[matt167]

I just bought a 2012 Yamaha Vmax 250 as a friend of mine wants me to learn to ride a motorcycle with her.. I got a sweet bike with 3,000 miles for about $1k off NADA because it has a dent in the tank, There is no real

crease, I'm pretty sure I can just pop it out from inside or outside and have it look decent. Needs not be showroom, it's a 250cc starter bike.. I saw online the use of stuffing an inner tube in the tank and inflating it. Seems like it could work. Any insight on what I should do? I found a tank from a very low mile bike for about $400 if I really need to.

 

[ExcellenceAuto]

That is a pretty decent sized dent, with lots of different dents inside and around it.
It also has a serious crease in it, to the point that paint is coming off.

That is a very strong part, that will take some muscle to get back out.
The inner tube trick sounds pretty cool. It might even work if you find the right combo.

Good thing it is only cosmetic damage.

You might even need to weld some pull tabs on it to get the metal straight.

I can tell you how to prepare the tank if you go that route.
DO NOT WELD A TANK THAT HAS HAD GAS IN IT WITHOUT PROPER PREPARATION.
You might die, or end up seriously hurt...

 

[matt167]

If I have to weld pull tabs, the tank is scrap at that point.. The mint tank I found is $400 ( list new is $750 ) and paint and decals will eat up much of the $400.

I might heat it up with a heat gun and try the inner tube on an empty tank

 

[ExcellenceAuto]

Be careful. My heat gun throws sparks sometimes. An empty tank is like a bomb.

An old school trick to make a gas tank safe, is to pump hot exhaust into it for about 30 minutes.

 

[matt167]

I'm considering just removing enough gas from the tank that an inner tube does not make a mess, and then using a heat gun to warm up the paint... It won't be 100% but I'll be happy with 80%

 

[wrenchbend]

Check YMF yamaha motorcycle forums and see if some one has one for sale,what other tanks might fit ! may save some time or heart ache

 

[matt167]

Tanks all the way back to 2008 fit, but problem is only 2012 has this color. I found the other tank and it's reasonable if I need jt

 

[cerial]

If it is not leaking I would just airbrush the tank using the dent to add some charcter.

Maybe a shark with the large dent being its open mouth and smaller dent above the larger one being a eye.