RD250 Petrol Tank

[BRG1200]

Mr Bunsen, welcome to the Village. LC tanks are hard, PK has a point, they are really unusual to find and if you are sure of a definitely good one from the outset its not a bad idea to just bite hard and swallow, and not look back.
As Jon says, there is virtually nothing worthwhile left in wreckers at this point and if there was they are almost certainly aware of the value. Apart from cracked plastics and rusty yokes there's virtually nothing useful left in traditional wreckers.
On the upside the whole RD lineage is so enduringly popular and sold in good numbers that fixing one is usually possible (at a price, like ANY resto), and depending how perfect you want to go.
If you find it has to go in the Too Hard Basket then you will sell that LC on here in a flash with or without a tank. I have a "spare" tank, just waiting for the bike to go with it, as I know eventually an LC will come along with a useless tank (just like yours is!).
My limited spares aren't for sale, sorry, like many on here I'm keeping them for future projects.

[JonW]

Good post BRG.

I was one of the many with a half decent tank squirreled away, along with about 65% of an LC in boxes waiting for the right frame to come up, just when I gave up and started selling and giving parts away one came up. Im chuffed about it and excited to build it. I want to do it standard, but I dunno... I just hate standard bikes... but I already have a very modified LC.. hmmm... So, stop me before I mod again...!

[BRG1200]

Mod away Jon, and sell me all your nice standard parts.....

[L.B.]

Photobucket is easy and you just use the tags that say IMG in them.

Dont worry, Rust is no problem, dents neither. put up the pics, Ive restored all sorts of junk, many things are possible with tanks

As you would know! Should change your u/n to TankmasteR!

[Bunsen308]

here are some photos , hope they work

[L.B.]

Yep....def a 250 there.Tank dont look too bad,whats underneath & inside that counts?Pics inside?
Fuel filter is a bad sign though....
But still a complete & sorta decent looking LC there...

[Bunsen308]

Yep all matching numbers. I have been in Sydney for few years and bike has been i storage for long time , actually a 1980 model. I also have a spare of wheels , front shocks and rear swing arm that I can swap for a tank if that works for someone.

I am unable to check tank as bike is 600ks away and I am only going on what my cousin is telling me. It maybe okay but I am unsure

[hybrid]

I bet that's recoverable.
POR15 is magic stuff.

[JonW]

Photobucket is easy and you just use the tags that say IMG in them.

Dont worry, Rust is no problem, dents neither. put up the pics, Ive restored all sorts of junk, many things are possible with tanks

As you would know! Should change your u/n to TankmasteR!

Too funny! Yeah.. Im a sucker for repairing stuff. I actually spent hours repairing an old very cracked (and lugs missing) RZ ducktail when I have an almost perfect one here, but I figured I know how and had the time, so why waste a panel that I can actually fix and use... same with tanks.

From this:




Via this:





to this so far:



and onwards to paint...

[JonW]

I bet that's recoverable.
POR15 is magic stuff.

+1 defo looks repairable... fear not, but as Jase says its what underneath and inside that counts. the outside is a few hours away from being bare metal with even rudimentary tools

I use KBS, but same same really...

[EPApolice]

For an LC tank that looks mint. I actually found the SDR tank to be a worse tank than the LC ones. I got mine acid dipped to clean all the crap put of it and ended up with a tank that was beyond repair as it was wafer thin and all holes and I mean big holes. I looked for a replacement in Japan and would have had to pay $500 for a tank that looked as dodgy as mine so had no choice but to do a cut and shut. Lucky for me I have the equipment and ability to repair it or it would have cost a bit to do but the result is great. As you can see in the picture any liner would not have been much use and that's just one side the other was the same as was the bottom.

[JonW]

Nice work Pat!

The other issue wth these tanks is that as they are pressed from flat sheet they are thinner in some planes than others, so that means while you might weld up some bits, others are thin when new and after rusting are impossible to repair.

Gotts love tanks... I had my XT done professionally and it cost an arm n a leg, but was stunning. Its alloy tho and needed the dents removed as well as a repaint. The joys of bike restoration

[Greasemeup]

How much is a small fortune Jon, just the repair, not the paint?

What is a repair like you did to yours worth EPA?

Who does those sorts of repairs, what I mean is there a specialist in AU or does everybody just get it done by their local panel shop?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JonW]

They did me a deal as we agreed to lose the job card as I got ok well with the guys who did it and they took a year to get round to it etc So my cost wouldnt be representative of a normal job. But, on top of circa $500 for their normal tank repainting costs (the alloy paint is very special and pro only stuff, but it would have been same if it wanst alloy etc), rectification is about $100/hr and they stopped adding to the job card at 17hrs, losing the card helped immensely LOL I love the tank tho, it was worth almost any cost to have it, they did a superb job and no they dont want more of that work, it just costs them money as they do it to help people and get bikes back on the road, not earn from it clearly as you cant charge a customer 3k for a tank redo, most are 700-1200 I would think.

Few will cut n shut a tank these days, the steel is thin, has double curvature and distorts easily. It also takes a long time and patience to do well. Pat is a pro welder and it shows. I will gently weld up cracks in tanks (flushed first), but would not attempt the surgery he has done, you need to be a pro for that and I doff my cap to Pat for his expertise.

[BRG1200]

Mr Bunsen, love that front wheel! XV550?
Hey, anyone want an XV550? I know someone looking to offload one!