426 Gas tank bolt stripped. New tank or fix?

[sw99]

I was trying to unbolt the radiator shroud on the left side and the top tank bolt is just spinning. I first thought the bolt was rounding so I cut away the old plastic. The bolt turns fine but the square nut must be spinning around behind it. I suppose this is my excuse to get a bigger tank huh? I have tried everything that I can think of to get it free and it just does not want to budge. Any tips?

[Goosedog]

Same thing happened on my '01, here's what to do: use the bolt to pull the square nut completely out of the plastic, clean everything well with alcohol then set it back in place with a good quality epoxy. Be sure to leave the bolt completely in the nut to prevent any glue from getting down in the threads. I did this fix 3 or 4 months ago and lots of hrs riding with no more problems. I've also had the shrouds back off again since and the glue holds.

[sw99]

Ahh, I did not even think of that. I'll give it a shot before I have to drop $225 on a new tank, thanks!

[Goosedog]

Also with the tight confines around that bolt, I really took my time with a toothpick and made sure to fill all the voids well and as it cured I scraped the excess glue from around the top so the shroud would fit again. Of course you should have the tank off the bike and set it somewhere level to do the fix. Good luck.

[sw99]

Well I just said screw it and bought a 3.3 gallon tank. I have been wanting one for the longer mountain rides and just found a better excuse to get one. My tank was pretty beat up anyway. I still think I will try and fix this one just for grins. I have a pretty wicked two part epoxy that I want to try. Thanks for the tips!

[Goosedog]

Yea I know the feeling. It's hard to weigh the repair against the replacement when you know you really want a new one anyway.