ok so everyone is gonna tell me to just buy a new tank, but i dont exactly have 600 bucks burning a hole in my pocket or i would. i crashed my bike and dented the top and front of my tank in. i'm trying to figure out the best way to try and get the dent out. i'm not trying to make it look like nothing happened, i just want to be able to put more than 2.5 gallons in. in front of the gas cap and around the left side of the tank is where it is dented the worst. anyone have any ideas on how to half-*** fix it? thanks

 

Might post this up in the General Tech part...Sorry bout your luck there. Glad you're ok! but a good way is to clean the surface off (paint and all). Then tac weld some welding rods to the dented section and take pliers and pull it back out and then bondo the rest of the minor bumps. Hope that'll work for ya. Good luck!

 

You might want to start looking on ebay. A lot of times you can find your tank and color for a decent price. Ive many nice tanks (depending on what bike) go anywhere from 75 to 175 bucks. It may seem like a lot of money, but the time and money you invest in fixing your dented tank, you may be better off dropping some money on a good tank.

Be extra careful if you try the welding. Empty the tank completely and run some type of non flamable liquid through it. Gas vapors are more flamable than the actual gas, so make sure its completely dry and no fumes exist.

CBR classic has a good method, depending on how bad the dents are. If the dents are creased, it may not work, but its worth a shot. Also, instead of welding, I've seen people use a bar and some adhesive. adhere the bar to the tank, when it dries, lift the dent out with the bar. The air and adhesive method may work together. Be sure to wear eye protection if you use the air method. I have no idea how much air pressure one of these tanks can handle. the last thing you want is a tank exploding on ya.

Best bet is to post up some pics so people here can give you a better answer. It will all depend on how extensive the damage is.

 

My grandpa taught me to make sure all the liquid is out, put it around a corner of a building, and quickly wave a torch over the opening. It'll ignite the last bit of fumes but ya gotta be very careful doing that and make sure all the holes are open. But yeah, you can find a cheap used tank on Ebay.

 

I love the old grandpa tricks. I use to listen in disbelief to all of the old claims and wonder how anyone kept their hands in the old days... lol. until I saw it work. But that reminds me of how I seat tires now that just wont seat. I spray a little starting fluid into the tire, step back a little and light it. It pops the tire right onto the rim. Works great when your in a situation if the tire is still on the vehicle.

maybe we should start a grandpa technique thread?

But good ol grandpa techniques are awesome. I just wanted to make sure the guy didnt leave the tank on his bike and start welding on it. Ya never know what some people may try.

 

Squid, I thought the same thing. (the tire thing) It could proly work in this situation too. Please record it if you do it...I wanna see you on spikeTV or something.lol

 

So let me get this straight...empty most of the gas and then throw matches from a safe distance? then weld the pieces back together?

 

WOW I thought us Albertains were Red necked.
Empty gas out.
Remove the fuel pump.Works good to empty the gas out the fuel pump hole.
You should be able to get at the top dent from the fuel pump hole.
You can use a bar with a sightly rounded end to bump the dent out.
If you know a body man this would be a good time to take it to one.
If you plan on doing any work involving an igniton source run lots of hot water through the tank. Blow it out with air and you can even apply a small flow of air from the hose going into the tank when you are welding etc. just to be safe.
There have been many killed by the exploding gas tank.

 

So then what is the safe distance to throw matches from? I don't want to be killed in the explosion.