Dibley's New (old) 1400 K3

[Dwain Dibley]

Well, I thought I would document the fettling of the 1400 here.
It's not really a build blog, more a recording of events and odd jobs.

As you know I am about to tackle the rust in the tank, now fortunately its not too bad, I have seen worse, but it needs attention so I have bought a gallon of Evapo-rust.
I took the seat off and the inner tray came out, then it's the side panels, as you all know there is one bolt either side and they pull off.
Who ever did it before didn't see the fixings and broke the bottom half before they eventually did.
A small bolt fell out of the RHS one, looks like it should be holding the bottom of the rear res, but as there is no fixing on the res that I can see, I assume it's an after market one.
Grommit missing on LHS and the tank cushions are odd, not weird just not the same as each other. One is home made with a thread in it.

D.D.







 
 

[Dwain Dibley]

My Son-in-Law Liam came round today to assist with the tank removal......Whaaat ?? I hear you cry... I know its easy but 4 hands is better than 2 in my book, and nothing broke, got dropped, or dented !! 

We drained the tank with an old fish tank pump first, into a five Gallon can. I thought it was great when I bought the bike, loads of fuel...YAY!! I wish it had been on reserve now.

We disconnected the fuel line at the engine end, as it's more accessible than the other end right under the tank at the pump.
I forgot to get a "before" picture of the inside, before I tipped in the Evapo-Rust in there DOH !!, but I will say, you could not see metal at all on the top of the inside.

We removed the pump, as this made life easier.

The pic you see below of the inside is at 2.5 hours in, and you can see metal, so it is working.

The stuff has no smell and looks like water, so I was dubious, We thought maybe they had just sent a gallon of water. LOL
Liam cleaned the pump while I was looking after the tank, he said some crap came out of there, so I think I did the right thing by not waiting to do this job. 

The only bad bit ??  The breather pipe was petrified and just broke into pieces, so a replacement has to be found.

Pic 6, I am going to have a look at the air filter while I can get to it.

I am going to turn the tank regularly over the next 2 days or so, until I am happy with the results, so far it's very good.

I also treated the underside to some anti rust fluid, and I plan to paint it before refitting it on the bike.

D.D.













       

[Hooli]

Suggestion as your breather pipe fell apart. Change the low pressure line that goes from the back of the tank to the swirl pot around the teabag too. It's quite annoying when they split & all your fuel falls out.

You can also fit a small inline filter in it, with the flow going forwards (towards the pump) and you'll find it collects a surprising amount of crap over time. It needs to be a small filter to fit as it's all quite snug when the tank is on.

[Dwain Dibley]

I will then, even though it is still quite flexible, as is the top of the breather, it is easy to do now while the tank is off.
Future proofing.... as much as can be done EH Hooli ?.   

D.D.

[Dwain Dibley]

This is my other bike, along side her new younger sister, a running/riding project, 42 years old Bless Her.

D.D.





   

[Dwain Dibley]

7 Hours.

D.D.



 

[Dwain Dibley]

I have realised that the threaded hole under the rear res is to secure the side panel LOL   

But that still leaves the conundrum of where the little bolt came from 

D.D.

[Hooli]

Could it be a battery terminal bolt that someone has dropped into the bike & replaced rather than search properly for it?

[Dwain Dibley]

Hooli,  you might be right ✅️.

D.D.

[Dwain Dibley]

So the tank has soaked on it's back for 24 hrs give or take, and this is the result.

Loads of rust has come off and is suspended in the fluid. I have stood the tank on it's nose now for the next phase.

D.D.



 

[Almost]

I would say that tank is a gonna.

[Dwain Dibley]

Nah, it looks worse than it is, the fluid seems to lift and encase the rust. A mate of mine had the same issue, he used a different product and his tank was pinholed, all good after treatment.

Here's his K2. I wonder if anyone knows where it is now ??

D.D.







   

[Dwain Dibley]

Meanwhile, the soaking continues. With the snow outside I don't see the need to rush.

I am going to pull the sender unit out to make flushing the tank easier.

D.D.

[Dwain Dibley]

Delayed a day due to my mothers boiler breaking down,
It's time to get the Evapo-Rust out and flush the tank.
I saved the E.R. in a suitable container, as I want to see if it is still usable. I have a couple of bolts soaking as we speak.
I set up the tank outside on some wood and gave it what for with the pressure washer.

D.D.









     

[Dwain Dibley]