Complete removal of fuel tank off the bike

[sliick2]

Friends, a quick ? Can the fuel lines under the tank be disconnected with out spilling fuel all over.So that the tank can be out of the way . The fittings that I'm wondering about are the ones that have the (what appears to be ) couplings-of some sort. Would they by chance have a check valve in them ? I'd like to take the tank off to do some cleaning and maint. checks under there.Thanks so much, in advance. Sliick

 

[canyonman]

yes they can

squeeze the little keepers on the connectors and pull the hoses off the tank. only spills a few drops. tank will not drain

 

[sliick2]

yes they can
squeeze the little keepers on the connectors and pull the hoses off the tank. only spills a few drops. tank will not drain

That's great ! Just what I was hoping for. You must have had the same idea @ some point. Thanks

 

[Tek]

When you prepare to disconnect the hose, make sure you have a shop rag of some kind to catch the drips. Otherwise, you stand a chance of getting gas on the side of the fairing (about where your knee sits). It won't be much fuel, but it's easier to stop it at the source with a rag than try to make sure you didn't miss any after it dripped on the bike...

Tek

 

[TWILKIN650]

I'm planning to remove my tank today to clean and drain out crud and water that has probably accumulated over the years. Has anyone had any problems with removing the tank, sloshing the remaining gas around a bit with the tank in normal upright position and then inverting tank to drain out gas? Any problems with fuel lever senders if tank is inverted? Plan then to add a quart of isopropyl alcohol and repeat, let dry and refill with clean gas.

 

[SkooterG]

I'm planning to remove my tank today to clean and drain out crud and water that has probably accumulated over the years. Has anyone had any problems with removing the tank, sloshing the remaining gas around a bit with the tank in normal upright position and then inverting tank to drain out gas? Any problems with fuel lever senders if tank is inverted? Plan then to add a quart of isopropyl alcohol and repeat, let dry and refill with clean gas.

You have too much time on your hands. :blink:

 

[dcarver]

Any problems with fuel lever senders if tank is inverted?

I've had my tank upside down on various occasions - no problems experienced. Just don't put the tank in a paint shaker machine and you'll be ok.

 

[dcarver]

duplicate post deleted

 

[TWILKIN650]

It went pretty well. I siphoned out what gas I could, then turned the tank upside down, drained out some more and shook some more out. Because of the filler neck extension into the tank, I couldn't get the last quart out, so decided not to flush with IPA, just a couple of quarts of gas. What came out of the tank was light yellow in color, with no noticable water. I've been using Stabil in filled tanks that might sit more than a couple of weeks, so maybe some of the discoloration was from the Stabil. I'd not done this in the six years that I've had the bike, so thought it was time. Others have reported getting some free water out of the tank along with miscellaneous crud, so I figured it was time. Thanks for the responses; just didn't want to screw something up that wasn't already broke.

 

[wfooshee]

If you haven't seen rust in the tank, you just did a lot of work that took away from riding time.

 

[HotRodZilla]

If you haven't seen rust in the tank, you just did a lot of work that took away from riding time.

Yup...What him and Skooter said. Some people just love to try break stuff that isn't broken.

 

[RadioHowie]

If you don't find THIS in your tank, you're wasting your time.

 

[Bustanut joker]

Um Howie? It's 12:26 here .. Shouldn't you be sexually stimulating Sea Cows right now?

 

[wfooshee]

I knew he'd be along on this one!!!!! :lol:

 

[OldSwartout]

squeeze the little keepers on the connectors and pull the hoses off the tank. only spills a few drops. tank will not drain<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

So, what's with the service manual telling me to empty the tank prior to taking it off the bike? I was planning to lift the tank on my '05 to install a heat shield under it, but just filled the tank. I figured I was going to be forced to take a 250 mile ride to get rid of the excess fuel.

I suppose the ride isn't a bad idea, 5 gallons of fuel is pretty heavy to be carrying around in a slippery tank; I might drop it.

 

[RadioHowie]

5 gallons of fuel is pretty heavy to be carrying around in a slippery tank; I might drop it.

.....which is why Yamaha suggests emptying the tank.

 

[wfooshee]

For just a heat shield you can just lift the tank at the front and prop it up, you don't have to remove it. A piece of 2x4 4 or 5 inches long will prop it up over the airbox.

And you on't have to drain the tank.

 

[OldSwartout]

For just a heat shield you can just lift the tank at the front and prop it up, you don't have to remove it. A piece of 2x4 4 or 5 inches long will prop it up over the airbox.

And you on't have to drain the tank.

OK, thanks. 2x4 it is.

 

[RaYzerman19]

Siphon hose if you want to drain it down.... Ethanol can loosen crud and gums built up over time, but isn't a good solvent to get rid of it. Aside from the rocket science marketing hype, most all of the cleaner/stabilizer products (Stabil, Seafoam, Techron, Amzoil, StarTron, etc.) contain mostly naptha which is a slow evaporating solvent that is good at dissolving gums (works like GooGone) and allowing them to be burnt off while cleaning the system. Isopropanol is best for dissolving water. But, do you really have a problem?

So, find some naptha, or if you like paying $75 a gallon @ $9 a can, use Seafoam a few times a year or if it sits in storage. Mostly, just go ride like the guys have said.