Patch of Rust in Tank

[looshin]

Hey All. New to forum. Just bought myself a 2000 GS500E from a friend.

The gas sat in the tank over the winter and now there is a patch of it at the bottom straight when you look into the tank. The rest of the tank looks to be rust free and in good condition. Bike still idles/runs fine with old gas when I tested it but now its time to change it out before riding.

Now I have spent quite some time and a headache or two researching the various cleaning methods and kits that all seem to follow up with a sealant of some sort.
I was thinking of just cleaning the rust out on the bottom and filling the tank up with gas, without going into the process of sealing it (and possibly not getting a good seal and having it chip off like iv seen in some bad cases)

Any suggestions?

Thanks

[adidasguy]

A little rust is quite common in any gas tank.
Don't worry about it.
Keep fresh gas in it. Use some gas stabilizer if it sits for a month or more as gas does go bad after 6 weeks or more. Also it helps prevent the ethanol crap from separating into alcohol and water in the tank.

Now go put some fresh gas in it and go ride.

[spokes100]

if you're concerned with how much rust may be finding it's way into your carbs you could put an external fuel filter in your gas line going to the carbs, a good idea for any bike, a small clear plastic one will allow you to see if you're going to have a problem.  there is a plastic screen for both the "on" and "reserve" outlets in your tank that will stop the bigger particles.  no filter will stop the finest dust from accumulating in you float bowls eventually even if your tank is rust free, usually it sinks to the bottom of the float bowl and has to be cleaned out manually.

[bigfatcat]

Six years ago I bought a '95 with a lightly rusted tank ... no problems.

Just put gas in it, and ride it.