Stripping The Fuel Tank - Removing The Fuel Tap / Petcock, Fuel Sender Unit and Fuel Filler

Removing the tank components

This page continues the aim of this blog which is to show how I stripped my scrap Kawasaki Zephyr ZR750 down to every last nut and bolt and rebuild it as cheaply as possible.

So on a previous page I showed you how I removed the tank from the bike and now I will strip all the components from the tank to prepare it for paint.

First I removed the fuel tap / petcock

Removing the fuel tap / petcock is just a case of removing the two bolts and lifting it out.
Make sure you lift it straight out as there is a mesh filter that stands about 75mm high inside and you could damage it if you are not careful.

The next item to be removed was the Fuel sender unit

First unclip the plastic cover, this just lifts off
but you may need to ease it off with a screwdriver
on an older bike.

Then undo the four bolts that hold the sender unit to the tank.

Lift it out carefully until the float reaches the opening

Then you will have to angle the float as it only just fits through the hole and simply slide it out.

Then remove the fuel filler cap

Start by removing the seven 4mm allen key bolts that hold the filler to the tank.

Then open the fuel cap and remove the one screw just inside the cap being careful not to drop it into the tank.

The cap and rubber gasket will then just lift off the tank.

Badge removal

Lastly remove the badges from the tank. These are just glued on and can sometimes be pulled off with just your fingers but I like to cut them off with one of those snap off bladed knives, just extend it to its full length and cut the badge off. This method also preserves the shape of the badge and makes it easier to refit flush to the tank.






And thats about it, just pull out the rubber gromets from underneath and you are done, one tank completely stripped and ready to prepare for paint.

Watch the video here