IMS tank = fail
 

These are apparently very reliable tanks. Mine isn't I guess. *shrug*

Was doing some last minute stuff to the KLR this morning, and I bumped the tank barely. It started dumping fuel as fast as it could. I scrambled to get it off and once I did, found this.

For reference, this location is on the underside of the tank, where it sits on a rubber pad against the backbone of the frame.

I didn't get the tank from IMS. I got it from an individual new in the box. I'm going to call them to make sure they know about this, but I don't expect I'll get anywhere with a replacement. Not sure I'd want it anyway. I have the stock tank still, and it's already on the bike.

I sure am glad this happened in my garage rather than north of Fairbanks. I think this would be one of the few things I couldn't fix on the road.

Makes you wonder if you got fucked by the guy you brought it from, I have never heard a bad thing about IMS.

Yeah, it's hard to imagine someone buying an aftermarket tank and then selling it without ever using it, unless he knew it was damaged and wanted to pass his misfortune onto someone else.

That sucks.

I've gotten some dodgy tanks from IMS in the past, (surface imperfections, fitment issues and tons of crap inside from when they drilled the petcock hole) but I never had one fail that bad.

I've used Clarke's on my D/S stuff for a while now, they seem to me, to have a better build quality than the IMS units.

JC

Just out of curiosity, what kind of paint did you use on it? (Not saying that was the cause of your problem, although IMS might...)

JC

didn't know you got it second hand... hopefully that didn't have something to do with it.

I've been more than happy with my IMS, and it's been bashed many times, as I'm not the greatest off road rider. it even lasted 1000miles with my radiator guards rubbing the tank before I trimmed the guards down. very little mark made.... My model is quite thick, though in the location of your crack, I'm not sure of the thickness...

I'd be willing to bet you got a bad tank... I'd give IMS the chance to replace it.... I doubt the paint will cause an issue, as most advertisements I saw stated "paintable" so I don't think they could cry foul... :2cents:


but hell yes... good thing that shit happened now!

I had fitment issues, for a bit... but after about 15k, the tank settled, swelled and fit perfectly... Did have an issue when they first put on the tank (at the dealership) crap got caught in the carb.... but cleaned that out and never had another issue.

Yeah, I'm not saying they are terrible or anything, but as a former full-time mechanic, I kinda needed them to fit now, not 15K from now. :lol:

Fucked up carbs is ultimately the dealers fault. Should have blown it out with air before the install.

JC

lol yeah I'm not sure how they got all the bolts in... first time I took it off, only two would go back in, and that took an hour of fuck'n with it. I think I had it off another 10-15 times before I got all 4 to line up... now, it'll go on perfectly, WITH my Unibiker rad guards... (couldn't even get it to sit right with them on before)

and yeah, I would have blown it out or ran some water through (and let it dry) before putting it on...

but I agree... Clarke, from what I've seen has been very good. almost switched to one when I couldn't get the Unibikers to fit with the IMS...

Duct tape woulda fixed that shit right up.

Ims has been making shitty klr tanks, there have be en a number of failures on the klr board recently, mostly by the cap though. Also leaks near the front where the radiator vent holes are. People seem to think that ims changed their plastic in the last few years.

My first thought was paint. Paint does strange stuff to plastic

Let me clarify a few things..

Yes, I got the tank from a private individual, but it was in the box, still wrapped in plastic and had been unopened. He had bought two, for him and a friend, his friend had passed, didn't need the second tank obviously, etc.

I inspected the tank when I took it out of the plastic. It was clear that it had never been used or had a petcock installed, etc. I'm confident it had never been so much as used or had a drop of fuel in it.

Secondly, for the type of paint I used. I used Krylon Fusion Camouflage spray paint. Nothing fancy or ridiculous. Plain ol' spraypaint made for plastic.

Who knows. Just an odd failure I guess. I can't explain it. It wasn't bolted down in a way that would force it down. The only weight at that point was the weight of the fuel. *shrug*

interesting... yeah the weight should reside on the rubber "ears" so it should be an issue anyways... good luck...

dumb question, but should the rubber pad be removed when you install the tank?

also:

http://www.klr650.net/forums/showthread.php?t=89692

http://www.klr650.net/forums/showthread.php?t=10875

http://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid...&bih=809&ion=1

IMS has been pretty good about replacing the tanks at a very reasonable cost, mostly shipping plus a few $$$. How thick is the plastic where it broke? IMS has also been known to have tanks of varying thickness, to the point that it actually impacts fuel quantity, is it possible that you happen to get the one tank that was thin at that very spot?

the round ones? no... they're the cushion for the tank...

yeh, its a half circle rubber pad that sits on the frame backbone. My stock tank sits on that pad, plus two small rubber circles that sit on posts on the side of the frame too (if I remember correctly). It looks like the same spot that the rubber pad on the frame backbone sits on, and if the plastic was thin there it could have busted through, or if it was thick there it could have been taking more weight than it was supposed to.

Either way he should check with IMS to see if they will replace it, but I doubt they will be able to flip it out for a new one in a week before he leaves for AK.

Trace, you need to just re-install the stock tank and buy yourself one of these:

http://www.accentshopping.com/ImageG...&IMG_Width=350

have fun making across the dalton

mine is supported mostly by the two on the side... the ones that are on the middle part do hold some weight but mostly just allow wiring to run to the front...

How big is the stocker?

The stocker is 6.1 gallons. The IMS is 6.6 gallons.

That extra half gallon would have been the difference between me needing to carry an external fuel can or not. I didn't want to, but now I will. Oh well, better than running out of gas on the Dalton.

Holy cow! Did yall see the pic of the clogged fuel filter from ethanol in the first link?

Too bad the Safari tank isn't out yet for the KLR.

At 8.8 gal., it will be the Exxon Valdez of KLR tanks. :lol:

It's also going to cost 600 bucks...

JC

I'd looked at the Safari tanks for the DRZ... 7gal... that's 300+ miles easy.... but also a hell of a lot of weight. I think they also fix the issue of unusable fuel the IMS has (about 1.4gal you need to lay the bike down to use, and .4 you can't use period)


8.8 on the KLR would be what 350miles?

8.8 would be closer to 450 miles. My stock tank gets over 200, probably closer to 250. One guy on the klr board had the ibr 11.5 gallon total with fuel cell and he was getting over 700 per tank