The rubber thing willnot do any dammage in your tank........just saying.

I have a bolt in my tank.  doesn't bother me much.



just saying.

 i wasnt sure, so I went to the hardware store, spent $4 and bought one of those parts grabber things, got it out in a couple minutes. And not a bad tool to have around anyways since while working on just about anything I drop something somewhere I cannot reach

got everything together and added a bit of gas, and she fired right up! I checked the oil and  the dip stick was dry!!! So back to the store for a couple quarts of oil. Added one and shes fine. (I hope)

Any recomendations on oil? I bought Castrol GTX 10w40 (We used Castrol at the VW dealer I worked at, and if its good enough for VW and my GTI, I figured it was good enough for the GS)

I also bought Gumout Carb Cleaner. I havent added it yet, and after doing a search on here I am not sure  I want to add it. 

sigh...  I guess its too late to tell you not to use water to clean out your tank (can cause flash rust).

Not to ignite an oil thread. But you should use motorcycle specific oils in your  bike because the GS has a shared crank, transmission, and clutch oiling system and the anti-friction additives and detergents added to regular car oil can have adverse effects on a motorcycle's clutch.

  DAMN!!!  I didn't know ther e was motorcycle specific oil!  I thoguht there might be and looked all over the auto parts store, and found nothing, so I just followed the "label" on the oil filler cap "SAE 10W 40"

Am I going to fuin my engine??

As far as the tank, I am going to pull it off once again clean it out again, and seal it with por-15. I am just very anxious to ride as I have been searching for a bike since March and finally got mine a few weeks ago. There is other maintanence I would like to do while the bike is out of commission, so I will do it all at the same time.

1. get tank dent repaired/ repainted (I hope)
2. clean and seal tank
3. refinish headers
4. clean carbs
5. possibly re-jet
6. K&N lunchbox
7. replace rusty "dashboard"
8. refinish rusty bar ends
9. replace grips
9. replace clutch and front brake levers (someone "modified" them to make them shorter
10. the list goes on...

It'll be fine.  Just don't run "energy conserving" oils, as they are too slippery for the clutch to work properly.

Many run auto oil in their motorcycles. No need to worry yet. Start worrying if you notice the clutch slipping.

I have Castrol GTX 10w-40 in my GS right now and haven't had any problems... As others have said, the main reason not to use automotive oil in a motorcycle is because of its wet clutch, but I have never heard of anyone actually having a problem with it, not to mention the owners manual doesn't say anything about using motorcycle specific oil

    thanks, I about shaZam! a brick since I rode about 60 miles so far with the Castrol in it.