#Mini bike chopper rusty how to#

Factoring into this is also the outside of the tank: Original paint certainly helps an original bike retain value. Obviously, rarity comes into play a tank of a given condition that may be considered refuse for a high-production bike may be the holy grail for one of lower production. If your tank has rusted through in any areas, that too may be an indicator that the tank is beyond saving, depending on your time and finances budgeted to the task. If your tank is made of thin steel and the rust and scaling within is heavy, rectifying the problem will be more difficult and time-consuming. Generally, though, newer bikes have tanks that are made of lighter gauge metal. Old Harley-Davidson fatbob tanks, for instance, have excellent survival rates simply due to the insanely thick steel used in their construction. Photo by Lemmy.Ĭonsider, too, the tank’s construction. Generally, the newer a bike is, the thinner the sheet metal tends to be in the interest of saving weight - and forming more complicated tank shapes.

They ain't light, but to get a set to rust through you almost have to drop 'em in the ocean for a few decades. Old fatbobs tend to stay in service for a while simply because they were built to last. And if your bike’s not too old, heck, a dealer might have a new one sitting on a shelf somewhere. Also consider used tanks that may be in better shape than your own. Simply spending a hundred or two hundred bucks on a brand-new aftermarket tank that could just essentially bolt up and function correctly once again may be the most prudent course of action. I mention this because this is a very viable option nowadays, especially with so many online avenues for replacement. Chrome! Neat! Photo by Lemmy.įirst, removal and replacement is sumpin’ to think about. The object of my labor is this tank from a 1964 Yamaha YG1 belonging to Johnny Greaser, our New Guy's brother. The course of action one would take may differ wildly in those scenarios - or they may be exactly the same. I’ve seen some tanks with light surface rust and a concerned owner, and I’ve also seen (and owned!) some fuel vessels that had more barnacles and scale than the hull of the Queen Mary.

You'll probably want to read through the whole thing before you get started.Įvery tank differs in terms of its level of degradation. So as a motorcyclist who has rescued a tank or two throughout my career, allow me to give you some things to think about, a process, and a few photos that you may find useful.

#Mini bike chopper rusty how to#

Your service manual probably won’t tell you much about how to deal with a rusted fuel tank (“Remove and replace,” I’m sure, if it even mentions such a thing), but given how expensive and/or unobtainable tanks can be (and how costly that colorful stuff on the outside of ‘em usually is!), you’re doing the right thing by rejuvenating yours. I had a a fuel tank that was deteriorating from the inside out, and it was a problem for my tank, my fuel filter, my carb, and my engine.

I know this, of course, because I learned how to do this moons ago because I was in a pickle just like you. You’re tired of replacing fuel filters, cleaning your carb, or you’re putting a neglected bike back on the road.