IMS Desert Tank On my 2006 WR450

[condor74]

I purchased a used IMS 3.1 gallon from a guy on craigslist.  This is my first oversize gas tank and I have a question.  On this used tank there is a small 1/4 inch plastic hose that connects both sides of the saddle tank.  The hose was broken when I purchased it.  I slid a piece of rubber hose in its place to trial fit the tank.  The hose runs dangerously close to the exhaust pipe.  Is this a factory part.  There are brass elbows on both saddle halves.  I am now questioning if this is factory?  Looking on the IMS website, they do not show any hose on any of there tanks.  Does anyone know anything about this?

[FORMA MOTO]

The stock 3.1 or 3.2 IMS do not come with balancing lines.

[condor74]

So you are telling me that someone added on the balance hose.  Is this a common mod and if so what is the proper way to rout it so i dont turn my bike into a fire ball?

[condor74]

OK so I guess the balance hose was an add on.  This is not necessarily a bad thing.  What is the best way to keep the fuel line cool?  I am thinking of getting some motion pro fuel line that is good to 165 degrees.  I will run it as far as I can possibly rout it from the exhaust as I can.  I am also thinking of wrapping it with some heat wrap and then wrapping the exhaust with some fiberglass exhaust wrap.  I have plenty of that in the garage already. 

 

Does anyone else have any suggestions?

 

Do you ever notice that everything is more difficult than it should be?

[still2smokin]

Kool Aid is right,  I have the same tank and there is no balance hose from one side to the other .

 

Hey just a tip .......I had a problem with that same tank being too close/ touching the head causing the gas to boil

on long rides in the heat .  I fixed it with heat shield tape and a rubber shim at the back of the tank where it rests on

the frame.

[BajaFool]

Condor74,

A number of riders have experienced fuel fires over the years while using 3.1 gal IMS tanks on steel framed WR426/450F's. A friend of mine buried the burned remains his IMS equipped 2006 WR450F not far from Ponderosa in northern Baja California after his tank melted and gasoline spilled on to the header pipe. The oversized tanks manufactured by Acerbis did not have this problem. I do not have knowledge of how the Clark tanks fit. I installed an Acerbis tank on both my 2003 and 2006 WR's for the reason above.

The problem occurs because the tank hangs very low on the rider's right, placing it very close to the exhaust header. Excess heat from the header causes the tank to soften and either the hose fitting loosens and falls out or the tank melts through. In either case, gasoline spilling on a red hot header means the end of your riding day and the opportunity to upgrade to a newer motorcycle, when your insurance check arrives in the mailbox.

If you decide to keep the tank, you would be wise to invest the time to address this problem, good luck.

[still2smokin]

I did this with a shim at the back of the tank and no problems since....

the black marks on the right is where it was touching the tank , this pic was before I added the shim to keep it off of the head .

[condor74]

I am looking at ptfe fuel hose with heat shielding place around the bottom of the tank and wrapped around the fuel hose. Also some header wrap around the exhaust for good measure. What do you think? I have this tank and would like to make it work safely. What kind of heat sheila should I use. I will post pictures as I do it.

[condor74]

 

here is a picture on how the hose is routed.  I am not using that rubber hose.  It is there only for mock up purposes.

[still2smokin]

I am looking at ptfe fuel hose with heat shielding place around the bottom of the tank and wrapped around the fuel hose. Also some header wrap around the exhaust for good measure. What do you think? I have this tank and would like to make it work safely. What kind of heat sheila should I use. I will post pictures as I do it.

I say plug up the port on the exhaust side , add some heat shielding , check the clearance at the head and shim if needed, ride for 60+ miles ,

and if the left side runs dry lean the bike over to get fuel to the petcock side and ride for another 20+ miles and then switch to reserve !

 

I feel secure with my modifications and love having more range than I can actually physically ride.................. without a nap.

Edited May 16, 2014 by still2smokin

[condor74]

 

 

 

Here are some more pictures and some of the other side of the bike.

[condor74]

Some times the most obvious answers elude me. If I decide to keep the balance tube, I could just form it out of 1/4 inch steel line. That way I won't have to worry about it melting. I can also rout it tighter to the engine away from the exhaust. I will still do all the aforementioned heat shielding mainly to keep my gas cool though and protect the tank.

Edited May 16, 2014 by condor74

[condor74]

I say plug up the port on the exhaust side , add some heat shielding , check the clearance at the head and shim if needed, ride for 60+ miles ,

and if the left side runs dry lean the bike over to get fuel to the petcock side and ride for another 20+ miles and then switch to reserve !

 

I feel secure with my modifications and love having more range than I can actually physically ride.................. without a nap.

 

The range on the stock tank wasnt too bad.  The main reason I wanted a larger tank is because the long term plan is to Plate the bike.  I dont want to have to be stopping for gas every 60 or 70 miles.  Off road that is a long distance.  On road, that is a run in to town from my house and back.

[BajaFool]

It is hard for me to judge what you have done to prevent a problem, I am riding an aluminum framed Yamaha these days with a Clark tank and I addressed the problem on my steel framed bikes by purchasing an Acerbis tank.

It appears that Still2smokin is on the right track to address the problem. It looks like he used the heat shield material that Yamaha places on the inside of the right hand side plate to ensure that the muffler doesn't melt it on the fuel tank. I would use neoprene fuel hose, not clear vinyl, as an added safety measure. Check out the heat sleeves that are available for spark plug wires and fuel hose that are sold by auto speed shops, off-road truck shops and perhaps your local MC shop. Place the heat sleeve material over the fuel line and figure out a way to cover the metal fuel petcocks as well. Good luck.

[condor74]

Picked up a few things today.  I have a 1/4 inch od steel brake line.  I bent it to shape.  I also picked up the aforementioned sleave.  I wanted to run the steel brake line inside the rubber hose that I mocked it up with to prevent rub throughs from vibration.  I also picked up some 1/4 inch Teflon steel braided hose that is rated for 500 degrees.  I am either going to use this to connect the steel brake line at the ends or I will use the who length the hose.  I also plan to place heat sheilding on the inside of the tank near the head and do my best to wrap around where the metal niples are.  They are actually kinda of far from the exhaust so I dont really expect them to be a problem, especially while moving.

[condor74]

 

Here is the brake line I bent to shape.  I used the rubber hose around the outside it the best I could so that It wont get a rub through.  I am considering cutting the ends off near the exhaust side and using the high temp steel braided hose to connect it to the fuel tank.  The only down side is hose clamps do do much on steel braided high temp line.

Edited May 17, 2014 by condor74

[condor74]

I am still planning on wrapping the header too.

[condor74]

ok I changed it up a little bit.  I would up running the steel brake line inside of the steel jacketed teflon high temp hose.  This molds it into a shape that holds position.  Temperature should not be an issue on the balance tube.  I wrapped the exhaust pipe in header wrap. I need to get some better quality hose clamps as the steel jacketed hose is not all that hose clamp friendly.  I did warm it up last nigh and make some wot runs up and down my road with a full tank of fuel. That was the first test.  It has no leaks right now.   Does anyone have any idea as to the maximum temperature that the fuel tank should be subjected to?  I figure the engine should never really get above 250 degree and that is on the high end.  I know the exhaust can get quite a bit hotter than that.  I have seen exhaust temperatures on cars over 1200 degrees.  I am not sure how hot the pipe gets on my WR though.  I would hope that IMS would have designed a tank that can withstand those temperatures as they have put it in such close proximity to the exhaust. 

 

What kind of heat shield blankets do you recommend and where do you purchase them.  I have had a little trouble locating anything locally.

[condor74]

 

 

[condor74]

I do not think that the hose will melt but I think I am going to take the advice

 

I say plug up the port on the exhaust side , add some heat shielding , check the clearance at the head and shim if needed, ride for 60+ miles ,

and if the left side runs dry lean the bike over to get fuel to the petcock side and ride for another 20+ miles and then switch to reserve !

 

I feel secure with my modifications and love having more range than I can actually physically ride.................. without a nap.

 

The more I researched it the more I am tending to agree with you.  I believe I could make the the hose heat resistant enough to not have an issue with melting the line.  I have researched tank fires on WRs with oversized tanks. Not just IMS tanks either.  It has come to my attention on the IMS many of the fires had to do with tanks that had a petcock or fuel lines on the exhaust side.  I read about one fire on a Acerbis tank that was not a fault of the tank.  It was the fault of an AIS removal kit that failed.  The issue seems to be that the tanks have no issues when they are full of fuel.  The fuel acts as a heat sink.  When the fuel is not in the part of the tank where it goes close to the exhaust, that is the when the melt downs occur.  By adding the balance tube, I will have a more complete drain of the saddle side and there by create a more likely scenario for melt down.   A good example.  I know a guy who has no problem welding on a full diesel tank but will not touch one that is empty.    The tank needs the fuel in tank for cooling.  If I run out of gas while riding, I will just have to lean the bike over to get back home.