Painting my tank

[mmmansur]

I am in the process of repainting the fuel tank on my 81 550. I am going for a smooth look (no emblems). The side emblems are screwed to a backing plate that is recessed into the sides of the tank. Are theses plates easily removed without damage to the tank, or should they be ground smooth, then covered with filler (they sit higher than the suface of the tank)? Any info would be appreciated.

[Agemax]

just grind them off carefully with a dremmel or similar and fill the recesses

[mmmansur]

Thanks for the info. Just finished stripping, and ran into a bit of a problem, several holes along the bottom edge of the tank. I started poking around and the whole bottom edge of the tank is weak. I just had the bike out around the block last week, I guess the only thing holding the gas in was the paint.

[mike_of_bbg]

Yep. The only tanks that fit your (or my) bike AFAIK are the 81 and 82 GS550L tanks; they're not as bad as some but don't come real easy. Caswell epoxy is a good tank liner if you have holes. It cures hard; just put some tape over the holed/weak areas before you prep/line it and you should be good to go.

[mmmansur]

Actually, I just dicovered that I hate the look of the 550 tank. I am going with a cafe style and it just has not looked right from the start. I grabbed an old CB450 tank (it is more square and stocky in shape) and was quite impressed with the look. Its in rough shape (dents and heavy rust inside), petcock is on the wrong side and the tunnel is a bit narrow. I have seen other GS's with boxy shaped tanks (850's, 1000's?). Anyone seen or done this? If the tunnel is wide enough, I could fab up some mounting system.

[Agemax]

Actually, I just dicovered that I hate the look of the 550 tank. I am going with a cafe style and it just has not looked right from the start. I grabbed an old CB450 tank (it is more square and stocky in shape) and was quite impressed with the look. Its in rough shape (dents and heavy rust inside), petcock is on the wrong side and the tunnel is a bit narrow. I have seen other GS's with boxy shaped tanks (850's, 1000's?). Anyone seen or done this? If the tunnel is wide enough, I could fab up some mounting system.

go for it, its only hammers and dents to make it fit and what you cant see wont matter. do a mock up with the naff tank and if it looks good then buy a better one and do the job properly. post some pics up and get an opinion!

[mmmansur]

The green tank is the CB's the bare one is the GS's. Still would like to use a GS tank, just not this one. Comments, ideas? Excuse the crappy photos.

[Agemax]

personally i think the honda tank looks great. really suits the style of the bike

[KiwiGS]

+1 on the Honda tank.
IMO the CB tank looks right with the hump, could be 'cause so many CBs are caffeinated.
Cheers

[kparkfan]

I have one off a 450l if you think it would work on your 550.

[Rudeman]

Thanks for the info. Just finished stripping, and ran into a bit of a problem, several holes along the bottom edge of the tank. I started poking around and the whole bottom edge of the tank is weak. I just had the bike out around the block last week, I guess the only thing holding the gas in was the paint.

Take the tank, completely stripped of all paint, to a sheet metal fabricator and see if they can braze the leaks closed for you. Then you can smooth the finished area down and line the tank to prevent further corrosion. The problem with using resins to repair leaks is that the resin and steell have different expansion rates due to tempurature changes and over time the joint will fail.

[mmmansur]

Thanks for all of the input. I think I will start looking for a CB tank in better condition than the one I have for starters (the one I have is really rough, good for a mock up to fab mounts). This has really given the project some new life. I have been looking at this thing for a while now, and not been completely satisfied with the look, and just realized it was the tank not fitting the style. Sometimes we get inspiration from the simplest of things, in this case, a rusty gas tank.