How hard are the Acerbis fuel tanks
 

I have got an Acerbis 23 ltr tank fitted to my 03 XT600E. I don't want to be adding more weight to the bike by fitting loads of crash bars etc, and finding then to stickout more than the tank will be harder. Tried to find bungs/mushrooms to fit but cant find any.
So..... how hard/robust are the tanks when you have a spill?? Will it hold its own??
Has anyone had any problems with the tanks
Thanks in advance

Wayne

I've had a few over the years on a number of bikes including a 23L on my CCM at the moment and not had a problem - but then I don't tend to crash a lot. The few spills I have had have all been at low speed and the tanks have survived unscathed but that may well be luck more than any inherent strength in the plastic. I've never considered constructing crash bars for them but I do take epoxy resin and a few bits of plastic suitable for patching with me on a long trip

almost indestructable.

"sunlight" soap (or a similar bar-type soap) also works to block a fuel leak- something in the soap reacts with the fuel and it seals into a hardened shell. (just an alternative to carrying resin- works for cracked sumps as well to stop the oil leaks)

I take it your just talking about a normal bar of soap, or is a special make

Thanks

To be honest, I'm not sure if a any bar of soap works.

My mother used to use Sunlight soap in the kitchen, which was a green bar of soap that they used for general purpose cleaning (not beauty soap) and 'soaping' clothes to get stains out etc. My wife buys something similar, and it's a yellow bar. Different countries, different brands/varieties, but look for the laundry bar soap.

It's a trick I learned from my Dad for fixing fuel tanks and abraded lines quickly. You can either 'shave' some off the soap and make a putty and stick it on (hole in the tank etc), or just rub the bar across the crack (and the soap fills the crack up) where it reacts e.g. cracked sump.

I've had a few different Acerbis fuel tanks on different bikes. I've also had several IMS tanks (USA) and currently have an IMS on my DR650. Both brands seem pretty tough.

I crashed my former Honda XR650L way more than I should have ... and never punctured the tank.

The other Acerbis tank shown below was on my WR250F ... and because of it's design ... the two forward lobes stuck way out and always took the hit. Once again, no problems. This bike hit the ground a lot, and HARD ... but it's also very light and was never loaded heavy at all.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-V..._Fj6ri-L-1.jpg

Maybe glue on some thin rubber bumpers on your tank? It's easy to predict where it will hit the ground ... so a small bumper may help absorb some shock or avert a puncture from sharp rock? My tank had some deep gouges in it ... but never a puncture.

Good luck! bier