New Fuel Tank? Argh!

Hi guys and gals!

Does anyone know what price I would be looking at for a new fuel tank to suit an 03'?! How hard are they to remove and replace?

I was riding along the freeway here in Oz and a chunk of metal/rock bounced up and hit the underside of the front left (Sitting on the bike) of the tank  :x

It dented it and scratched the paint. I wouldn't worry about it but the bike has only got 1500km on it - and it aggravates me to look at my beautiful new bike with a dint like that!!!!  

I took it in for its first service today and the nice guys at the dealership patched it up so it wont rust till I decide what to do. They quoted around $450 + Decals to fix the dint and re-spray in the 03' metallic black.  Just wondering if me taking off the old tank and replacing it with a new one would be a cheaper option? Im guessing it wont be going by the prices of replacement parts!

Any info would be great!  

Stay Safe

[Cal Price]

I don't know what a new one cost here in UK let alone in Oz but It is not too difficult to fit. Take off the seat, two screws out at back of tank and lift gently, you can isolate the tank from feed pipe with a flat head screwdriver thereafter it is straightforeward (says I who have never done it) there is plenty of advice somewhere on this site. I did some damage to my new bike and bought a new brake lever and ignition cover instead of making a cosmetic job of them it has put the bike back to "new" condition and believe me it was worth it, it just feels better.

[Pkaaso]

Changing a tank is easy.  As was said:

Remove seat, remove the two tank bolts (1 on each side of the tank bracket), lift tank up, reach in with flat blade screwdriver and shut fuel petcock off, remove hoses (this can prove to be the Buddha Loves You), lift tank off.

Reverse to install.

Is the tank leaking at all.  If it's just a dent and scratch, Send me a picture, maybe i'll buy your old tank.

Paul havsumfun2@cox.net

[Pkaaso]

Damn, I need to learn how to read.  OZ is a reach on shipping.  Fixing it if it's not leaking may be your best bet.  

Paul

I buy most of my stuff from the US anyways... so prices there would be ok. Shipping is not that bad really... I just got a Joe Rocket Jacket and shipping was $20 and took exactly 7 days.

So its easy to take the tank off thats a good thing!

Stay Safe

[kyzee]

Hey mate,

I'll be interested to buy the tank from you as  well  should you decide to buy a new tank and if Pkaaso end up not buying the old tank from you.


Cheers

[glenn9171]

First thing, don't go to the dealership for a paint job.  That's the first mistake.  

Go to a place that specializes in painting.  Remove the fuel tank (as close to empty as possible is easiest).  Have them paint it.  They may be able to only repair the damaged area without painting the whole thing.  

I am not sure of the US-AUS exchange rate, but you could get your whole bike painted pretty nicely where I live for about $500-700.  And that is a nice, multi-color paintjob.

It would definitely be cheaper to paint, rather than buy a new tank.  And just think how bad you would feel if you shelled out the $450 for a new tank and dropped the bike on the way out of their door.  

[kyzee]

Anybody know what kind of price am I looking at for a brand new tank? 450 bux is it? My tank kind of rusted  bad.

[Cris]

I include my dad in all my auto/moto dealings. When I bought my bike, one of the things we looked for was rust in the tank. There was in fact some rust so the guy knocked $300.00 off the asking price so I could get a new one. I pocketed the money    and my dad and I removed the tank, drained the gas, and scrubbed the rust out almost completely.
Taking the tank off is relatively easy. Probably a two person job...get someone to help. (You don't wanna drop it) However, my bike's not as new as your's ('89) so the cost of a new tank may be significantly more...especially if you are shooting for an '03 exact match. Shop around...

[kyzee]

Unfortunately I cannot do the same to my tank.  Some part of the tank  has rusted so bad  gasoline seeps out to the paint. You can tell by the buldge on the paint work. It must be gasoline causing that. And I have two buldges on my tank one on the side and another on the top. I am now wondering if it will spring a leak out of a sudden so potentially I am riding on a molotov cocktail. Anbody know if a Bandit 400 tank can fit the GS???

[glenn9171]

Cris, keep an eye on that tank.  If you just scrubbed it out and didn't seal it with Kreme or POR, it will come back very quickly.

[Cris]

Thanx, Glen...I am.