Wow, I hate the dealership...

[vaedyn]

Well as most of you know, my fork seals are terrible. So today I have been calling around the dealerships getting quotes. What can as a HUGE surprise to me is MOST of these dealerships will not do them.

6 out of the 7 places I called said that they will not replace the forks seals as my bike (1990 Zx600C) is too old and too much of a risk.

I am totally dumbfounded. sigh...and now come to find out I have rush in my tank, just one season after cleaning my carbs. What a bad, bad day.

/cry

-Vaedyn

[NYcruiser]

i would call a place that works on bike but isnt a dealer, straight repairs.. your pike isnt that old, I would be willing to bet that it has something to due with the time of the year also, very busy season getting bikes in and out for over priced oil changes and inspections...

[jukief]

We have a great motorcycle repair business just a block from our house. I went to them when I had the 800, and my son uses them all the time. They're wonderful. Old Harley dudes who have worked on every bike imaginable for the past 30 years. They really know their stuff.

I haven't used them since I got my 1500 because I have an extended warranty through the dealer. But when it expires, you can bet I'll go back to the neighborhood shop. Their prices are great, it's convenient (I can walk home after dropping off my bike), and the service is great.

I hope you can find a similar shop in your area, Vaedyn.

[Ericthejet]

Pick up and install a small inline fuel filter for extra protection.

[chesthing]

Originally Posted by Ericthejet

Pick up and install a small inline fuel filter for extra protection.

I tried 2 different inline filters for my 600r, and had sporadic starting problems with both. I gave up and am running straigt, but I don't have any rust in my tank.
Sorry you are having problems, Vaedyn. The fork seals are a pita, and the dealerships don't want the potential hassle of you coming back with them leaking after the repair.
I would try to do it myself at this point if I were you, at least you won't lose your ride while you are working on them.
As for the rust, any luck trying to find a good used tank? that may be cheaper and less hassle...

[QKENUF4U]

99.9% of shops WONT work on old bikes and i know EXACTLY WHY NOW i have my own little shop running out of my garage during the nights. i work on all the older bikes and ill tell you it aint that simple.
the main problem with your zx6 is, the shop opens your forks up and tells you you need
1. seals
2. bushings
3. dust seals
and you the customer dont want to spend the extra $$$$ so they put it back together as per your request without the extra parts needed, two weeks go by and you come back *****ing your forks are leaking again. i know you think the shops are just out there to rip you off but they also know if they do a good job you tell 3-5 people , if they do a bad job you tell 11+ people, so you tell me which job they want to do.
find a independent shop (like me) and youll be happy
and put a inline filter on the bike and youll be ok

[cudaosix]

Originally Posted by chesthing

I tried 2 different inline filters for my 600r, and had sporadic starting problems with both. I gave up and am running straigt, but I don't have any rust in my tank.

Thats very strange. You installed 2 different filters in your fuel line and they gave you a starting problem?......these are the filters I have been using FUEL FILTERS.
Just seems odd to me since the filters dont restrict the flow of fuel. Mabey you had a kink in your fuel line somewhere with the filters installed. Just a thought.

[Norm]

I agree Cuda!

[vaedyn]

Hi,

I have an inline fuel filter attached but everytime I turn those bowl float screws and examine the contents, rust comes pouring out. Is there a quick and easy way to empty the tank completely? I remember I tried to do it before but I could never get all the gas out. I could always here a bit swoooooshing around in the tank. Does the petcock have to come out?

[anamosity]

I rebuilt my shocks. Was fairly easy, didn't take long. Total cost was under 60 bucks if I remember correctly. But I already owned all the necessary tools.

[cudaosix]

Originally Posted by vaedyn

Hi,

I have an inline fuel filter attached but everytime I turn those bowl float screws and examine the contents, rust comes pouring out. Is there a quick and easy way to empty the tank completely? I remember I tried to do it before but I could never get all the gas out. I could always here a bit swoooooshing around in the tank. Does the petcock have to come out?

The way I do it is drain as much gas as possible through a fuel line with the petcock on reserve. Them remove the tank and petcock to empty out the rest thats left. Thats about as quick and simple as its going to get without spilling gas all over your paint.

[OKC_Kent]

vaedyn,
I think you should remove your fuel tank and clean it this way, I wrote this last year when I cleaned my tank.

Cleaning a rusty fuel tank

When I brought home my 650 it wasn’t running, the previous owner said it needed the carbs cleaned. That wasn’t all that needed cleaning…. the fuel tank was also rusty mess inside. So began the search on the Internet looking for information on how to clean the rust out. It seems there are numerous methods to do this, from acid washing, to “boiling” at a radiator shop, to using steel rods and battery chargers…way too complicated for me. Some killed the paint job, and others seemed a bit too dangerous due to the ingredients.

After some searching, I found a simple, safe and easy method. It uses a weak phosphoric acid solution to remove the rust. This won’t take long, is cheap, and leaves a tank looking new inside. Here we go.

Materials:
Duct tape
A length of chain from a kid’s swing set, about 2-3 feet long, 1 piece
Wire coat hanger
Tile and grout cleaner from your local home store. A pint size is plenty. The brand will vary by store, but you want to buy the stuff that lists phosphoric acid as it’s active ingredient. Most of these cleaners use this as the active ingredient
Safety glasses
Good rubber gloves, somewhat better than the kitchen sink kind
Empty bucket for the old gas
Any clean container to strain the dirty tile cleaner into.
Rags

How you do it:
You want to start by removing the tank and draining any old gas in to the bucket. What you do with the gas is up to you, but I offer one suggestion. Maybe it can be filtered and mixed in small amounts with fresh fuel for your lawnmower. They seem to be able to burn anything.

My tank cap was attached with a hinge, so I removed the pin to get it off and out of the way.
Remove the petcock next. Take some duct tape and seal up the holes where the petcock(s) mount. Drop the chain in the tank. This chain has sharp edges to chip and dig away at the rust as you agitate the tank. Some people use nuts, washers and bolts. They are a pain to remove from the tank. You have to keep count on what you dropped in there, and might need a magnet to fish them out.

OK put on your safety gear. Place some damp rags around the filler neck in case you spill a little. Add the bottle of tile and grout cleaner. If you splash some on your paint, wipe it off with the damp rag right away. I had some splash on the tank, and it did not harm my original paint. I don’t know if it will harm other types of paint. Take some more duct tape and seal up the filler neck very good. The acid is not strong enough to eat or melt the tape, so it will last long enough to finish the job.

Now shake the tank around, roll it over and over. What you want to do is have the chain knock off all the rust. This helps the acid do it’s job. Make sure the chain runs over all the inside surfaces. After 3-5 minutes of doing this, remove the tape on the filler neck. Drain the acid through a rag into your clean container. You should get a lot of rust in the rag. Look inside the tank and it should start looking pretty good inside. Pour the filtered acid back in and do it again. Don’t remove the chain yet. Keep doing this until that tank looks brand new. I had read that the acid leaves behind a coating that prevents further rust. When you are satisfied with the tank, drain out the acid. You can reuse this acid again, so save it.

Fish out the chain with the coat hanger. This is easier than searching for nuts, right?

I rinsed my tank with water, and hooked up a hair dryer into the filler neck to dry out the inside.

Fill the tank with fresh gas as soon as possible, or keep a light oil coating on it until you can fill it with gas. WD-40 would be good.

My tank looks brand new inside. I know that small rust particles are probably still loose in the tank. My new petcock had a nice screen, and I installed a hi-flow inline fuel filter. That will trap all the little bits from getting to the carbs. And just for fun, I stuck a small round magnet on the tank bottom near the petcock. I don’t think anything will get into the carbs now.

I also used this acid to clean other small rusty parts, like the battery box, foot pegs, grab handles, etc. It worked great.

[cudaosix]

Good write up Kent. Excellent. Only thing I'd like to add to the list of Materials is, a six of good beer.

[anrfknm]

there are products you can buy that coat the inside of your tank, after you clean it, that seal it so it won't leak or rust.


try doing the forks yourself, it's not that hard and it's cheap.

[chesthing]

Originally Posted by cudaosix

Thats very strange. You installed 2 different filters in your fuel line and they gave you a starting problem?......these are the filters I have been using FUEL FILTERS.
Just seems odd to me since the filters dont restrict the flow of fuel. Mabey you had a kink in your fuel line somewhere with the filters installed. Just a thought.

I don't know what the deal is - maybe it's the filters I've tried. The last was a cheap plastic one bought from the dealer that left me stranded at the store. (it was cutting out at high rpms before failing to start that day). I removed it and it had no problems since.
Actually, I just looked at your filters link and that's the exact filter just described. And no, the fuel line was not kinked. Maybe my petcock is a little blocked or something? no clue.