my basement, where I have the exhaust vent of my dehumidifier blowing into the area of the filler hole. All of the epoxy that I can reach is good and hard and smooth, so I think it will work well.
One concern I had was the tank expanding and contracting in the sun, but the plastic funnel I used for my last Caswell job has a layer of the epoxy covering the inside of it, and I can flex that plastic quite a bit with no cracking or other detrimental results, so I think this one is going to be a winner.
Now I am going to let it dry for a good three days in case there are any thick spots in the finish, and then bolt her back on and see how it goes. The sealer should keep the fuel isolated from the plastic welding job, so I am optimistic that this may be a permanent fix.

[ssevy]

Re-installed the tank today, filled it with gas and took it for a short ride. No leaking or other issues, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this saga is over. Only time and miles will tell if it is truly permanent, but I think the Caswell kit will help keep the fuel and the plastic separated.
I also noticed while reattaching the side panels that the combination of the body shop's need to keep the tank warm and dry during prep and curing, together with my 5 days of warm dehumidified air must have shrunk the tank back into a more original shape, as everything lined up much better, and the bolts threaded right in without having to tweak on the panels. Maybe this might be a fix for those of you with tanks that have swelled from ethanol?

[nickjtc]

Maybe this might be a fix for those of you with tanks that have swelled from ethanol?

Good to know. Might be worth a try over the long winter months hereabouts to put the (empty) tank somewhere warm and dry.

[ssevy]

Rode 585 miles during 14 hours in the saddle yesterday. No leaks yet. I'm hoping the saga of the leaking tank is over.

[Sin_Tiger]

Looking good so far, can start breathing again 

[ssevy]

Update:
I put my Tiger back into winter storage a few weeks ago in my mother-in-law's drive in basement. When I was up there for Xmas last weekend, I noticed a strong gasoline smell from the Tiger. No fuel dripping underneath, but definitely some raw gas sweating near the petcock. I proceeded to drain the fuel out of the tank, and then checked the two bolts that mount the adapter plate. I was able to tighten each of them about 3/4 of a turn, so fingers crossed this was the issue and not a failing plastic weld! I was very cautious when I first tightened this down, as I don't want to loosen those captive nuts. Maybe a bit of gasket compression involved? I did use blue hylomar as my gasket cement, so hopefully this snugging of the bolts will be the end of it.

[Sin_Tiger]

  not the smell you want to be greeted with when you've popped down for a sly smoke h hope it settles OK and its not a consequence of that Devil's broth that is ethanol 

Here's hoping for a hydrocarbon vapour free New Year