[BurnedNuggets]

Hi,
First post on the forum and I'm shopping for a used older bonneville. There's a very low mileage option a couple hours away but the pictures of the gas tank I got were a bit concerning. I was wondering if this year came with some kind of red tank sealant or is the tank just that thoroughly rusted? If it is rusted, is the damage repairable or am I better off passing on it? I appreciate any help and hopefully I can join the Triumph family soon.
Thanks

 

[jjanz]

Hi there. I have a 2005 Bonneville T100 and it has the same red coating in the tank. I know that people worry about rusted tanks. If they are actually rusted clean them as best you can - In the past I have removed tank, put in some coarse sand and shake, shake, shake like crazy, then spend an eternity flushing to get all the sand out, and you are good to go. Make sure you have a good inline filter between the tank and the carbs to catch anything left. Not elegant, but works for me. Also, try to keep your tank filled. No air, no rust.

 

[jjanz]

Hi there. I have a 2005 Bonneville T100 and it has the same red coating in the tank. I know that people worry about rusted tanks. If they are actually rusted clean them as best you can - In the past I have removed tank, put in some coarse sand and shake, shake, shake like crazy, then spend an eternity flushing to get all the sand out, and you are good to go. Make sure you have a good inline filter between the tank and the carbs to catch anything left. Not elegant, but works for me. Also, try to keep your tank filled. No air, no rust.

Just a bit more on dealing with rust if you are not keen on the old school coarse sand method. There are lots of chemical rust removers out there from the savage to the gentle. Take your pick, follow the directions then flush, flush, flush. Cheers

 

[Traveller]

Just a bit more on dealing with rust if you are not keen on the old school coarse sand method. There are lots of chemical rust removers out there from the savage to the gentle. Take your pick, follow the directions then flush, flush, flush. Cheers

Vinegar works well just don't leave it in the tank for more than a couple of hours and shake it around every 15 minutes or so. The bonus to vinegar over chemicals is you can dump it anywhere after you finish and with the chemicals you may have a disposal issue.

 

[Traveller]

Hi,
First post on the forum and I'm shopping for a used older bonneville. There's a very low mileage option a couple hours away but the pictures of the gas tank I got were a bit concerning. I was wondering if this year came with some kind of red tank sealant or is the tank just that thoroughly rusted? If it is rusted, is the damage repairable or am I better off passing on it? I appreciate any help and hopefully I can join the Triumph family soon.
Thanks

Looks like sealant, factory hopefully.

 

[BurnedNuggets]

Thanks everyone for replying. I guess I am just being overcautious since it only has 4400 miles so I'm sure it sat a bit. Assuming it starts up nicely are there any other problem areas I should look out for?

 

[Baltobonneville]

Yes, that red is definitely not rust. It looks pretty good.

I also kept my 2005 completely full of fuel. I filled it after almost every trip. Work was 33 miles away, so that worked out fine. When I sold it, the inside of the filler neck looked "used" but not particularly rusty after 17 years and 30+ thousand miles.

 

[Smoldrn1]

That red is from the factory, my 07 looks the same. The PO had let the bike sit forever (1136 miles) on an 07. Cleaned the carbs a couple of times , tons of rust.
Finally filled the tank with vinegar and let sit a week. Must've gotten 2 coffee mugs of rust out of the tank. Used a lining kit from Caswell, and added a clear inline filter.
No more problems.

 

[ClemsonTriumphRider]

Thread is a little old, but one my 2007, I filled the tank with evaporoust ( Bought at Harbor Freight) let it sit for 24 hours moving every couple hours to shake it. Dumped out the evaporust, washed it out with water and filled with Gas treated with stabile and a bit of Marvel Mystery Oil, and installed a K& N Filter ( 81-0221, bought on amazon for $15), and she was good to go.

 

[Smoldrn1]

Thread is a little old, but one my 2007, I filled the tank with evaporoust ( Bought at Harbor Freight) let it sit for 24 hours moving every couple hours to shake it. Dumped out the evaporust, washed it out with water and filled with Gas treated with stabile and a bit of Marvel Mystery Oil, and installed a K& N Filter ( 81-0221, bought on amazon for $15), and she was good to go.

Evaporust works good, but vinegar's only $3. a gallon.

 

[ClemsonTriumphRider]

Evaporust works good, but vinegar's only $3. a gallon.

Thats true, was only trying to give my personal experience though as I have not used vinegar. If I ever have to in the future, will try. Thank You

 

[Smoldrn1]

Thread IS a little old, just realized that.

 

[Traveller]

Evaporust works good, but vinegar's only $3. a gallon.

Vinegar works great and you can just pour it down the drain when you are done. I pour it into a rock bed by the house cause it kills the weeds and I might as well get double use out of it. But to the point. I made the mistake of letting it sit in a tank for almost a week and it ate through the tank in a couple of places. It was an old tank, full of rust, that I got for free thinking I could try my hand at painting so not a big loss. Point being don't let the vinegar sit to long.

 

[Smoldrn1]

Interesting...
I let mine sit for a week and it didn't hurt it any. Maybe your metal was too far gone.

 

[Traveller]

Interesting...
I let mine sit for a week and it didn't hurt it any. Maybe your metal was too far gone.

That was most likely the case but the tank was holding fuel before. The metal may have been rusted thin.