Religious motorbikes and stuff you shouldn't find

Suzi, the silver 750 which belongs to Corin, but occasionally last year I rode (when my finger wasn't broken, or it wasn't raining, or I had time!) has been declared "off road" since September/October.

She went all religious on us....she got a holy tank.

Corin has removed the tank on two separate occasions now, due to leaking fuel, and found a number of small holes which he has 'gunked' up (his terminology not mine!). His Dad has taken it to bits and cleared out the carburettors, replaced spark plugs etc. The last time Corin took it for a run, it was only firing on 3 cylinders and quite often lost power as though it wasn't getting enough fuel. Oh, and the fuel indicator stopped working last year too.

Subsequent investigation yesterday involved Corin removing and draining the tank and then cutting a ruddy great hole in the top to get inside the tank so that he could clean it out properly. He was expecting to find some sludgy stuff in the bottom.

What he was NOT expecting to find was the great chunk of something (bottom right of the picture) and the carrier bag full of flakes (I say flakes...I mean enormous pieces) of the coating that somebody prior to him owning the bike had put inside the tank.

So what we think has happened is this...tank was leaking for previous owner. They emptied it, but it wasn't dried out completely. They have then used a liquid coating inside the tank to seal it - they haven't distributed it very well - hence the big chunk, but also, because it wasn't dry in the tank, the sealant has actually sealed in the moisture between the sealant layer and the tank - causing long term corrosion of the tank. As the sealant has begun to decompose (if thats the right word), a chuck/flakes has stopped the fuel indicator sensor from picking up whether there is fuel. Some of the smaller particles have also managed to get through the air/fuel filters and got into the carbs. And because of the corrosion, fuel has started leaking from the tank.

Joy!

The tank is now completely cleared of all crap. However, there is now the problem of the extensive range of holes all over the base of the tank. Corin is pondering his options....