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Fuel tank fitting. |
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Mad Dog
World Superbike Star Joined: 11 Feb 2008 Location: Bristol Status: Offline Points: 246 |
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Posted: 29 Jun 2019 at 17:03 |
Ok... I must be having a thick moment.
I took my fuel tank mounting bolts off to gain better access to the air box HT coils etc. Now it has come time to refit the tank, it don't fit. With the rear of the tank right up against the screws that hold the bracket that secures the front of the saddle, the front of the tank won't go past the centre headstock nut. It's about 5mm out. Am I missing something. Thanks in advance.
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Mad Dog
World Superbike Star Joined: 11 Feb 2008 Location: Bristol Status: Offline Points: 246 |
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Forgot to mention 2004 gen 2 rsv
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Spoonz
Admins Group Joined: 11 Feb 2008 Location: North Devon Status: Offline Points: 10726 |
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Your tank has swollen due to ethanol in the fuel. They all do it. Either drain the tank and wait for the swelling to reduce or you might get away with slotting the bracket holes to give you more wiggle room.
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Mad Dog
World Superbike Star Joined: 11 Feb 2008 Location: Bristol Status: Offline Points: 246 |
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Thanks for the reply Spoons. Think I will have to find another tank as it is so far back it is being fouled by the bolts that secure the bracket that holds the front of the saddle in place, it has also had no fuel in it for about 4 years.
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wigginsjp
Premium Member Joined: 11 Feb 2008 Location: calne Status: Offline Points: 3460 |
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As Spoonz says. Just elongate the bracket hole where the rear bolt goes through and maybe change the bolts that are fouling to a flatter type.
You may struggle to find a decent same colour tank. If it's been stored in the dry it shouldn't be expanded still. I always fit the font bolts before the rear as it makes a big difference to fitting.
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Aprilia RSVR Factory 2007 V2 1060cc Big Bore
Aprilia RSVR Factory 2004 Race Bike Kawasaki ZX10R 2007 Race Bike Aprilia Tuono V4 1100 Factory 2020 www.apriliaperformance.co.uk www.apworkshops.co.uk |
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Mad Dog
World Superbike Star Joined: 11 Feb 2008 Location: Bristol Status: Offline Points: 246 |
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Yep thanks for reply. I have ordered some button head Allen bolts that should gain me a couple of extra mm. The bike has been dry stored in the garage. This seems to be another of these problems that Aprilia have known about but decided to do nothing about. I was reading an article from the USA where there was a lawsuit being put together against Ducati for the exact same problem.
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426hemi
Premium Member owner of the big bore! Joined: 30 Mar 2012 Location: cannock Status: Offline Points: 5676 |
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It isn't really Ducati or Aprilia's fault. The bikes were designed before government's decided to force through the use of ethanol, I bet if you look at any car with a plastic fuel tank they have the same problem it's just that you don't remove them regularly for maintenance.
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Stevex
Moto GP Alien Joined: 05 Jul 2016 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 1333 |
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Fuel isn't your problem with the tank being stored. The Ethanol absorbs water, the nylon fuel tank then aborbs this water which is why it expands. The idea is to remove the pump and filler cap and let the tank vent. Eventually the moisture will evaporate out of the nylon and it should shrink back to near original shape / size.
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FTM
Moto GP Alien Joined: 04 Apr 2016 Location: Lovedean Status: Offline Points: 381 |
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Quick release tank pins make fitting the tank easier.
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arlurt
Premium Member Joined: 20 Feb 2019 Location: York Status: Offline Points: 237 |
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I had to extend the slot in the hole that takes the long bolt through the rear of the tank, and slot the four bolt hols that hold the bracket to the sub-frame. Initially I tried to force the front of the tank in to place, but all that did was cause the front of the tank to rub against the underside of the top yoke before you got anywhere near full lock.
It's been OK since, though I haven't needed to lift the tank recently.
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BRG
Moto3 racer Joined: 11 Feb 2008 Location: Bristol, UK Status: Offline Points: 64 |
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In my experience, you lose out at every stage of the fitting.
If you fit the nose first, the rear hinge bolt doesn't fit. If you fit the rear hinge bolt first, the nose doesn't fit. Either way, you end up with the tank so far back that the seat pins (I have R-clips through fixed pins) don't fit. I fit the hinge first, then I shoe-horn the nose past the top yolk using a strip of ABS and brute force. (Once it's past the top yolk it's not stressed.) I then align the nose screws by trapping a wedge of ABS between the nose and the yolk and turning the bars full lock until the holes align. Ditto for the other side. (I should point out that the first few times I tried this, the holes weren't quite aligned and I stripped the threads in the frame . I've since recoiled them, so they're a bit more sturdy!). Then fitting the seat is a pain. I've elongated the holes at the back of it, so I can just about force them over the q/r pins by hand. But I have to resort to some tongue-and-groove pliers to get the T-bushes in. Get the feeling that sooner or later something's going to give - big time? Let me know if you ever hear of anyone making an alloy tank for the Gen2! |
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BRG
https://c9932541.myzen.co.uk/brgw/ '05 Ducati MTS 1000S DS 'Neppomuk' "[...] a nugget of purest green" '06 Aprilia RSV 1000 R Factory 'Nibelung' |
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Mad Dog
World Superbike Star Joined: 11 Feb 2008 Location: Bristol Status: Offline Points: 246 |
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Ok, I have decided to remove the tank and dry it out ( might as well make use of the hot weather ) my question now is... Has anyone here have experience with carswell epoxy tank sealant or flowliner sealant. Both are meant to be ethanol resistant.
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IanG
Premium Member Joined: 04 Oct 2010 Location: N Wales Status: Offline Points: 10725 |
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I believe not recommended due to the nylon tank flexing and breaking the bond with the treatment which leads to : a) The same problem as before b) Potentially bits floating round in the tank as well Lots of chat about this historically on the well known American site There is nothing that can be done with nylon tanks to stop this happening,it will only get worse with increased use of Ethanol in fuel I think Carswell do state this somewhere Regarding quickly drying the tank,budget for about 6 months in a very warm,dry environment I had mine off over the winter in a warm airing cupboard next to the hot water tank then I subjected it to an intense session with a hot air gun. Didn't make a lot of difference to the tank but I did melt the nylon carpet underneath My tank wasn't that distorted compared to some Ive seen but it still didn't line up properly at the nose fittings afterwards. Another thing to take into account regarding slotting the rear mount is no matter what you do with the tank you're still stuck with the rear hitting the battery box at some point. Also if you use the Evo airbox the tank will centre around that no matter what else you do
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