Triumph Tiger 885 Tank Swell

RetroTiger · Oct 20, 2021

Hi all.

I have recently bought an old triumph tiger steamer and long story short ive had to replace a fair bit of the bike to make it useable again although one thing has me stuck.

When i got the bike it was missing the rubber mount for the rear of the tank and it was only held on by the bolts that would have gone through originally.

I managed to find a replacement rubber mount on ebay and thought happy days but having gone to fit it the original bolt holes are miles off from where the tank lands like theres no way its going on with out breaking something.

A bit of research has led me to believe that the fuel tank itself has swollen due to the ethanol in petrol nowadays and thats whats preventing it from lining up with the original bolt holes.

Has anyone else had this problem and is there any fix like being able to unswell the tank or modify the brackets so it will go back on?

From what i have read so far triumph are most likely aware of this problem but i doubt they will fix it for you.

Ducati is facing a lawsuit in america and a recall of 50,000 bikes for this same problem according to this: http://deformedfueltanks.com/

Any advice/tips welcome.

Cheers

Linx · Oct 20, 2021

The previous owner of my Ducati 848 said stored it full of petrol over winter. Probably the worse thing to do. The tank was swollen up and there were bubbles in the paint. I had the same problem getting the rear bolt in. The front of the tank was up against the steering damper bracket. I did fix it by completely draining it out and giving bit a rinse. I then stored it in the loft for 6 months with some bags of silica gel in it. Hey presto it fitted perfectly after that. I didn't see it swell again but u did sell it soon after.

joe mc donald · Oct 20, 2021

RetroTiger
Bit of a bummer. You need to get the next tank sealed with something like slosh.
Joe.

RetroTiger · Oct 21, 2021

Thanks for the replys.

I think im going to have a go at moving the rear mount holes back 1cm using a drill and some riv nuts and call her good as im to skint to afford another tank and im not waiting months to be able to ride it.

wish me luck...

RetroTiger · Oct 22, 2021

just found this and it pretty much sums up whats been discussed here for anyone thats interested.

https://www.tomcc.org/Home/News/c26c6821a95947a1bdc0ba3c1ec4b52c