Is it possible to repair a small scratch in a plastic acerbis tank? I am thinking epoxy resin plus a piece of plastic piping.

Since last post the ignition system has packed up as well as the generator. all the rest of the electrics are fine. New battery. The wiring seems ok and the coil resistances are within spec. I am puzzled.

Is it that bad? Scratches add character and a look of purpose.....

Otherwise, if it's a GRP tank, araldite will do the trick. If the gel coat has lifted you will need to grind back to the glass fibre backing to make sure any cracks don't continue to open under stress. After that, the araldite can be applied and then sanded smooth after it's cured. Car accessory shops sometimes sell gel coat repair, which would be better, particularly because colour can be added as it's mixed. It usually comes in large-ish quantities though.

If the tank is polythene it's more of a problem. Hot melt glue sometimes makes good semi temporary repairs for leaks, but if it's only cosmetic I wouldn't bother.

Stig

Cheers Stig,

One of the great joys of this website is that people have a fund of useful info and are more than happy to share it. Even with fools like myself.

I think the tank is polyethene but I will have a closer look this weekend. It is a small leak towards the top so it will pass for the moment. Not that it makes much difference since the ignition system has packed up. I'm not going anywhere just yet.

Thanks for the advice

What XT do you have? If it is a Tenere 600 you do not need battery power for the ignition. If it is a 660 or 'normal' XT you need the battery and charger.
Just assuming that you need battery power for your ignition just recharge the battery and try to start it. If it still does not start try exchanging CDI, pickups and coil with a friend's to find the faulty part.

If it is a real Tenere no need to recharge the battery, just start exchaniging parts immediately to find the faulty ignition part.

Good luck!
Auke

nothing sticks to polythene,even bacteria, thats why food and chemical containers are made out of the stuff.

have you asked acerbis? maybe they can help, if they dont just try and sell you a new tank!

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dave

If a 660 needs battery voltage to run howcome I had a flat battery and defective voltage regulator in the South of France, put the luggage and the girlfriend on, let it go downhill, started in 3rd gear and got home ok?

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Fred, XTZ660, Holland.

Thanks for all your help guys.

The tank looks like it's a gonner. Fortunately the hole is in the top so until I head off into the great unknown it will do. I guess I will just have to bite the bullet and get a new one when the time comes.

As for the ignition. After being nearly suicidal with testing the electrics, I eventually tracked it down to not one but two wires broken inside their casing. These made perfect contact until there was any vibration, i.e. engine running or starting. A couple of temporary repairs just to make sure this is the cause and I am away and running.

Just got the kick start to sort now, which seems to get the timing of the decompression valve all wrong. I'll just stick with the electric for the moment.

Thanks again

George

dont write the tank off, they are VERY expensive! if looks are not important then you can fix it easy, just not pretty. dont ride around with a hole in the top of it, think of all the fuel evaporating out?! and 1 spark, you will be flying, not riding!!

find some flat material, metal or plastic, that will not melt with the petrol. (aluminium alloy, coke can, anything). find something to make a gasket out of, rubber will be best, (but i cant remember if its natural or synthetic rubber that melts in petrol).
form a patch to the right shape and pop rivet it onto the tank, getting self sealing rivets of course.

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dave

I think it might be worth a try with Araldite on you tank ,if it is cleaned and the surface roughed up a bit.
I have used this to good and long lasting effect on a polythene canoe. It will not stick very well to smooth polythene.
Come to think of it there might even be some stuff specifically for fixing polythene canoes which could be useful for plastic tanks. I don't know.

George,

Being a Kayaker & also having an Acerbis tanked XT I would be interested in how your fare - mine gets dropped regularly when trailriding in Devon & Cornwall and might need repairing in future....

Decent Kayak shops down here are AS Watersports in Exeter and Kayaks & Paddles in Plymouth. The best bonding stuff I ever used on poly canoes was for sticking on the protective end caps - sort of an incredibly hard black mastic, the endcaps have never fallen off despite severe abuse & I'd guess that it should work well on the tank.

Cheers
Bish

Cheers Bish and Dave,

I'm willing to try anything once. AS watersports is my local as I live 25 miles from Exeter. I'll let you know how I go. I reckon a combo of araldite and riveting might do the trick

Cheers George