Triumphrat

trav13 · 07-10-2006

the paint on the inside of my tank where the gas cap screws in is peeling off. it appears that its bubbling off, and if i were to scrape it with my finger nail i could easily peel it off. the bike is less than a year old, is this normal? is there an easy fix to prevent any more peeling or would this be covered under warranty. i am also concerned with paint chips falling into the gas

mcocorochio · 07-10-2006

First of all, you are not the 1st. It happened to me a few weeks ago (2 year old bike). And believe me, when you see it the 1st time you freak. There are quite a few threads on the subject.
You may want to search for them and make up your own mind, but for now I will give you my synopsis and what I'm doing about it.
Warrantee seems to be only covered if the paint damage extends to the 'exterior' portion of the tank.

The actual interior paint bubbling seems to be somewhat of a non-issue. The factors that cause the bubbling also continue to dissolve the paint chips the reach the body of the tank. If you are the nervous type, add an in-line filter.

There are a few suggestions for preventing further damage:
Very carefully remove the balance of the fuel filler paint. That means watch out for anything that can cause a spark (wire brush, sandpaper etc.) I used a couple of modified popsicle sticks as scraper and put a clean rag in the lower nozzle. I also moved the bike away from my house and did some very light abrasive work with a brass brush.

The popsicle sticks are rather weak compared with the 'good' paint, so try to at least make a clean ring around the bubbled area, this may help keep the problem from migrating up further. I just had to do this again since I did not clear a complete ring.

In reading the other threads, this seems to be a problem with other Triumph models over the years.

I'm sure some other with give their opinions. Just my $.02
Mike Cocorochio

anthonymelendez · 07-10-2006

I just bought a Bonnie 2003 a few weeks ago. I looked in great conditions. But only in two weeks my gas cap popped out of my tank at 55mph and lost it. Then after a few showerains, my throttle started to stick. And now my paint in the tank hole is peeling too.
I will take the bike tommorrow for an inspection at the dealer Honda where I bought it.
Thanks for the recomendation.
and good luck,
anthony

MOBRIT · 07-10-2006

As Mike mentioned, the peeling paint has been a topic here a number of times. I first noticed the beginning of peeling when mine was only a few months old, and not a lot of mileage.
I used something like a popsicle stick to remove any loosend paint, which was just on the lower rim.
Then, I bought a Monza cap to replace the difficult stock cap. For me, this has stopped any gas splashing further up on the rim and on the outer tank. The Monza cap is a pleasure to use. Less then $100 and to me a good investment.
Good luck with it & keep us posted. We are a nosy group.
Bob

jreagan · 07-10-2006

The filler neck on my 2004 T100 was peeling last summer. Triumph replaced the tank under warranty.

Shorty · 07-11-2006

For those whose tank is out of warranty, you might try what I did.
I cut the "bubbled" excess paint from inside the filler neck with an exacto blade after plugging the filler neck with a shop towel to prevent more paint flakes to enter the tank. Clean with rubbing alcohol. Then I used some superglue and ran a bead along the fresh cut. Once that was dry I mixed some fast cure epoxy glue and applied it to the inside of the filler neck (very sparingly) from the cut down to the first thread for the gas cap.
Allow the epoxy to skim over but not harden all the way, spray the gas cap threads with WD-40 (to prevent the epoxy from sticking) and make sure that the cap will still screw into the neck before the epoxy hardens all the way (this step is very important and critical...you don't want to have to remove excess hardened epoxy). This fix has lasted a long time and eliminated further paint bubbling past the top of the filler neck.
I was going to go the Monza cap route, but last time I checked they were almost $140 US.

Shorty

SpeedyPete · 07-11-2006

Hey Shorty - interesting preventative measures there. I hadn't thought of re-sealing the paint after I picked off the loose bits (used a pair of tweezers).

I got so much paint off with the tweezers, there's probably not enough to warrant a re-seal. My plan is to watch the remaining paint and apply the tweezers again once it starts to bubble. Within a year or so I expect to be down to steel.

All - I'm always surprised to hear about gas cap problems. It seems to be hit or miss depending on your bike. I've never had a problem with mine ... touch wood.

P

Shorty · 07-11-2006

Speedy...I think the real preventer in this case is the superglue because it's thin enough to "wick" underneath the paint and seal. The epoxy is good for a hard coat and to prevent further damage from the gas cap being taken off and on. Sofar it's been working in my case (knock on wood) and I even had to cut the bubbled paint off almost to the top lip of the filler neck of the tank.

Your comment about gas cap problems being a hit or miss...I'm kinda wondering if Triumph listened to the "too tight" complaints and made some changes? I've read about at least (2) individuals in this forum whose gas caps actually came off the tank while riding.

Shorty

[ This message was edited by: Shorty on 2006-07-11 09:24 ]

ohiorider · 07-11-2006

Shorty - I'm going to take your approach to repairing the peeling paint. I keep avoiding doing the fix, but ultimately, if I don't do something, it could ruin the appearance of the tank. Is there anything I should know about type of Crazy Glue, etc, aside from what you've mentioned in your posts?

Bob

Shorty · 07-12-2006

Bob...I'm sure any superglue would work (maybe not the "gel" type though because you want it to wick underneath the paint which you just trimmed). Clean it real good with alcohol and once you applied the glue, and you watched it seep under the paint, take a tooth pick or popsicle stick and smooth out the wrinkles/bubbles if you have any left (by dapping along the edge of the trimmed area). This would prevent trapping any air between the tank and paint (which would eventually blister and bubble more).
Good Luck, it's not as difficult as it might sound and remember not to use too much glue because it takes just enough to re-bond the paint to the metal.

Shorty

[ This message was edited by: Shorty on 2006-07-12 04:28 ]