Well, that stinks (literally)

[jsandidge]

The wife walked into the garage this morning and said "Pew, what's that smell?" I had made a little mess with gear oil yesterday, but knew that couldn't be it. So, I go into the garage and it is wreaking with gas. What seemed like a perfectly good tank has developed a pin hole. It must have been dripping for a few hours. Damn, the bike is almost ready to put on the road! I'm guessing Evapo-rust and Por-15 is on the list now. Is this the best approach or would something else be better? Not worried about the paint, that will get re-done in a few months.

[jsandidge]

silver solder?

I've seen mentioned in another thread about brazing pin holes prior to sealing. Will silver solder work? I have access to that.

[Big T]

Most people fill the hole with JB weld or gas tank patch on the outside, then do rust removal and line the inside

The liner will hold the gas in and you can decide what to do about the exterior

[Griffyn]

I'd get some Caswell Novolac Epoxy and a big bottle of acetone to make sure you get ALL the gasoline out of the tank before the epoxy goes in.

Just tape over the pinhole, then remove the tape after treatment.

[Nessism]

This stuff works great to derust tanks http://www.homedepot.com/p/Klean-Str...0220/100406369 After the rust is gone, I'd go for the Caswell's epoxy. It's tricky to apply because it's so thick though. Make sure you thin it a little (per the instructions). Por-15 is much easier to work with, but it's thinner and won't reinforce the (thin) metal as well.

[tkent02]

For every hole that leaks there are probably fifty not quite there but close. I started pokng around once, came up with a lot of them, some up to three inches long down near the petcock area. POR-15 works fine, they even give you a little piece of screen to block the holes. Brazing the big ones is probably best if you are good enough at it, but some of the holes that are not quite through yet may give you a problem down the road.

A good 850L tank should be easy to find?

[Nessism]

A good 850L tank should be easy to find?

Good point here! The 1100GL tank is same (I think). Several on ebay to choose from. If there is a hole, most likely there is thin metal in other places.

I bought a chain drive 1000 tank knowing it needed some work, but in the end the metal was super thin and as soon as I brazed one hole, another opened up. Spent a ton of time and money trying to make it a viable tank. Not worth the effort if you can find a decent replacement for a reasonable price.