Can I salvage this tank?

[chubb]

No leaks no puncture through the dent.

wondering if I can salvage this somehow??

It's a spare 08 tank I have

Come on TARMAC brains trust.

[KANGA]

I remember seeing a build thread from wetty where he just covered a dent (though much smaller) with carbon tank sliders. Gave it its natural shape back and didn't look to bad. Could you mold something out of fiber glass or carbon fiber off one of your other tanks to try put over that dent or is it to misshapen to match up?
Unless you want to actually pull the dent out in which case I have no idea then.

[chubb]

Yeah I want to try to pull the dent out and not putty over it

[tempest]

i don't think it will pull out once it's creased like that. would be/become too weak.

i'd be cleaning it up, bog and cover with carbon sliders and perfect for the race bike.

[Mr.Ed]

I'd putty over it... there's no way you can pull all that back and have any decent strength left on the metal. Next time you crash (knock on wood or whatever ritual you prefer) things will probably get muuuuuuuuuuch worse very quickly.

If it makes you feel any better (doubt it) I have the same tank, dents and all, only in blue and glad wrapped sitting on top of my fridge... no, gf is not impressed.

[Marshy]

That's an easy fix, chubb. Bog is your friend here. Just go crazy with the bog, then sand it into something more-or-less approximating the original shape, and bung a cf slider on it. Job done!

I have a tank here the same that someone has tried to repair 'properly'. They've cut a largish square out from the underside to get a slide hammer or something in there, then punched the tank back into shape and welded the square hole back up. It's a shitful job!! The welded bit looks terrible (admittedly it's underneath, out of sight), and the 'finished' top bit is full of small spiky sticking-up bits from the hammer! Woeful. I will now have to sand metal down to make the tank surface smoothish. A container of bog would be much preferable.

[Ausgecko]

Hey guys,
I'm a panel beater by trade and have done a few motorcycle tanks before, it's a fairly easy but fiddly job. Metal bars and a large mallet/hammer come in handy but not for where the dents are in that tank, it's too hard to get any purposeful blow onto the inside of those dents through the filler hole at that angle also it is not the preferred method as most modern day tanks have baffles of some sort. Cutting access holes in the tank and welding them back up is also out if you can help it, that's just rough. Using just big and not getting the dents out first, you will have some pretty big high spots around the repair.
There's a few things you will need to repair that tank-
Garden hose
Rag
Paint stripper
Sander
Welder (spot or Mig)
Box of washers
Small slider hammer
Grinder
Bog
Sand paper

1. Shove the garden hose in the exhaust pipe of a car and shove a rag around it to make a nice seal and put the other end in the fuel tank, leave the car running for 2 hours. This will void the tank of all flammable gasses as we don't want to make an explosion later on.
2. Using paint stripper and a sander, clean the area up real nice to a bare metal finish.
3. Using the welder, just with a very small tack, weld a washer standing up on its side into the dent.
4. Using the slide hammer with a small hook attachment through the washer, just lightly tap the dent out. It's easiest if you start towards the outer edge of the dent and work your way towards the centre. Just be gentle because you don't want to go tearing holes in the tank that you will have to weld up later.
5. If your tacks are small enough, you should be able to to just rock them back and forth till they snap off, if not you will have to grind them off. I use to do my welds small enough that one good hit with the slide hammer would pull the dent and break the washer off at the same time. You want to get as much of the dent out as possible without creating any new high spots, you may also need to gently tap around the dent with a mallet while putting some steady pressure on the washer with the slide hammer, this will help to pull out the dent and get rid of the high spot all around the dent.
6. Clean the area up again with the sander and possibly the grinder if needed, always finish with the sander, the bog will hold better.
6. Bog away.

It requires a little time and patience but you will be much happier with the finish.

[dan]

Good write up!

[Marty]

+1 very good!