DIY- How to Remove the Gas Tank

[kkim]

I thought it might come in handy for anyone looking to remove the tank...

First, take off both the side covers and lower fairings using this DIY-
http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9933

This is for a 49 state bike. If you have a cali model there may be more steps/hoses than this to remove the tank.

1. Take seat off. One Allen on each side of the seat. There is a washer inside each mounting hole of the seat. Don't lose them.

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2. remove 2 10mm bolts at the rear of the tank along with the bracket they hold down.

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3. prop up the rear of the tank with a small piece of 2x4 so you can gain access under the tank.

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4. unplug the gray vent hose from front left side of the tank.

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5. under the tank, undo the fuel sender connector.

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6. under the tank, remove a vacuum hose that runs to the back of the fuel petcock.

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7. under the tank, make sure the fuel tap is in the "on" position and remove the fuel hose from the fuel petcock. The valve is vacuum operated and with no vacuum, no fuel will pour out of the tank as long as it is in the "on" position. Do not leave it in the prime position as fuel will run out... ask me how I know.

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At this point you should be able to lift the tank off by pulling the rear of the tank up and towards the rear of the bike. Make sure the black console plastic that wraps around the upper tank fairing mounting holes are free.

When you put the tank down, make sure you place it on a blanket or cloth to avoid scratching it and don't let it rest on the petcock. I use a small 2x4 under that area ahead of the petcock to make sure the tank isn't resting on it.

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No need to drain the tank before removal, but if you do start with a full tank, it is quite heavy compared to it empty. Again, ask me how I know.

[Tigerpaw]

I am plugging all the lines(bike and tank, and I still get tons of fumes if I leave it more than 12 hrs. Any suggestions?

**EDIT** With my fuel tap "on" i still got steady leaking (apparently my cap on the large tap line was 1 size too big and let some fuel out)

Hopefully with the correct(more snug cap) I will be safe **EDIT**

[kkim]

with the 2 lines (fuel and vacuum) removed from the fuel tap, there should not be any fuel leaking if you have the tap on the "on" position. Fuel will leak if you have it in the "prime" position. If it is in the prime position, switch it to on and it should stop leaking. If not, you have a defective fuel tap.

[Tigerpaw]

Defective, you think?

I just thought it had something to do with pressures in the tank...since I have not started fore some time there would beno pressure

I will also try cycleing the valve later(doubt that's it)

Just spitballing before I buy a new tap(expensive i'm sure)

[sjsharks33]

Thanks for the write up! it really helped me take my tank off the cali model bikes have a total of three more hoses to take off. theirs an additional two more hoses on the left side of the tank, and one hose underneath that connects to the fuel sender.

[Viper-Byte]

Tom, what order did you disconnect the pipes into the fuel petcock? I know that you will get a small amount of fuel come out if it is the large one before the small. But if you disconnect the small pipe first (the vacume) then the only fuel that will leak out is what is currently in the fule hose. Unless you have got a deffective fuel petcock.

The presure in the tank its self will not matter as it is the vacume line that provides the ability to flow (unless fuel petcock is deffective). You can always open the tank lid to release the pressure in the tank.

[Tigerpaw]

Originally Posted by Viper-Byte

Tom, what order did you disconnect the pipes into the fuel petcock? I know that you will get a small amount of fuel come out if it is the large one before the small. But if you disconnect the small pipe first (the vacume) then the only fuel that will leak out is what is currently in the fule hose.

I have tried both ways now. Both times I capped it without much coming out of the valve initialy. Both times i had a slow drip over time, with that too big cap.

((Too cold in the garage right now to tinker with it))

[Viper-Byte]

Hmm, sounds like you could have a deffective fuel petcock there.

[kkim]

are you taking the fuel line off at the carb or at the fuel petcock?

[Tigerpaw]

pulling off at petcock and capping

[kkim]

Sounds like a defective petcock. There is a vacuum operated diaphragm inside the petcock that allows fuel to flow once it receives vacuum from the carbs.

On mine, I pull the fuel and vacuum lines off at the petcock and remove the tank an lay it down on a blanket. I have never had any gas leak from the petcock once the tank was removed from the bike.

[ajaygraci]

does the tank have to be empty?

[Viper-Byte]

Originally Posted by ajaygraci

does the tank have to be empty?

Please read the original post again... Kelly states the answer in his DIY.

Originally Posted by kkim

No need to drain the tank before removal, but if you do start with a full tank, it is quite heavy compared to it empty. Again, ask me how I know.

[ajaygraci]

yea i know but i still dont think that no fuel will poor out... ehh idk... i wouldnt trust that vaccum ..

[islanderman7]

Why? We are telling you it doesn't.

[Sound Wave]

Originally Posted by ajaygraci

yea i know but i still dont think that no fuel will poor out... ehh idk... i wouldnt trust that vaccum ..

i have removed the tank twice now. had it off for about 90 mins once at 1/4 full and once for about an hour when it was pretty full. both times not a drop came out.

if you are scared, then run the tank until it is almost empty first. the first time i did it, i was kind of nervous it may leak too. so i can understand your skepticism.

[noche_caliente]

Originally Posted by ajaygraci

yea i know but i still dont think that no fuel will poor out... ehh idk... i wouldnt trust that vaccum ..

well, if you know so much more than the rest of us, why the hell are you asking? just be sure not to swallow any while you are sucking it out with the straw

[ajaygraci]

Originally Posted by noche_caliente

well, if you know so much more than the rest of us, why the hell are you asking? just be sure not to swallow any while you are sucking it out with the straw

someone is a lil pissy

[Viper-Byte]

Originally Posted by ajaygraci

yea i know but i still dont think that no fuel will poor out... ehh idk... i wouldnt trust that vaccum ..

Seriously, if you disconnect the small hose, then the big hose, nothing will come out of the tank unless you have a faulty fuel petcock, in which case it would be replaced if you are still under warranty. The big pipe may drip as the fuel is in there, but there is very little.

Listen to those of us who have had the fuel tank off many times. I have even taken it off right after I filled up. Stupid idea , but still able to be done without any leaking.

[noche_caliente]

Originally Posted by ajaygraci

someone is a lil pissy

i just don't care for idiots who ask advice and then don't listen to it

[Viper-Byte]

Originally Posted by noche_caliente

i just don't care for idiots who ask advice and then don't listen to it

[ajaygraci]

Originally Posted by noche_caliente

i just don't care for idiots who ask advice and then don't listen to it

hey, no need to be an internet tuff guy callin names n stuff...and i am taking your advice, its just called being a little skeptical because my tank is full ( storage), plus i never done this before, so being skeptical is OK... dont have to jump on my case... i take kkims advice on many things now, trust completely...being skepticle doesnt mean not listening to it.

[paterick4o8]

Originally Posted by sjsharks33

Thanks for the write up! it really helped me take my tank off the cali model bikes have a total of three more hoses to take off. theirs an additional two more hoses on the left side of the tank, and one hose underneath that connects to the fuel sender.

Thanks for showing the difference on the CA version. You don't happen to have more pictures of this do you?

[DmbShn41]

I took my tank off for the first time. I read this DIY previously and after eyeballing the tank area, felt pretty confident. I didn't pay particular attention to the big hose/small hose item at first. When I removed the tank, the fuel line leading to the carbs, I had fuel leak out of there. Put the lines back on petcock, removed the small hose then big hose and after I set the tank down with a 2x4 under it, fuel still leaked out. I tried cycling the valve to PRI then back to ON, and it still had a slow drip! I've never had any fuel issues, got great mileage(58mpg) and can't understand how after 3500 miles I have a faulty petcock...? After so many people have said they have drips, is it slightly possible that this is somewhat normal?

[kkim]

It should not drip when in the "on" position. You could very well have a faulty petcock.

It wouldn't affect fuel mileage as there are little valves that regulate when to fill up the carbs in the carbs themselves.

I've never had problems with fuel leaking out (even slowly) when i have removed the tank.

[paterick4o8]

Originally Posted by kkim

4. unplug the gray vent hose from front left side of the tank.

What's the easiest and best way to remove these hoses? I can take clamp off no problem. The hoses are connected pretty tightly and snug. I tried to use a type of clamp to grab and try and twist them off but it tore the hose a little bit at the base. I'm scared to proceed any further until I find a better way. Please help

BTW I have CA version w/ the extra hoses. While I was removing the one with the red dot, the first one I tried to undo, some gasoline came out, and so I stopped. Know anything about this?? I do have the fuel tap in the "ON" position so I didn't understand why this happened.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by paterick4o8

What's the easiest and best way to remove these? They're connected pretty tightly and snug. I tried to use a type of clap to grab and try and twist but it tore the hose a little bit at the base. I'm scared to proceed any further until I find a better way. Please help

grab the clamp ends with some pliers, squeeze the pliers and it should expand the clamp so that you will be able to slip it down farther onto the hose. make sure you slip it down at least an inch as there is a "barb" on the spigot the hose attaches to. after the clamp is slipped down, the hose should be able to slip off the spigot. If not, try twisting it as you pull it. if that fails, spray some wd-40 where the hose and spigot meet so the wd-40 can work its way down between the hose and the spigot.



BTW I have CA version w/ the extra hoses. While I was removing the one with the red dot, the first one I tried to undo, some gasoline came out, and so I stopped. Know anything about this?? I do have the fuel tap in the "ON" position so I didn't understand why this happened.

place a rag under the drip and see how much comes out. it should stop within 5 seconds. if not put it back on. I assume it's an overflow of sorts, but not very familiar with the cali emissions hoses.

[paterick4o8]

Thanks for the quick reply Kelly. I may have to try the WD-40 method as this hose won't easily slide off no matter how hard I tried. Off to the hardware store I go.

[kkim]

as a note, it doesn't need to be wd-40... any type of spray lubricant should work.... silicone spray, lithium grease, armorall, even water, maybe. The thing is to work it down between the hose and spigot.

sorry, should have mentioned that in my first post. My assumption was that everybody has a wd-40 type lubricant lying around.

[paterick4o8]

haha yeah I figured that. I had some but I can't find it anywhere + I need to fix a squeak on a door anyway and I always so 2 birds in one stone

[Lurkable]

Let me just follow up on what John noticed about the very special CA models. Notice the 3 hoses on the side of the tank. Left one is for air, middle one is for orange juice (with pulp), and right one is for introducing gasoline to the OJ mixture. That big black box with the thick rubber straps around it is where you insert whole oranges.

[kkim]

drawing to go with your pic. from a pregen, but essentially explains what those hoses are for.

[a10forwar]

Pulled my tank 3/4 full - no leaks. Also remember to disco the wire for the fuel guage. Its on the rt side.

[Blue Hawaii]

On my girlfriends bike, gas POURS out of the petcock when you remove the vacuum hose first and then the fuel line hose second. Highly doubtful it is a "faulty" petcock with only 700 miles on the clock. This brings up an issue with me of "factory defects" or "faulty/inferior" parts used for a "budget" bike. This would then bring up further concerns across the whole board on the quality of the bike itself. What's next? Faulty master cylinders on the breaks? That would be "bad"!

I also have questions about the step by step illustrations at the top of this thread posted by kkim. (not knocking you, Kelly, since you are obviously one of the "Ninjette Gawds" here, but please clarify for the newbies)

Step 6, Kelly says: "under the tank, remove a vacuum hose that runs to the back of the fuel petcock."
Step 7, "under the tank, make sure the fuel tap is in the "on" position and remove the fuel hose from the fuel petcock. The valve is vacuum operated and with no vacuum, no fuel will pour out of the tank as long as it is in the "on" position. Do not leave it in the prime position as fuel will run out... ask me how I know."

The photo that depicts the order of events given in steps 6 & 7, clearly show the fuel line disconnected and the vacuum hose still attached.

So... which is it?

[kkim]

if you have the petcock set to "on" instead of "pri", it does sound like something might be up w/ the diaphragm in the petcock.

can't say for sure if I've ever removed the fuel line first, then the vacuum line, though, but I can say I've never had a problem with fuel leaking out the petcock once removed other than a few drops.

[g21-30]

Originally Posted by kkim

can't say for sure if I've ever removed the fuel line first, then the vacuum line

I did just that last night. There was traces of gas in the fuel line, so I plugged it with wooden dowel to prevent smelling it. The tank is still sitting on cardboard with no leaking.

[kkim]

Originally Posted by Blue Hawaii

So... which is it?

it's either/or. It really shouldn't make any difference what gets disconnected first. With the engine not running, you no longer have a vacuum source to the petcock diaphragm, so the petcock should theoretically be in the "off" position. (unable to flow fuel through it) That's the job of that diaphragm... to stop fuel flow.

[randomwalk101]

remember,
no primo = no problemo

[Blue Hawaii]

I refused to believe that my girlfriends petcock (no pun intended) is "faulty", so this afternoon, I removed it from the tank and pried the diaphragm valve apart (very gently) to see what was up inside. It looked as only a good cleaning was in order, so I used some quality carb cleaner and put it all back together. Guess what?

[HKr1]

Originally Posted by Blue Hawaii

. Guess what?

What!