Hole in the fuel tank!!! What the #@*#!!!

smitty141 · Dec 21, 2006

Well I got to have some fun tonight on someone elses bike :yahoo: . I got to drill a hole in the bottom of my buddy Mike's (mehaffydr) 2005 FJR. I think this may have been covered before... but with all the buzz about Skyway aux tank hitting the market I will show you how I did it..

I won't go though all the steps, and just start with the fuel tank off the bike. You will have to remove the fuel pump, I put a couple marks on the punp and tank to help line it up later. There is a small dimple in 03-05 models, not sure about the 06. Thats where you will drill the hole. I used a lint free cloth and put my hand inside the tank to wipe it dry around the dimple. The tank is VERY sharp, so be careful not to cut your hand on the way out.

Heres what the bulkhead fitting looks like...

I used a paint can plastic cap and blue masking tape to catch all the metal shaving from drilling. I slid this inside the tank and stuck it with the tape under the dimple. It is very inportant not to let any chips stay inside the tank.

Be very careful when drilling. I used a uni-bit, these work great. The hole needs to be a tight fit, so don't get crazy and drill it to big or you will be very sorry.

Here you can see all the metal chips that ended up in the catch cup.

And the finished product... Now route the fuel line down the left side of the bike and to the aux. fuel tank...

I am glad I got to "practice" on Mikes bike :dribble: ... Now I'm not scared to do my own...

Smitty

SkooterG · Dec 21, 2006

I hear ya bud. That was a VERY stressfull project for me. I fretted over it for weeks, and in the end had a friend help me out. In fact, I had HIM drill the hole. That way, if something went wrong I could blame it on him for the rest of my life. I just couldn't bring myself to drill a hole into my perfectly good fuel tank. :lol:

Well, I have about 60,000 miles on that bulkhead fitting with nary a drop coming out. So I guess he did a good job.

Schwing!!!

GunMD · Dec 21, 2006

SkooterG said:
Schwing!!!

One handed Schwing??

Warchild · Dec 21, 2006

smitty141 said:
The tank is VERY sharp, so be careful not to cut your hand on the way out.

A little duct tape action around the hole opening is the ticket for bloodless extraction of your hand:

mehaffydr · Dec 21, 2006

SkooterG said:
I hear ya bud. That was a VERY stressfull project for me. I fretted over it for weeks, and in the end had a friend help me out. In fact, I had HIM drill the hole. That way, if something went wrong I could blame it on him for the rest of my life. I just couldn't bring myself to drill a hole into my perfectly good fuel tank. :lol:
Well, I have about 60,000 miles on that bulkhead fitting with nary a drop coming out. So I guess he did a good job.

Schwing!!!

Hey skooter thats exactlly what I was thinking Glad it all went well. Of course I have no worries when the bike is at Smitty's. He does some fine work.

twowheelnut · Dec 21, 2006

GunMD said:
SkooterG said:

Schwing!!!

Click to expand...

One handed Schwing??

:rofl:

That little jewel requires a laughter payment of 3 shots of tequila and a beer with which to wash them down. Excellent work, Gunny!

:good:

Ignacio · Dec 21, 2006

I called my turn The Big Drill. The friend I invited was Warchild....and that's a mixed blessing. I was pretty calm and cool before he came over....and then when he got here he freaked me out.

But, all is good 20,000+ miles later.

skyway · Dec 21, 2006

SkooterG said:
I hear ya bud. That was a VERY stressfull project for me. I fretted over it for weeks, and in the end had a friend help me out. In fact, I had HIM drill the hole. That way, if something went wrong I could blame it on him for the rest of my life. I just couldn't bring myself to drill a hole into my perfectly good fuel tank. :lol:
Well, I have about 60,000 miles on that bulkhead fitting with nary a drop coming out. So I guess he did a good job.

Schwing!!!

You worry way to much about drilling 1 hole. It's really not that big a deal.

But... If you don't know the difference between a shovel or a jack hammer, you should back away from the chainsaw when attempting this farkle.

kaitsdad · Dec 22, 2006

Ya know, drilling the hole in my 06 tank was something I worried about for months - there were times that a self-inflicted lobotomy would have been easier ..... :dribble:

And the 06 tank is different, as is the fuel pump. I do have some pics of the install, I'll post them this weekend.

And to date, no little drippies .... which is a good thing when considering gas tanks.

I hadn't considered using someone elses bike to practice on - good job, Smitty !!

turbodave_98 · Dec 22, 2006

kaitsdad said:
Ya know, drilling the hole in my 06 tank was something I worried about for months - there were times that a self-inflicted lobotomy would have been easier ..... :dribble:
And the 06 tank is different, as is the fuel pump. I do have some pics of the install, I'll post them this weekend.

And to date, no little drippies .... which is a good thing when considering gas tanks.

I hadn't considered using someone elses bike to practice on - good job, Smitty !!

I was so worried about the drilling of my 05 blue tank that I bought an 03 silver tank for dirt, brand new from a MA HD dealer warranty return. It is still on my BlueJay, problably the only Blue and silver 05 with OEM paint plus the Tanji fuel cell.

I was lucky in that Dean Tanji and I did the work, he did the drilling and install and I watched in AWE!!(I have 5 thumbs sometimes!). Never a problem with the tank driping nor any other problems.

Hope the same good results occur when Skyway and I do my AE tank.

Hal, can you describe the differences in the fuel pump? I knew the quarter sized dimple on the 03-05 does not exist but did not know of changes to the pump, Please enlighten me and perhaps others.

Rogue · Dec 22, 2006

turbodave_98 said:
I was so worried about the drilling of my 05 blue tank that I bought an 03 silver tank for dirt, brand new from a MA HD dealer warranty return. It is still on my BlueJay, problably the only Blue and silver 05 with OEM paint plus the Tanji fuel cell.I was lucky in that Dean Tanji and I did the work, he did the drilling and install and I watched in AWE!!(I have 5 thumbs sometimes!). Never a problem with the tank driping nor any other problems.

Hope the same good results occur when Skyway and I do my AE tank.

Hal, can you describe the differences in the fuel pump? I knew the quarter sized dimple on the 03-05 does not exist but did not know of changes to the pump, Please enlighten me and perhaps others.

I was going to do mine myself but Dean almost insisted I bring it along when I picked up my fuel cell, I'm glad I did, my hand was a bloody mess from in & out of the tank and Dean ended up finishing tightening the blukhead fitting. Thanks again Dean!

weekend rider · Dec 22, 2006

Wow you guys are brave drilling an empty gas tank. with out proper prep for drilling in a gas tank did you know you were subjecting yourself and anyone around to a possible explosion?

remember ride safe and WORK SAFE or problem could arise later.

an eye opener thanks weekend rider

skyway · Dec 22, 2006

weekend rider said:
Wow you guys are brave drilling an empty gas tank. with out proper prep for drilling in a gas tank did you know you were subjecting yourself and anyone around to a possible explosion?
remember ride safe and WORK SAFE or problem could arise later.

an eye opener thanks weekend rider

Hold on a minute. Even if there's gas in the tank, remember that there's a cup of some sort that is sealed all the way around to catch any metal chips. This removes the danger from any sparks and fuel vapor coming together.

Warchild · Dec 22, 2006

weekend rider said:
Wow you guys are brave drilling an empty gas tank. with out proper prep for drilling in a gas tank did you know you were subjecting yourself and anyone around to a possible explosion?

The key phrase being.... without proper prep.... :lol:

If you have the benefit of having had training under the Naval Aviation Gas Free Engineering Program during your many years working the flight decks and hangar bays of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers, you don't have to be too brave.

You just have to know WTF you are doing...

Ignacio · Dec 22, 2006

weekend rider said:
Wow you guys are brave drilling an empty gas tank. with out proper prep for drilling in a gas tank did you know you were subjecting yourself and anyone around to a possible explosion?
remember ride safe and WORK SAFE or problem could arise later.

an eye opener thanks weekend rider

Drilling an empty tank? Not at all unsafe.

Now drilling a tank with liquid gasoline or gasoline vapor remaining would be very unsafe and I REALLY doubt anybody here has done or would do that.

odot · Dec 23, 2006

Imagine crawling inside a gas tank to replace a wiring harness. Bring a special flash light and be prepared to smell like fuel the next couple of weeks.

Hole in the fuel tank!!! What the #@*#!!!

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Hole in the fuel tank!!! What the #@*#!!!

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