Lead slugs in the gas tank

[Phantom Limb]

I've had my 1300 for a month or so now and I am loving the thing.

Except for one problem, when she's idling I can hear a loud rattle / vibration coming from the gas tank, it goes away when the revs lift above idle, but it's a pain in the arse sitting at lights on a bike sounding like a tin of bolts in a paint shaker. If I thump the tank the rattle changes pitch

So I whip the gas tank off today, empty the gas and give er' a shake. Sure enough its a giant fucking maraca!

So I take out the fuel level sender (biggest opening on the tank) and spend the next hour rotating the bugger about until I catch a glimpse of the offending bloody thing! It looks like a flattened Hershey's kiss! I used my spring claw part grabber to fish it out and sure enough it's a lead slug shaped like a fat bird's nipple around 15mm in diameter. I do some more shaking and I end up getting another one out!

So what the hell are two lead nipples doing in my gas tank?
My first idea is some misguided soul thought that the lead would work as a sacrificial anode to prevent rust inside the tank?
Perhaps some 'snake oil' gas saving tomfoolery?

[Zamiam]

Duh! It's meant to run on leaded fuel.

Sorry had to say it

[unstuck]

Maybe the tank has had a couple of hole filled in at some point.

[Phantom Limb]

Maybe the tank has had a couple of hole filled in at some point.

Yeah thought it could be some left over solder, but both 'nipples' are identical and are definitely die cast. That and the tank is in perfect nick so no sign of repairs.

[FJRider]

Duh! It's meant to run on leaded fuel.

Sorry had to say it

Or an actual attempt to add lead to the fuel.

[Phantom Limb]

Or an actual attempt to add lead to the fuel.

LOL somebody should have told them that metallic lead is not soluable in gasoline

[AllanB]

Logic would dictate that if the first one looked like a nipple then there would be two!

I'm with the theory some cock though it would add lead back into the fuel.

Hey - surely the fuel filler hole is the largest one in the tank!

I also wonder if the previous owner had come off a Harley and added lead to make the bike heavier - more like what he was used to!

Maybe the previous owner was a fem and she had discovered that the tank vibrations at idle were getting her off easier than the washing machine.

[Ocean1]

Leadhead nail heads?

Probably some kid just being a tool when dad left the cap open once.

[Phantom Limb]

Hey - surely the fuel filler hole is the largest one in the tank!

Yeah, only problem being that on a 'saddle' style tank, looking through the filler hole you are seeing the 'hump' in the centre of the tank, so when you're sliding some loose things around to line them up with an opening, trying to get them to sit on the hump below the filler is nigh on impossible

[willytheekid]

LOL somebody should have told them that metallic lead is not soluable in gasoline

...bet ya previous owner has put these things in (God knows why?)
"THE FORMULA POWER FUEL CATALYST"
http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/moto...-501422160.htm

...possibly for storage reasons?? - "IF YOU LEAVE YOUR CAR OR MOTOR CYCLE FOR MONTHS ON END WITHOUT USING IT, THE FORMULA POWER FUEL CATALYST WILL KEEP THE FUEL FRESH AND STOP IT BECOMING STALE"

[caseye]

I first heard of tin strips being inserted in fuel lines in WW2 Hurricanes flown by the Russians to combat their very poor fuel quality.
Using these things increased octane and made old tired engines run bloody well. It is proven science but hell, who wants another knock in their system.
Good find there Willy.

[Phantom Limb]

That's the bloody things there!
The two lead buttons in that chicken mesh crap. They're definitely lead and not zinc or tin, so god knows what they thought was going to happen!
The stupid thing is that it's a modern bike, never intended to run on leaded gasoline at any rate!

Oh well, at least I've eliminated the rattle

[caseye]

If that is what they were, then it's to help boost Octane not add lead to whatever petrol you put in there.
Was there no plastic coated cage like in the photo?
The items in the cage are a lead tin mixture , it really does work, but not a good idea to have em rattling about in the tank with fuel pickup tubes as flimsy as they are.

Couldn't leave it hanging like this , so just for the info of anyone who wasn't sure I was talking through a hole in me head here ya go.
http://www.blueknight.com.sg/fchistory.html

[Phantom Limb]

No chicken mesh no, hence the rattling .

That Tin lined fuel hose business is an interesting slice of history, simply wouldn't apply to modern engines and fuels, but neat none the less. Just another case of snake oil and a gullible sod it seems

[Tarded]

Dont all bikes sound a cement mixer full of spanners at idle?

Yup Ducati guy here!