Avoiding Tank Rust??

[qldzxr250a]

After Sharing Lots of love with my zxr250a(my baby) i have unfortunatly decided to take her off the road . whilst shopping some indian man (so a group of usless onlookers told me) decided my bike would look better with his car and the concrete of the carpark imprinted on the side .

So been the inquisitive type i am i have stripped the bike back in preparation to send fairing off to plastic welders. but was thinking because it will be sitting for a while:
do i have to worry about the tank rusting?
and what can i do to stop it?

i does have about 1/3 of a tank of bp ultimate in it which will be discarded once bike is back together.

do i have to worry about my tank rusting out? any help much appreciated.
cheers.

[bugjuice]

empty the fuel out and use it in the car, or another bike etc etc.. don't leave it in the tank. That won't help it too much being sat in there, and the fuel will go off eventually. If the tank is dented, or the paint has scratched etc, then it might start rusting around there. Else keep it in a dry place while not in use, empty, and it should be fine.

Sorry about to hear about the crash too! Hope it doesn't cost too much to fix up..

[thehollowmen]

as far as I'm aware.. (and not really) the fluid will cause a tempreture difference when there is a change in air tempreture. This will cause condensation on the metal and you'll get water in the tank and rust forming.

Drain it, or fill it to the brim and add ... the petrol additive that absorbs water.

[raster]

If the tank already has some rust in it you might want to consider (while it is off the road) doing the 3 step coating process for the inside.
I used the POR 15 3 step process I got from the local panelbeating supplies. Like coating the inside of the tank with liquid silver, mine had developed some pinholes from sitting outside too long, fixed them a treat.
Takes about a week to do, don't have to worry about the inside of the tank rusting.
Otherwise follow bugjuice's instructions.

Hope you get it on the road soon.

[Bonez]

How long will the tank be sitting? ya can drain the tank completely and slosh some cheap engine oil about in it. Bike will smoke for a while when things are back together though. No real biggy. Tend to completely drain mine every 2-3 years. During that time occassionally tossing a table spoon of meths in the tanks when on reserve. Another option is keep the tank full. This reduces the possibility of condensation.

[Jackrat]

For anything like this I use LPS3 Heavy duty rust inhibitor.
It's in a spray can and you should be able to buy it in any good enginering shop.When you want to use the tank again just flush with gas an your in business.

[et al]

This won't help if you already have rust in tank, but:
1) If you have a bike that is not used frequently good idea to always keep tank as full as possible (less air in tank means less chance of moisture forming).
2) Every now and then pour a bit of meths in the tank (meths absorbs water). Apparently injector cleaner will do same job, but meths of course is cheaper.

[John]

This won't help if you already have rust in tank, but:
1) If you have a bike that is not used frequently good idea to always keep tank as full as possible (less air in tank means less chance of moisture forming).
2) Every now and then pour a bit of meths in the tank (meths absorbs water). Apparently injector cleaner will do same job, but meths of course is cheaper.

If you leave the tank empty for a period of say a week or so, your tap diaphram is going to dry out and you will need a new one, or else you will be in hydrolock city.
I'd line it, and fill it half way or so - doesnt really matter if the fuel goes off just empty it out and do as above.

[Jackrat]

LPS3 will stop rust in it's tracks.
I've had a tank siting on the shelf for more than a year with LPS3 in it,nothing dryed out,the rust never got any worse,and I didn't need any #8 wire tech to do the job because I did ther job right the first bloody time.

[rudolph]

pour about 500mls into the tank after getting rid of all the gas and slosh that crap round

[M1CRO:Me]

When I bought the busa over from Oz, I totally emptied the fuel tank.. When I got it certified, I topped it up with gas and it fired up first time! Bike was in storage for around 8 months... As long as it is empty (unless you live in the tropics or leave the dam thing outside), then you shouldnt get any rust forming in it