Hole in my fuel tank!!!

[TwoShades]

Just what I needed....
The idea was to put my fairings on and go and get a wof. I had crashed a few months ago so the fairings needed a little persuading to get on properly. During my struggle I decided to put an awkward screw in without the fairing so i could check that is was doing what a screw should be doing.

It turns out that doing up a screw like that on the fuel tank is not such a good idea. It went in quite a way and must have gone right through the actual tank. After I had taken the screw out there was petrol leaking from around the plate that I had just taken the screw from.

Now I'm left with an unusable bike, no wof and my restricted test booked for next monday.

I've included pics and a diagram of what I think happened.

Can anyone give me any advice on what I can do from here?

[Ixion]

Araldite will see you right. Mix it up with some chopped fibreglass mat (kits from Mitre 10 and such). You'll prolly have to drain the tank or lay the bike on its side so the petrols not actually flowing. And bung a bit of bent paper clip or something through the middle and hooked behind the tank wall for strength. Works fine.

[skidMark]

another option is goto repco or appco or some other car accesory place..... or hardware store..

and get selleys knead it....you just roll it round in your fingers a bit dries rock hard......usually about $15 for a tube but theres enough there to do like 20 tanks haha

that stuff works well it won't be pretty because it's grey....but itll work.

[TwoShades]

Thanks for your help.
I just found out that there is a por15 motorcycle tank repair kit. It should fix the leak as well as getting rid of any rust and leaving a protective lining on the inside of the tank.
I'll give that a go and see how it turns out

[thealmightytaco]

Might be too big a hole for that magic cure kind of carry on, but anything's worth a shot.

I like Ixion's idea, mainly because comparitively Mark is some kind of maniac.

[WINJA]

Araldite will see you right. Mix it up with some chopped fibreglass mat (kits from Mitre 10 and such). You'll prolly have to drain the tank or lay the bike on its side so the petrols not actually flowing. And bung a bit of bent paper clip or something through the middle and hooked behind the tank wall for strength. Works fine.
THIEF..........

[Ixion]

I acknowledge Mr WINJAs prior patent rights to the Araldite fix !

(I improved it , but, with the chopped fibreglass mat)

[imdying]

Araldite, epoxy welding :D A good fix for everything :)

[FROSTY]

The knead it trick works really really well

[Korumba]

Por 15 is the stuff to use.. heres the link to my saga and 6 months down the track its still all good... but do it outside, I have a 15cm circle of the stuff on the carpet and its still as good as the day it dripped out of the tank!

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=16697

[Wonko]

Take some chewing gum and crew for 5 minutes. Throw into the tank. The leaking fuel will draw the chewing gum to the hole and plug it. (p/t)

I have seen kneed-it used on water tanks, works a treat.

[Motu]

POR 15 is a bit thin and will run out,or run away fron the hole.I'd use something inbetween the esteemed recomendations above - use a liquid metal repair,kinda like thick dark grey Araldite,but not as hard as Knead It.Put some into the hole,and run down the bolt with a little oil on the threads and end so the glue won't stick to it.Don't run the bolt all the way down,or else it will just push the goop out the hole and into the tank...kinda guess how far it needs to go in to hold the fairing on,then a tad more.If I was fussy I'd then use POR 15 on the inside.I've fixed .22 sized holes (??) in a tank with gutter bolts and fender washers coated in Araldite...good stuff.Kinda hard to put the bolt and fender washer on from the inside,but I have small hands....