measure the hole and look up some stuff made by por-15 for fuel tanks

Re: My fuel tank has a hole in it.

Unlike car tanks, motorcycle tanks are not sealed. When left outside (especially uncovered), water can condense inside it and cause it to rust. The best way to prevent this is to keep it covered and make sure the tank is completely full if you leave it parked for more then a few days.

POR-15. It even comes with a cloth patch to help fix holes. Also check out CyberPoet's How to Deal with Rust in your Motorcycle Gas Tank page.

E-bay?

/kiba

Your best bet is to keep an eye out on Ebay or even this site in the parts section...and since you will get another tank you can also before you put it on you bike do a rust cleansing with the chemicals that clean out rust....so a search on the site because a few people have written it up already..

+1.

Making sure you use a fuel that contains ZERO alcohol when you park for the winter is also important, as alcohol is hygroscopic (meaning it attracts water out of air, like an open container of sour cream). Covering the motorcycle with a waterproof cover or waterproof breathable cover is also extremely highly encouraged if it will be parked outdoors or anywhere where there is snow, rain or high moisture & condensation rates (such as some basements and garages). When it's time to store off for the winter again, you might want to visit my how to store or winterize your motorcycle webpage.

Now that the tank has rusted through in one spot, it is my opinion that the tank should be replaced with a known good tank (new or used). To put it simply, any tank that has rusted through in any location is weakened enough (in other places that haven't failed all the way yet) that it won't necessarily contain the fuel within it should an accident occur, which could lead to a serious fire in even a minor spill (and your subsequently being roasted to death by being covered with spilled gasoline). There are repair kits out there that will work to patch a hole, but they will not restore structural integrity.
I'm showing that a brand new tank for a 98 is about $412 from RonAyers. Thus, I'd suggest you go used, looking at eBay and Craigslist, as well as contacting anyone on KR who might have a healthy tank following an accident in which their bike was totalled... Send a PM to BraadaJim to ask if he has any as well.

KNOW THIS:

For others -- treating a healthy tank with POR-15 will keep this type of situation (rust & rust-through) from ever becoming an issue in the future on your bike unless you have accident damage which chips or cracks the POR-15 after treating the tank.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

for the time being you could go to a local parts store and they carry a Putty made for gas tanks, I have used on older trucks when I used to work on a farm. The Putty will dry and harden around the area.

PM Braadajim, hes got some on e-bay now. one i believe has a BIN for $40 (dented) but atleast no holes and can be quick fix with body filler and paint.

when I restored my 77kz750 to a cafe racer I noticed on the top of my tank towards the front weld area a pinhole..I mixed a little JB weld and spread it on worked great no leaks at this time...make sure the tank is empty..the fumes from the fuel will not let it set...continue to look on ebay also..good luke dude..

So does mine. It's where I put fuel into it. You know, on the top, big hole, has a flip-up cap on it...

yo if you cant do anything

take a bar of soap and scrape it across the hole and fill it up and it will hold for until you can fix it permanently