Acerbis Fuel Tank Upgrade

[Hibobb]

@Rider 101 That is horrible!! I have bikes that are 40 years old that are nowhere near as bad. Yamaha sure dropped the ball on this rust issue! The owner's manual says E10 GAS is ok, but the tank sure isn't.

[Redbikejohn]

Any tank will rust inside if the water separates from the fuel. None are treated inside to the best of my knowledge. 

[Hibobb]

@Redbikejohn Naw, Yamaha doesn't get a pass on this. E10 gas is nothing new. A bike that is only a year or two old should not have rust in the tank (or under the tank, or on the spokes, or on the rim....). 

 

Maybe they got a deal on leftover rolls of steel from the production run of the 1975 AMC Pacers & Gremlins. Back then cars dissolved in a few years....

[Rider 101]

Tank all fitted 

 

 

[Rider 101]

Now the bastard won't start. I can hear fuel pump, motor turns over but won't fire up. Any ideas? Fuses all good. I have disconnected the battery for an hour and reconnected.

[Redbikejohn]

Fuel line not fully home? They are a bit tricky. 

[Rider 101]

The tank is off again. I looked at the connection before In removed it and I think it was home. It is nearly dark here in Oz so I will pick up tomorrow. ( no light in shed  )

[jdub53]

Went on a 200 mile ride this morning on some state forest trails with my newly installed Acerbis 23 liter tank, which had been about half filled. The efficient shape of the Acerbis made it totally unobtrusive while riding both on and off road, and after riding 28 miles with the blinking reserve bar (which with the stock tank meant I had about 1/2 gallon remaining) it took almost 5.4 gallons to fill. I'm going to like this thing and the ~ 350 mile range it should provide.

 

  

[RagingBullFish]

1 minute ago, jdub53 said:

Went on a 200 mile ride this morning on some state forest trails with my newly installed Acerbis 23 liter tank, which had been about half filled. The efficient shape of the Acerbis made it totally unobtrusive while riding both on and off road, and after riding 28 miles with the blinking reserve bar (which with the stock tank meant I had about 1/2 gallon remaining) it took almost 5.4 gallons to fill. I'm going to like this thing and the ~ 350 mile range it should provide.

 

  

I also tested my range the other day, I got close to 300 miles and most of that was getting on it pretty hard like I normally do. 
i also agree it’s not intrusive at all for me, I have a tank bag on it and it kinda hits the boys when standing but, no big deal lol 

just my observation, I tried to take it easy as soon as I hit the blinking reserve bar on the gauge, and I got a gnarly 55 miles out of that! That was from exactly blinking to pulling over cause it shut off on me. 

[Rider 101]

On 5/20/2022 at 5:03 PM, Rider 101 said:

The tank is off again. I looked at the connection before In removed it and I think it was home. It is nearly dark here in Oz so I will pick up tomorrow. ( no light in shed  )

Time for a confession.

I double checked all wiring just to make sure I hadn't dislodged anything.

I then put a length of hose on the fuel pump outlet, connected  the wiring and cycled the pump. Fuel flow but bugger all pressure.

I removed the pump from the tank and had a careful look. It appears I hadn't reassembled it correctly! I removed the bottom section of the pump housing and inspected the rubber 0-ring. It didn't appear to be sitting right.

I carefully put the pump back together, refitted the tank on the bike, turned on the key, hit the started and hey presto! life 

 

Moral is double check everything when putting things back together.

 

At least I now have a clean tank and filter screen

[Rider 101]

Here is some of the crud I got out of the original tank.

 

 

[Hibobb]

How do you get that much crap in a new bike?

[Rider 101]

5 hours ago, Hibobb said:

How do you get that much crap in a new bike?

Best quality Australian fuel at premium prices 

 

The bottom of the tank is in pretty poor shape. I will have to flush with metho and get a sealing treatment kit

[Hibobb]

@Rider 101 That is super disappointing. I am beginning to question Yamaha and the future. Do you (or anyone) know if the Australian bikes come from France or from Japan?

 

EDIT:

From an old post by @TimmyTheHog

Have one the guys post their first 2 digits of their VIN then we will know.
If it's France, it will be VF, VG, VH, VJ, VK, VL, VM, VN, VP, or VR

if its Japan, then it will be J.

 

Me:

From what I have seen/read so far, the French ones have been having the most issues. 

Edited May 29, 2022 by Hibobb

[RagingBullFish]

40 minutes ago, Hibobb said:

@Rider 101 That is super disappointing. I am beginning to question Yamaha and the future. Do you (or anyone) know if the Australian bikes come from France or from Japan?

 

EDIT:

From an old post by @TimmyTheHog

Have one the guys post their first 2 digits of their VIN then we will know.
If it's France, it will be VF, VG, VH, VJ, VK, VL, VM, VN, VP, or VR

if its Japan, then it will be J.

 

Me:

From what I have seen/read so far, the French ones have been having the most issues. 

I’m from the states, my tank was clean and no rust when I took it off. Mine was made in good ol Japan 

[Rider 101]

7 hours ago, Hibobb said:

@Rider 101 That is super disappointing. I am beginning to question Yamaha and the future. Do you (or anyone) know if the Australian bikes come from France or from Japan?

 

EDIT:

From an old post by @TimmyTheHog

Have one the guys post their first 2 digits of their VIN then we will know.
If it's France, it will be VF, VG, VH, VJ, VK, VL, VM, VN, VP, or VR

if its Japan, then it will be J.

 

Me:

From what I have seen/read so far, the French ones have been having the most issues. 

Pretty sure the 2019 in Aus was made in France.

[CoreCass]

i have more issue's. and its a france thing.

keep an eye on your fraim as well..  saw starting rust places under the seat. always near a weld. thy did not bother to round the burr.

can notice that the coating is thin there as well.. witch is logical as it has almost no metal to hold on to.

 

if i had know this before hand i would have asked for a Japanese make.

went to the dealer and he was like well this is not normal. but nothing thy do about it.

i guess that ill strip it in the winter and re-coat it.

[Fnatic]

On 5/20/2022 at 10:48 AM, Rider 101 said:

Tank all fitted 

 

 

 

 

Rider101; did you have to do any modifications to get it fit with the RalleMoto steering Damper?

Mate just fitted his Acerbis and he took his damper off as he said it wouldn't fit.

 

[Rider 101]

The tank just touches the black part of the damper which I can live with. I had to remove the adjuster and file the back to clear the tank. It is a close fit but works.

 

Be warned the adjuster has 2 small grub screws, one on top of the other and a very small spring and ball bearing on the underside that works as a "clicker".

 

I will have my tank back together over the weekend so will post a couple more pics.

 

 

Edited June 11, 2022 by Rider 101
add photo

[jdub53]

On 5/12/2022 at 6:42 PM, jdub53 said:

Took my T7 with newly installed Acerbis 23 liter tank off my maintenance stand today, only to discover that the Barkbuster clamps on each side of the handlebars contacted the tank before full lock was achieved in each direction. Bummer.

 

Because my handlebars are already set up perfectly for me, I had to instead loosen and rotate both Barkbusters way down from their normal level aluminum backbone position to keep their clamps from contacting the Acerbis tank at full lock. 

 

I consider this just a temporary fix, and will either modify or replace the Barkbusters so my hand guards are again positioned correctly. Anyone else had to deal with this Acerbis/ Barkbuster conflict?

 

With the Barkbusters normally positioned and the Acerbis tank installed:

 

 

Quoting my earlier post just after Acerbis tank installation when I'd mentioned contact between the Barkbuster clamps and the new tank at full lock. I'd first rotated the Barkbusters downward to provide adequate clearance, but they were way too low like that. Then, in spite of the handlebars already being at the perfect position for me, I rotated them forward so the Barkbusters were positioned properly and, as I'd expected, didn't at all like how the bar was now positioned.

 

After a lot of thought about other options, I dug out of my toolbox a pair of Adel clamps that were the perfect size for where the Barkbuster clamps sat (I'm a retired aircraft mechanic and pack rat). I replaced the Barkbuster clamps with the Adels and now my T7's world is in sync again: Handlebars and Barkbusters are positioned correctly and solid, and nothing contacts the Acerbis tank at full lock in either direction. While the Adel clamps are obviously not as beefy as the Barkbuster items, I'm confident they'll be plenty strong for this application. 

 

 

[Redbikejohn]

Nice fix for the road wind etc but a drop off road and those will be toast.... along with your levers.

I've also since re-visited mine. Thinking about knocking up some steel clamps that I can thread to do away with the locknut. 

[Rider 101]

You must have your bars way backwards. My Barkbusters have an easy 10mm clearance at full lock left and right.

[Rider 101]

OK, I am nearly at the end of my tether with the Acerbis tank. After my stupid issue with the internal o-ring I now have a leaking fuel pump gasket. I initially used the original gasket and after rectifying the above mentioned issue I filled the tank up ready for a ride. I returned to the shed a couple of days later to find a puddle of evaporating fuel on the floor.

Bugger! off come the shrouds and jewellery and when I tilted the tank backwards there was a tell-tall leak from under the metal clamp ring. Syphon remaining fuel and remove tank; simple. 

I removed the fuel pump and had a very careful look at the gasket and pump base. All looked good even using a magnifying glass.

OK, lets break out some fuel resistant sealant. I first tried Hylomar, left a couple of days to go off, add fuel, hey presto, a leak.

Next was 3 Bond 1104 followed by Permatex form a gasket #1 then onto Permatex Anaerobic. Results were the same.

OK, let's try a new gasket........same result.

Let's check the sealing face. Not particularly flat. I have done a lot of valve lapping on high pressure steam valves over the years so I machined a lapping plug to sand the plastic seat flat. I used #400 followed by #600 and finally #1200. Looks professional.

Replace the pump with new gasket......you guessed it.

 

I then sat with a bright torch on the back of the fuel pump base looking for a crack. Nothing.

I contacted the supplier and I now have the tank wrapped up ready to return for possible replacement. I sat staring at the leak and have concluded it is coming from under the aluminium ring which would indicate and internal flaw. To prove my theory I will flush the original tank and fit the fuel pump and if there is no leaks then it must be the tank.

 

Watch this space.

Edited June 21, 2022 by Rider 101
spelling

[Richarddd]

I have a couple thousand miles of riding with the Acerbis tank on my T7. I love not worrying about fuel range anymore! Can  ride all day on a full tank! As for handling, I really haven’t felt any difference in the handling of the bike, it’s still top heavy, but no more than the original tank and I haven’t noticed any effect from fuel sloshing. Vent hose connection is a joke. I often look down and it’s disconnected. I will probably drill a hole in the tank and add a proper vent fitting in the future. Overall a great upgrade to the bike 

[Dougie]

1 hour ago, Richarddd said:

I have a couple thousand miles of riding with the Acerbis tank on my T7. I love not worrying about fuel range anymore! Can  ride all day on a full tank! As for handling, I really haven’t felt any difference in the handling of the bike, it’s still top heavy, but no more than the original tank and I haven’t noticed any effect from fuel sloshing. Vent hose connection is a joke. I often look down and it’s disconnected. I will probably drill a hole in the tank and add a proper vent fitting in the future. Overall a great upgrade to the bike 

Just get the locking fuel cap from acerbis. It’s vented as normal bikes so no more hose