[borisow]

Odd question, but I want to see if anyone else has seen this.

A friend of mine at work owns a '94 VN750. The other day he said he went into his garage (not temp controlled) and saw that the top of the tank looked like it was dented..... as if it were hit with a soccer ball (not a small impression). Now besides the fact that he nor anyone else in the house did anything to the tank (older guy - no kids sneaking around), the impression on the tank is clean. So scratches or anything indiicating something collided with the tank. Besides for something to hit the top of the tank and push it in that cleanly sounds wierd.

So - anyone buy the theory that with the changes of temperature on an older model tank the metal could have been fatigued, pressure was unequal, and the tank just gave??

 

[Hoot]

Only time I have seen such a thing is on gas cans, usually the red plastic kind. When the fuel cools in the shade or overnight and the can is sealed tightly, the vapors condense creating a vacuum. I don't think our tanks are sealed this tight, but may actually happen if he had the bike out and the sun warmed the tank and fuel, then the bike was stored in garage over a cool night, or if the garage warmed and cooled causing same problem.

 

[dennisinmd]

Sounds like perhaps the tank vent is clogged. Could he also have the problem of seemingly running out of gas while there is still plenty of gas in the tank?

 

[nitrofish420]

Even if the vent was clogged, I doubt the cap has a tight enough seal to hold the immense vacuum it would take to dent a tank. If tanks were made of a cheaper or thinner metal, I would believe that to be the culprit, but the sheetmetal is a pretty heavy gauge. Plus it's convex, adding to it's strength. I wouldn't think a temperature differential could cause that, but stranger things have happened...

 

[ACSpider60]

This is my first post but I think it is relevant. I was stationed up in the arctic circle for a while and there large fuel tanks would dent all the time. a small gas tank would be nothing. the tell is that there are no scratches. Chances are he refueled on a low pressure day or during a rainy day.

It should hoever, have dented along the longest surface(sides) Those woudl be the weakest...