Raptor Tank material

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swm
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Raptor Tank material

Post by swm »

Hi,

Could someone confirm for me the material that would have been used to produce my 2002 Cagiva V Raptor tank? I am looking to line the tank so as to stop ethanol damage, and the liner material must be suitable.

I have been told that Tanks that are ABS stamped can be lined, but anything with a "P" "P1" or "P6" will expand in sunlight and the liner would not expand with the tank and eventually become detached.
I was unable to locate any stamp on my tank

Thank you.
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nickst4
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Raptor Tank material

Post by nickst4 »

I've not heard of ABS used for tanks; I've always understood that the plastic is nylon in some form. which expands with ethanol in the fuel. Admittedly, my Canyon 500 of the same vintage doesn't spend much time in the sun but it sits over an air-cooled motor and the Caswell epoxy lining is still effective in protecting the nylon from ethanol degradation. I did use a full pack of the Caswell product to ensure a thick layer because of doubts about it bonding to nylon. So far, so very good and I don't have to clean the carb idle jet every year as I used to.

Nick
swm
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Raptor Tank material

Post by swm »

Hi Nick,

Thank you for your reply.
Which kit did you use?

The information 'anything with a "P" "P1" or "P6" will expand in sunlight' came from surfacemonkey.com who I believe are a part of the Caswell group.
When looking closer my tank does have identifying marks, unfortunately one of these is PA6 :(

In spite of this I still intend to go ahead and line the tank, and so-far the Caswell liner seems to be the most suitable (unless someone can advise me of a better product).

Any further advice from anyone with experience on this is welcome

Ciao
nickst4
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Raptor Tank material

Post by nickst4 »

Hi swm,

I used the basic kit of clear sealer, which must be the 33ltr one that sadly appears to be currently out of stock. Their smaller 15ltr one is new, I think.

The Canyon tank is a decent size without an internal pump, so the full volume of sealer should have built up a good thickness, resulting in a tank within a tank. Just be careful to not distort the sealed tank when putting it back on the bike. I got the wiring loom caught underneath and in forcing the tank down, caused a visible crack in the epoxy over the ridge. :cry: I patched over the crack with (I think) JB weld epoxy. After three years, all still seems fine, and the pilot jet in the carb has not needed the annual cleaning-out of the waxy substance that was washing out of the nylon.

Nick
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sidrat
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Raptor Tank material

Post by sidrat »

I did mine a year ago. The mixture comes a little thick, so i got covered in it trying to use a long handled paint brush to spread it about , good access from the pump area though.
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Raptor Tank material

Post by swm »

Hi Sidrat,
Thank you for your reply.
Did you use the same Caswell Kit?
Ciao
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Raptor Tank material

Post by sidrat »

swm wrote: 1 year ago Hi Sidrat,
Thank you for your reply.
Did you use the same Caswell Kit?
Ciao
I used the Flowliner product, £39.99 for up to a 25 litre tank
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swm
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Raptor Tank material

Post by swm »

Hi Sidrat,
Thank you again for your reply.
I am definitely going to use a liner on my tank, It's just trying to choose the most suitable.
My tank has a few of the dreaded bubbles, though I don't see much evidence of the expanding tank problem some others have experienced.
The Tank is now off the bike, I've cleaned the inside, and it will be left to dry-out for a few more weeks while I carry out some other maintenance.
I'm fortunate enough to have a second bike on the road, so I can take some time and try to make the best choice for the Raptor.
Thank you again.
Ciao
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sidrat
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Raptor Tank material

Post by sidrat »

Aha the dreaded bubbles.
Mine looked great from the top
cagiva tank.JPG
cagiva tank.JPG (33.62 KiB) Viewed 1759 times
But underneath looked like it had the pox!
tank bubbles.JPG
tank bubbles.JPG (23.74 KiB) Viewed 1759 times
tank bubbles 2.JPG
At the end of the year i will take it off again and have a go at piercing the bubbles so they don't get any worse.
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swm
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Raptor Tank material

Post by swm »

Hi Sidrat,
Ditto - that looks familiar.

After the tank lining I plan on giving the tank a respray.
I've pierced the bubbles but they didn't all go down and it looks shabby. Once the lining has dried I'll look at getting the tank sprayed.
This is another reason I want to get the tank lined, to try and stop the new paint from bubbling in the future.

Stops me from getting bored
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Raptor Tank material

Post by purgeraptor »

The tank plastic is 'PA6' according to my notes.
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Raptor Tank material

Post by swm »

Hi purgeraptor,
Thank you for your reply.

I have removed the tank and lined the inner (done around the end of Oct 22). This sees to have gone quite well.
I'm not sure of the best way to go about removing the old/damaged paint from outside of the tank before giving it a respray.
I'm waiting for the weather to warm up a little before tackling this as I still have a few other things that need to be sorted first, but I'm getting close to tackling the tank.

If there is any constructive advice on the best/quickest way of removing the damaged tank paintwork I'm all ears, never having worked on a plastic/nylon tank before.
At the moment it looks like hand rubbing down may be best option.

Thank you again :)
Ciao
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