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PostPosted: Sat Mar 29, 2014 8:11 pm 
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Hi Folks!

I got my bike just about a couple of years ago with 700 kilometers on it. It was as new and still had all it's original stickers etc. It had probably never been washed and was very clean. Literally, as new. This was in 2012 and the bike is a 2008 - so it was 4 years old with 700 kilometers - not bad.

As I said, the bike was literally 'as new'. It came as quite a surprise when I went to fill it up and took the fuel cap off I found some rust at the very top of the tank right on the lip :ohmy:

How did an otherwise perfect and spotless bike get rust on the inside of the tank? It was parked for a prolonged period with less then a full tank of gas.

Tank rust is a common issue with motorcycles because they tend to be used seasonally. If the bike is left with anything less then an absolutely full tank of gas (right to the very top) it will start to rust :excl:

This is why, with any older bike, tank rust is the first thing a person looks for. It's also why a clean tank for a bike that's no longer produced will sell for a small fortune. It seems most everyone will neglect to park it for the winter without a full to the brim tank of fuel. And therein lies the problem.

So, if you want to protect your tank, and you should because nothing will clog up the fuel filter faster then rust, you have to either park it with a completely full tank of fuel or.......coat the inside of your tank with special paint.

This is what I did after filling up a few times. I got tired of seeing the small amount of trace rust on the tank, watching it grow, and I know from experience that rust never sleeps. It will grow over time and I also know that there's no way that I'm going to go through the effort of remembering to park the bike with a full tank and there's no way I'm going to keep a Jerry can full of gas nearby so that I can fill it to the top when I do park it.

This is where coating your tank comes into play and the best time to do it is when your bike is new and/or the tank is spotless. By coating it I mean the inside of the tank :laugh:

POR 15 is a preventative rust coating. You can actually use it on a rusty tank although it's much smarter to coat if before the rust gets a foot hold, ie, when the bike is new. So what you do is take the tank off the bike when it's nearly empty (very simple) and then remove the fuel pump/float assembly from the bottom and then follow the directions on the kit. Normally, you rinse the tank out with one chemical, and then another, and then some soap, and then dry it out completely and finally coat it with the included paint.

You turn and flip the tank around so that the paint gets into every nook and cranny and then, when done and completely dry, you'll have a rust-proof tank.

With mine, because it had a small amount of trace rust on the filler neck, I took a slightly different path first. I used reverse electrolysis to completely remove all traces of rust from the tank and then did the POR 15 treatment.

What did I find when I removed the fuel pump/strainer/float assembly? Even with the very minor rust that my tank had, sure enough, the filter was almost plugged with rust particles. This really surprised me because my tank had very little rust and only on the lip. The rest of the tank was 'as new'. Yet that was enough to cause the filter to be nearly plugged. Contrary to popular belief, you actually can remove the filter and pump from the assembly and clean it - but why put yourself in that position?

What's the benefit of doing the POR 15 treatment? It's two-fold. One, you prevent rust from ever forming in your tank and you can park it with any amount of fuel in it and not worry. You don't have to run to the gas station and remember to fill your tank right to the very top and then top it up during the off season to make up for evaporation. This alone is the real benefit. The second benefit though is that it makes the inside of your tank silver which is pretty bright and so you can see right into the tank down to the fuel pump. This makes it really easy to see what the fuel looks like, if it's clear, cloudy or if you got a bad tank. If the bike's been sitting for a long time and you're wondering about the fuel, chances are you will be able to see if it's so far gone that it should be drained or if it's good enough to run through and clear it out.

Here's some pics of my tank with the treatment. I can't recommend it enough and...tanks for listening :laugh: :rolleyes:


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PostPosted: Sat Mar 29, 2014 8:23 pm 
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BTW, I did a cheesy job on the lip but the rest of the tank is very well done. Not a sag nor a drip to be seen :laugh: It's only the part that you see that has a lot of air bubbles in the paint :rolleyes:

But, to give you an idea as to how well it works, people coat their entire cars with the stuff when doing a frame-off restoration so that it will never, ever rust :top:


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PostPosted: Sat Mar 29, 2014 8:35 pm 
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Here's where the rust in your tank will end up....the fuel strainer/filter. Get enough of it in there and you're making life harder on your fuel pump....


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PostPosted: Sat Mar 29, 2014 8:36 pm 
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Some reverse electrolysis to remove every trace of rust from every nook and cranny in the tank prior to coating....7 amps through the electrodes makes the rust come off really fast! When done, there's not a trace of rust remaining.


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PostPosted: Thu Nov 20, 2014 3:30 pm 
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I'm really surprised that no-one has commented on this post especially when I realize just how important this is to performance and maintenance :rolleyes:

I was doing a top speed run test yesterday when I realized one of the reasons I was not doing as well on the second run was because.....I was almost out of gas!!

Instead of topping up I decided that I really should check the fuel pump strainer again. It's been some time and I am planning on doing a nitrous install shortly and it's very important to have good fuel delivery :top: It's also the most basic maintenance.

The importance of coating your gas tank was outlined above. If it's not coated, and you park it for the winter without a full tank, it's going to rust. That's all there is to it.

So it's time for a checkup. Let's see how my coated tank looks and if the strainer needed to be pulled :cool:

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Absolutely gorgeous - look at that nice and even coat :top:

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Fully coated, right up to and including the filler neck :top:

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I'm impressed, coating the tank means no rust and you do not have to be concerned with how you put the bike away in storage. Full or empty or half-way, it's all OK.

So, knowing the tank is spotless, how does the fuel strainer look?

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Wow! That's bad.....

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More of the same!

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So what's the point? If the strainer has material in it then it will restrict the fuel flow. This makes the electric pump work harder. The more plugged the screen is, the harder the pump has to work and the less fuel it delivers. Fuel delivery is important to performance :top: The first time the strainer was cleaned performance increased noticeably.

So, knowing that the tank and strainer were spotless when installed the first time - where did the debris come from?

The gas station. The local Chevron had steel tanks. Last year the station was closed for a period of time and the tanks were replaced with new plastic tanks (no rust, no leaks).

Of course, it could also have come from elsewhere - it would not surprise me if another station that was visited at some point had a tank full of debris. Either way, the tank coating is clearly working and showing no signs of issue since installation and the importance of checking the screen should be obvious.

Here's the thing. If my tank, which is pretty much spotless, has debris on the strainer, how is your tank fairing? :smile:

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PostPosted: Fri Nov 21, 2014 5:21 pm 
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Tank looks pretty now. I did a google search just last week for "2008 cbr125 fuel filter" and didn't come up with much results. I wanted to look at my fuel filter as I had the bIke in my house and the tank only had a half liter in it to do the clutch, springs,spark plug and wire,coolant change and valve clearance check.

My tank looks really clean when looking in from the top so I think my filter would be ok. Do you need to have the tank empty or is 1 liter ok when you take the fuel sender out? Is there a gasket you need to replace?

Great info marvin keep it up

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PostPosted: Fri Nov 21, 2014 5:39 pm 
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You can't get filters for the first generation bikes - you have to get the entire fuel pump/sending unit. This is a downside to the firstgen bikes. The second generation bikes have an external filter separate from the pump unit. I was looking into finding a source for a good high pressure in-line filter but got pulled away :smile: That's part of the reason I take it out and check/clean it - I don't want to buy a new unit :laugh:

If your tank is clean you're probably fine but it would be interesting to hear from others what they find. You can probably have a couple of liters in the tank and still pull the pump assembly out. Be advised though, the pump unit is not designed to be taken apart although it's very easy. I've yet to replace the gasket and I've had it out at least 3 times. The gasket is rubber and if you coat the bottom of the tank where the gasket sits with oil before re-install you should have no issue.

One thing though, whenever working with fuel tanks, lines and seals, always fill the tank and then check for leaks. Double check your work :top:

If your tank has no rust and you want to avoid the whole thing then the best thing you can do is keep your tank full to the top any time the bike is stored for extended periods. Mine was bought in 2012 (it's an '08) with 700 kilometers on it - so it was never used. It was always stored inside a heated garage so it's mint. Thing is, the owner did not know that you have to keep the tank full. As such, it had a small amount of rust.

This is something to check for when buying a used bike - inspect the tank! If you look at restoring an old bike one of the hardest items to find is a good gas tank. The reason for it is they tend to all be rusted out from being stored with less then a full tank.

I just did a valve lash last night. Good thing too, the intake was just a tad off but the exhaust lash had decreased by about 3.5 thousandths so it was important to catch it :top: Also, I managed (somehow) to pull the threads on the rear axle :ohmy: so I have to look into that too. It's maintenance week over here and I'm doing much the same as you :top:

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PostPosted: Fri Nov 21, 2014 7:20 pm 
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mmiller wrote:
You can't get filters for the first generation bikes - you have to get the entire fuel pump/sending unit. This is a downside to the firstgen bikes. The second generation bikes have an external filter separate from the pump unit. I was looking into finding a source for a good high pressure in-line filter but got pulled away :smile: That's part of the reason I take it out and check/clean it - I don't want to buy a new unit : :top:

This explains why my google search didn't turn up much


mmiller wrote:
I just did a valve lash last night. Good thing too, the intake was just a tad off but the exhaust lash had decreased by about 3.5 thousandths so it was important to catch it :top: Also, I managed (somehow) to pull the threads on the rear axle :ohmy: so I have to look into that too. It's maintenance week over here and I'm doing much the same as you :top:

My intake was at .076mm so I didn't chage it. My exhaust was at .24mm so I changed it to .286mm. What did you set yours at?

You stripped the threads on the axle or the nut?

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PostPosted: Fri Nov 21, 2014 7:32 pm 
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sRo wrote:
My intake was at .076mm so I didn't change it. My exhaust was at .24mm so I changed it to .286mm. What did you set yours at?

You stripped the threads on the axle or the nut?


My camshaft is different (racing cam) so it requires different lash specs from the stock cam.

Yeah, surprised on the rear axle - I took out pretty much all the threads on the nut and most of the threads on the end of the shaft. I had adjusted the chain tension as it was out by quite a bit and then tightened up the nut with a 3/8 ratchet and a wrench on the other side. I was in the process of tightening the lock nuts on the adjustment shafts and all of a sudden there was this loud 'bang'.

As it turned out, that was the sound of the threads letting go :laugh: I have no idea how that happened. I had not tightened it that much (3/8 ratchet) so... In the past I've locked it down with much more force. This, I think, might be what caused it to snap the threads. I really don't know - it was very strange but, better now then when I'm on the road.

When I look back though, I've mounted at least 5 or 6 rear tires, re-tensioned the chain probably 20 times etc. It's entirely possible during one (or more) of those events I over-tightened it and stressed the threads. It really let go with a bang though!

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PostPosted: Fri Nov 21, 2014 10:07 pm 
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Hmmmmm.... Racing cam? Tell me more if you don't mind.
How much? ~$100? Performance gain over stock? Worth it?
Do think it affects reliability at all?

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