NC30 fuel tank repair

[phongus]

Hello everyone.

I would firstly like to say that this is one excellent and informative site which has helped give me great insight on the NC30. Awesome job and thanks to those who created the tech docos, they have given me the courage and understanding to get my hands dirty :D.

Secondly, I guess I can quickly introduce myself. I'm a 24 year old Australian who has been riding for about 4 years in total, both on road and track. Decided after a year of riding that I should do a ride day at a local race track. Got instantly hooked and decided to purchase a race bike which happened to be the NC30. Started racing the following year getting some experience under my belt and managed to crash once (YAY!) with minimal damage. Loads of fun and a lot of lessons learned. Come second year of racing and I managed to roll the bike end on end at Phillip Island race track coming into turn 2 due to an accident in front of me. I came out good (fracture elbow, damaged tendons on both wrists) but my bike did not . After rolling twice end on end, the results were not pretty at all. Front wheel warped, front forks bent, top fairing demolished, exhaust bent, sub frame bent, tail fairing damaged but repairable, bent rear set (just bought them too ) and to my surprise at the time, the fuel tank ripped off and went flying.

After inspecting the tank, I noticed it had some deep dents (sharp and smooth dents) and the mounting point bracket on the back had the bolt hole kind of sheered. The hole is now bigger...big enough for the lip of the bolt to have slipped through. However there was no petrol leaks. One of the dents itself displays a clear hole through the skin, so was expecting some leakage.

My question is, does the fuel tank actually comprise of 2 layers? I always thought the fuel tank you see, is the actual tank itself, so if there is a hole, it will leak fuel. However it puzzled me that mine didn't. If it does have an inner "bladder" fuel tank so to speak, can I just bog up the damaged dents on the outer skin? And with the mounting bracket bit...is it possible to weld in a piece of metal to reinforce it?

I'm going to use a mirror and have a look into the actual tank itself to see if there are any internal dents before I even try and salvage the tank...but every penny saved will allow me to get on the bike sooner :).

Sorry about the long post and thanks again.

Regards
Phong

[Cammo]

Welcome Phong!

I was the dude that dropped off some parts to you at Broadford, also raced at Winton on the weekend saw you on the start line, good work! Small world and all....

Not really sure on your fuel tank issue, I would be only guessing that the steel underside of the tank is the actual fuel liner. If it doesn't leak then I guess it will be fine, but probably good to grab a spare in case it does.

Contact RB's and see if they have a decent used one, they've helped me out in the past.

http://www.rbimports.com.au/


You could also try sumoto in Vic, they only deal with rvf's but it will bolt on all the same (just look a bit different) they have plenty of spares but not sure of what they charge:

http://www.sumoto.com.au/

[superlite]

Welcome Phong! .... also raced at Winton on the weekend saw you on the start line, good work! Small world and all....

Welcome!

Considering that even a crappy used tank will set you back a few bucks, I'd be inclined to fix it (it is a race bike after all). The rear mount is a real weak point and definitely an easy fix with some scrap steel. Not sure if the tanks are 'double walled' (but wouldn't have thought so?), but that might be a tad more difficult to weld and ensure it's fuel tight.

[phongus]

Thanks guys :)...

And it is a small world indeed Cam :)...I help out as much as I can when I'm not racing...can't complain with front row seats :D. I have seen the RB Import ones, have been told that they are dear though. Will give them both a buzz and see how much it would cost.

Cheers superlite, I will have a look at it and see if I can get someone to weld on a piece of metal on the underside that could help strengthen the bracket. I didn't think it was double walled either, but with a hole in the fuel tank and no leak got me real confused.