Bad Tank?

So from the Craigslist pictures I was weary of what looked like a leak from the tank emblem. And then when I got it home I found that the tank has a big soft spot. I am assuming that this means it is rusted through and is not salvageable. See Video.

Small pin holes can be corrected with any of the professional epoxy coatings but large soft spots probably mean the end.
Bill

I guess I didn't get around to finishing my thoughts on this. I have pretty much assumed that this tank is bad. So now I am considering my options for moving forward. There is a local parts re-claimer who says he has several KZ750 tanks though he doesn't know what years.

My question is how compatible are tanks from different models/years? Would a KZ400 tank work on a 750?

In general fuel tanks don't necessarily swap between models, especially between different sized motorcycles. The best fit for a 750E is another 750E tank. Someone reported that a 750E tank fits the 750H frame, so the swap should work the other way. So I'm pretty sure you can use a 750H Ltd fuel tank or a 650-CSR. These are 1 gallon smaller, though. The 650-CSR has the same frame as the 750H. A non-stock fuel tank can have the petcock bung in a different location than your 750E. The 750E, 750H & 650-CSR use the same method of attachment.

Most of the other 650 & 750 tanks attach differently at the rear. I don't know if there are any suitable 1000/1100 tanks.

note: the 750M CSR fuel tank is completely different than the 650-CSR. don't ask how I know. doh.
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Shasta wrote: I guess I didn't get around to finishing my thoughts on this. I have pretty much assumed that this tank is bad. So now I am considering my options for moving forward. There is a local parts re-claimer who says he has several KZ750 tanks though he doesn't know what years.

My question is how compatible are tanks from different models/years? Would a KZ400 tank work on a 750?

Martin is spot on. Even one year makes a difference. The main difference I've seen on tank mounting is the rear mount. It seems Kawasaki coundn't decide on one mounting configuration. My bike has a fuel sender for a gas gauge. These are block off plates I made for cleaning out the Kreme coating / sealed in rust mess inside for paint.

Match it up, and you should be golden.

This is one instance where a coating (seals leaks) could get you a few miles out of it while you look for a good tank.

For some reason I can't view the video, however, if its a relatively small area any competent welder should be able to cut out the bad bit and weld in a new bit. That's assuming the remainder isn't about to go south also.
If its behind the badge mounts it'll be more difficult but still do able.

Ironically I am stripping the paint off the tank that came on my 81 kz750e. I got it out of the basement to clean up so I could sell it, but the paint job the previous owner had done was starting to craze and I wanted to know what lurked underneath the paint. The inside it still shiny metal and I can't see any rust or rust patches, but I want to know if it has any bondo in it before I sold it to somebody. ( I have also been stripping the paint off my spare zr550 tank I got years ago and found a deeeep dent as big around as a softball that was full of bondo. So it got me wondering what lurked underneath the crappy paint on the kz750 tank.)
I have no idea what your budget is for a replacement, and just the shipping may be more than you want to spend overall. But if you are interested, I can let you know how good the tank is once I get it stripped and we can talk further.

Food for thought.

I spotted this, it might help. Yet it may not.
Steve

Daftrusty I might be interested. Though I am hoping to find one here locally. There is a parts salvage guy who posts a lot of parts bikes on craigslist and he says he has several KZ750 tanks but doesn't know what the years are. So I am hopping to match them up. I think he is quoting somewhere around $75 but I have no idea what condition they are in.

I got the bike running this weekend! Used a IV gas tank system made out of a 2 liter coke bottle. So I am anxious to find a tank and get it running under it's own power and fuel system.

I stripped the tank all the way down to bare metal to find absolutely no dents or bondo. But whom ever painted the tank before I bought the bike used an aggressive flap wheel to sand the factory paint off and left deep sanding marks all over the tank. So I gave it a coat of metal etching primer and a coat of filler primer that totally covered all but the deepest of scratches. It needs a lot more sanding and primer, but we have already gotten snow flurries up here, so my garage is too cold to apply more primer to get it close to perfect.
The inside is full of 30+ years of gas shmutz but no serious rust spots of any kind.
It does come with the fuel level sensor and petcock, but both need new gaskets to be leak free. I think I have a decent fuel cap for it as well, but am having trouble locating it.
I can sell it to you including shipping for $75 or a bit more if you need the fuel cap as well. Let me know what you think.

Hey I havn't been back here to check in a while. I would be interested in this if you still have it. There is a local guy who says he has some but I have had a hard time getting to his shop to check them out. I am doubting they are the exact tank I need.

I have the fuel cap from mine but it didn't work with the key and is pretty gunked up with bad gas and rust. I will have to see if it can be salved but if you have one that works I should prob get it to.

Let me make sure I can pull together the money but that sounds good for the tank shipped.

Sorry! I waited a week and you never replied to my offer so I ended up selling the tank to another member.