sportstermegster
New Member
Hi everyone! I'm new to this wonderful group...and I figured if anyone could give me some good advice...it would be you good folks from "the family!" I was wondering if anyone else has experienced any problems with their gas tanks? I bought my 2003 custom XL Sportster 1200C - brand new, and after it had to sit in the garage for a while due to multiple foot surgeries and a stint in the hospital...I started having problems with it. Backfiring...hitching in low gears...stalling at lights or low RPM's...etc. I don't know anything about mechanics unfortunately...but I have a friend who went to Harley mechanic school. We replaced the coil...we emptied gunk found in the float bowl...we cleaned out the carberator - bike ran fine for 2 days, then fell flat on it's face! Finally, I had my friend take off the gas tank and empty it. Low and behold ... we found large chunks (and small ones too) of what looks like some kind of gray coating that is peeling off of the inside of the tank. all of the places that had already peeled...was now rusted. That is what we found in the float bowl...RUST from the gas tank! I took the tank to the dealership where I bought it...and they said since the bike is 5 years old, they can't replace it! The shop manager told me to blow out the inside with an air compressor - and then treat the inside with os-flow(spelling??). I wasn't able to get hardly any more coating to peel off- so was afraid to use the os-flow due to the chemical reaction it might create. Goowy mess not good! Anyway - long story short, just wondering if anyone has had this problem with Harley...or their gas tanks from this year. Any suggestions about how to get farther with the company or how to fix the tank on my own? I can't afford to buy a new tank right now. Help! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!:wall