Gas tank sag

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Jan 5, 2014
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Noticed this afternoon my gas tank is leaning to the left and easy to shift back and forth. push it to the center again only to have it lean left again. Anybody else have problems with this? Any broken brackets underneath I might find? Too late in the day and too damned hot for me to be in the garage. I need a beer. It's summer. 4 out of five with a problem. At least its a small one. Had a great ride though.

Gas tank sag
 
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Gas tank sag
Gas tank sag
Gas tank sag
Gas tank sag
Gas tank sag
Gas tank sag
snap curtis,literally,one side of the battery bracket / tank support bracket has snapped off,just get a local fabricator/welding/ metal guy to redo it & touch up with black paint,a new one is approx £65, I done a thread on this in July I think last year
 
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I remember somebody posting that in the past. Thanks, Richard. If I can, I may just buy a new piece, if they could get it here quick enough. I have neoprene piano string mutes that I can wedge on the right side of the oil fill to keep it straight for the time being and avoid knicking the paint on the tank. Remember the title of your thread? Did a quick search to no avail.
 
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Just check you haven’t lost a tank bolt from the front underside of the tank. I lost one the other day having had the tank off and had not secured the bolt correctly.
 
Nah. I wish. That was the first thing I checked. Ran a few gallons out of it but its blazing hot today. I'll get to it next week.
 
I remember somebody posting that in the past. Thanks, Richard. If I can, I may just buy a new piece, if they could get it here quick enough. I have neoprene piano string mutes that I can wedge on the right side of the oil fill to keep it straight for the time being and avoid knicking the paint on the tank. Remember the title of your thread? Did a quick search to no avail.
To avoid knicking the tank paint put some duct tape on the tank to protect it. Good luck.
 
To avoid knicking the tank paint put some duct tape on the tank to protect it. Good luck.
I've taken the tank off before. I use multiple layers of the blue painter's masking tape. Comes off easily with no sticky residue. IMHO, duct tape is a bit too strong. I'd be afraid of peeling off paint upon removal.
 
Haven't taken my tank of yet because its been brutally hot and humid. Probably will either today or tomorrow. Going to finally install the the wire to suppress the flashing fuel light. What does that attach to again? Battery - to...…...
 
Nothing comes easy. Stripping tank and gear off to tend to the broken tank bracket. Left side, bolt comes right out, broken tab holding bike falls to ground. Wonderful. Right side....spin spin spin spin spin...…….hmmmm…….thought it was stripped. It's not. It's that threaded sleeve pressed into that plastic tank. It's spins, but it don't come out. Had to cut the bolt just to get the tank off. So...buddy is going to weld up the bracket. WTF do I do about getting that sleeve and bolt out? Machine shop? New tank for a thousand bucks?? Easy out won't work. The sleeve spins. First photo of good threaded sleeve and clean break of the bracket, second photo cut bolt in spinning sleeve.
Not a machinist. Advice greatly appreciated.

Gas tank sag
Gas tank sag
 
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In the absence of any better ideas and if all else fails, I'm wondering if you could try to lock the sleeve in place by drilling a small hole in the plastic at the edge of the sleeve, just a few mm deep, and insert a screw to act as a wedge. That might allow you to remove the bolt. If this worked you could then cut/grind off the head of the screw and just leave it in place to keep the sleeve locked to permit a new bolt to be used. Of course you might not want to drill the plastic.
 
Try using a thin small screw driver to jam the sleeve against the tank material . Then you will need a bolt extractor to remove the broken bolt. You can take the tank to a specailty shop/repair shop and ask for more ideas . Didn't you find a bike mechanic a while ago ? Ask him .
 
I really didn't want to butcher it. However, been told an easyout would just spin the sleeve. Had to go away right after taking the tank off so didn't have anytime to address it. I did have a vise grip on it to no avail. It spins but doesn't pull out. Any idea how that's held in? Epoxy?
 
Ok, a little bit unorthodox perhaps, but, you might consider something like these. Bond them to the tank with something like JB weld. After all, they’re not under huge tensile force, the fixings are really only to locate and prevent sideways movement.

Studs would drop through the frame bracket holes and you’d secure with a large flat washer and a nut.

Worth considering before you stump for a new tank...

Gas tank sag
 
Can you get some Crazy Glue between the insert and tank without affecting the threads? Might give you enough bite to unscrew or drill out the bolt?
 
Ok, a little bit unorthodox perhaps, but, you might consider something like these. Bond them to the tank with something like JB weld. After all, they’re not under huge tensile force, the fixings are really only to locate and prevent sideways movement.

Studs would drop through the frame bracket holes and you’d secure with a large flat washer and a nut.

Worth considering before you stump for a new tank...

View attachment 11615
That's actually not a horrible idea. A new tank is my last resort. I'd like to make the attempt of getting the threaded bit out first. It's not like the tank would fall off if the bond came loose. I wish I knew what was behind that sleeve and how much room there is to play with before drilling holes into it. Haven't taken a drill to any of it yet. Considering options.
 
Curtis,

How about spraying a bit of penetrating oil on the bolt, let it sit for a few minutes.
Then clamp vise grips on the end of the bolt and pull on the bolt as you try to unscrew the bolt.
That may get the bolt out, but the spinning insert, maybe the folks at Norton have encountered this before and have a fix?
 
Curtis,

How about spraying a bit of penetrating oil on the bolt, let it sit for a few minutes.
Then clamp vise grips on the end of the bolt and pull on the bolt as you try to unscrew the bolt.
That may get the bolt out, but the spinning insert, maybe the folks at Norton have encountered this before and have a fix?

He’s already cut the bolt off flush... nowt to grip onto...
 
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