| Author | Message | ||
     Mike_lee |
Hi guys! My S1 has the smaller tank. Id like a manta. Theres a few on ebay ranging from 95-289. All would need to be refinished. Except for the nice black one but its FI. Has anyone ever converted their tank from FI to a petcock? Or would it be better to refinish one to a different color? | ||
| Buellbum |
painting a motorcycle tank is easy and fun especially a plastic one with no dents. don't mess around with the FI tank if there are unknowns. get a cheap one and paint it. make the guy an offer. | ||
| Kmbuell |
I've got a nice yellow M2 tank, no bubbles, but some discoloration from bird poo after being stores in a barn for a few years. I'm looking for $45 plus the ride, should be around $30 to ship it t you. It's a big light box. Ping me at kmeath34@gmail.com Kevin | ||
| Upthemaiden |
Just keep in mind these plastic tanks can be a difficult with paint because of the bubbling. If you don't do it just right, your fresh new paint job will just bubble up shortly after. I haven't really seen anyone convert an FI tank to a petcock(which is a shame because when I bought my manta tank he was also selling a nicely painted one that matched my bike, but was FI instead of carbed), but I don't see any reason why you couldn't use it if you just found a fitting for the tank(do the fuel pumps thread in? and then just cut the fuel line a few inches from the tank and mount an inline petcock. Potentially the best option, that I'm hoping to try when the time comes to repaint my bike... is to try making a fiberglass cover for the manta tank, and just paint that. Then it doesn't matter what color the current tank is, and you won't have to worry about any of the bubbling that the tanks have commonly. | ||
| Williamscottrobertson |
Pingel probably has a valve option. You may call them to see, if not they can make one. Needs to drop thru and thread to seal to the tank with o-rings or viton washers. The wiring hole you could plug with a bolt and washers or if it’s abs, you can fill the hole in with abs pipe glue and acetone from Home Depot. I’ve repaired ABS fairings this way. It may well be a different type of plastic. | ||
| Buellbum |
---Just keep in mind these plastic tanks can be a difficult with paint because of the bubbling. If you don't do it just right, your fresh new paint job will just bubble up shortly after. --- why is that? if you sand/primer the surface, the top-coat won't know that the tank is plastic. | ||
| Williamscottrobertson |
Something with it gassing. The s2 bubbles because the fiberglass was gassing. The one piece tanks, some bubbles badly from the factory, some didn’t. Many were replaced under warranty I’ve read. | ||
| Robertl |
Searching this forum will provide enough links/posts on bubbling/blistering to make your head hurt. One post said 3 months drying time which seems ridiculous but so is the time/prep/cost to repaint after it happens again, sometimes not until a few years later. Here's some more information on reason for bubbles/blisters: https://ktauniversity.com/blistering-bubbling-coat ings/ Still amazes me no one has come up with a cover for the Manta tank. | ||
| Mike_lee |
Appreciate all the responses. Ive done a fair share of searching but wanted to actually hear it from y’all. I did read the 3 month drying time. Id be ok with that if thats what it takes. So it really doesnt matter if the orginal paint was blistering or not? It could still do this regardless? I guess in my mind, i thought that if i get a tank that wasnt bubbled, id be ok repainting it. Seems to not be the case. Still kinda on the fence about converting the FI tank. The bottoms of the two are slightly different, but i dont see any fitment issues because of it. | ||
| S1owner |
Bubbling is a big issue. The tanks are not plastic they are a spun nylon I believe. It allows fumes to gas through which thus effects the paint. It is worse if there is a sticker applied like the earlier models. There are detailed instructions on here that work but realize most painters will say no I know what I am doing and they might not get it right. The fiberglass cover is the way to go!!! Been done and works. Wish I had the time or $$$ to do a vacuum molded abs cover that would be a great fix. | ||
| Jamie04 |
I have painted M2 tanks twice with varying results: The first one was sanded, sealed, and painted all in a few days. It blistered after 4 years. I then bought a second used tank and re-painted it in 2016.(No blisters yet.) Before the second paint job, I re-read all of the many posts here on the subject, and considering other's suggestions, I did a few things differently: 1) I sanded all of the numerous old paint jobs from the tank, down to the nylon. 2) I used plastic adhesion promoter, and then applied 2-part PPG epoxy primer. I let it cure for several weeks, then wet-sanded smooth, and applied another coat of the epoxy primer. Let cure several more weeks. 3) Wet-sanded again, then sprayed with PPG sealer. Let cure for another month. 4)Wet-sand and applied typical basecoat/clearcoat paint job. Again, let cure for another month. 5)Finally, wet-sanded, buffed and applied new decals. Out of caution, if I have to park my bike in hot sun, I usually lay my jacket over the tank in an attempt to keep the fuel cooler, hoping it will be less apt to migrate through the tank. If all of the above doesn't prevent blistering, I'll just wave the white flag and admit defeat! I am hoping that the epoxy primer and long cure time will be the difference this time.  | ||
| Harleyelf |
I use bolts to plug the fuel pump holes. Put the head inside, use the largest size that will fit through the hole, and place a nylon washer under the bolt head and a flat washer-lock washer stack under the nut on the outside of the tank. Been using it for ten years now. | ||
| Brother_in_buells |
That are some awesome looking tanks!  | ||
| Mike_lee |
“I use bolts to plug the fuel pump holes. Put the head inside, use the largest size that will fit through the hole, and place a nylon washer under the bolt head and a flat washer-lock washer stack under the nut on the outside of the tank.” Then just drill new holes for petcock? Those tanks look amazing. Lets hope you found the solution. (Message edited by Mike lee on February 14, 2018) | ||
| Ratbuell |
Nice tanks. Do you do paint for hire? Got an original S1W tank that could use some ice white pearl...the recall tank is starting to bubble, might be nice to have an alternate on the shelf for when it's too ugly to take out of the garage! | ||
| Williamscottrobertson |
Yeah, I could use a complete paint job on my beat up ice white pearl s1w also. The tank has turned a bit darker than the rest of the panels. Maybe the vinyl? (Message edited by Williamscottrobertson on February 14, 2018) | ||
| Jamie04 |
Thanks for the kind words regarding the tank paint photo. No, I don't paint for hire. Too many commitments right now to allow time for that. I only paint 1 or 2 items a year for myself in my garage. Maybe after I retire in a few years... If you ask 10 painters how they would paint these nylon tanks you'll likely get 10 different answers. I think the key is to get the best bond possible between the nylon and the first layer of paint (primer.) The epoxy primers seem to get the best "grip" from what I saw on my last tank. (I tried an unscientific test of using duct tape pulled swiftly from the cured primer in an effort to loosen it. It did not budge.) I would not use chemical strippers on these tanks either, I fear the chemical could migrate into the nylon and mess up the bond with your new paint. Good luck. | ||
| Gmaple |
I see there r aluminum manta tanks on fleebay for.......$1023. These r made in India so not sure of quality. Pricey but no more bubbles! | ||
| Gmaple |
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Buell-S1-M2-S3-S1-lightni ng-manta-early-S3-thunderbolt-fuel-tank-aluminium- Ecs/362229036011?hash=item54568873eb:g:0i4AAOSw-4R abuoJ&vxp=mtr | ||
| S1owner |
I would be curious on those. It could go either way very good or very bad! But not a terrible price. I like mine  | ||
| Upthemaiden |
I think the holtworks tanks are about $1250. I feel like if I was already spending $1000 on a gas tank, I'd just suck it up and pay the extra $200 to know I'm getting something good. | ||
| Buellbum |
the gasses bubbling the paint sounds strange to me. why then doesn't the factory paint bubble? | ||
| S1owner |
The factory paint does bubble!!!!!! | ||
| Gmaple |
Bubbles and turns a brownish white | ||
| S1owner |
Very common issue probably one major reason they went to an x1 style tank with cover.   | ||
| S1owner |
The hand laid carbon cover solution   | ||
| Gmaple |
Holtworks looks like the alloy way to go but there is a 7 month turn around. Who offers the carbon manta cover? | ||
| Jamie04 |
That carbon tank cover is awesome. Great job. I believe that the increased amount of ethanol in fuels today has made the paint blistering problem worse than it was when these bikes were first built. Ethanol is more volatile, vaporizing at lower temperatures. On a hot sunny day more vapors are trying to migrate into the nylon tank wall than in the 1990's. (That is also why my carbureted 1971 Plymouth is more prone to vapor lock now than it was 20 years ago.) That's my theory anyway. (Message edited by jamie04 on February 16, 2018) | ||
| Ratbuell |
I don't know if it's a placebo or if it's actually helping, but lately I've been popping the catch on my fuel cap on both the S1W and the M2, to allow "mass exodus" of fuel fumes through the filler neck, when I park the bikes. Naturally you don't want to do that when they sit out in the rain, but so far...it seems to have at least hit "pause" on any bubbling (each tank was starting to get pinhead-size pimples here and there; nothing big enough to call a "bubble" just yet but I'm trying to keep it that way!). | ||
| S1owner |
Carbon cover was made by a badwebber its a one off! |
