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Sharon's Biking Blog
Blisters On Fuel Tank
Blog Date Dec 15
You all know how much I love my little Keeway RKS 125cc. You all also now how much I like to sing his praises and report how well he is doing despite his Chinese crap stigma.
So it is not easy to report that my little man is perfect no longer. He has broken out in a terrible rash. Call them pimples, blisters or bubbles his fuel tank is covered in them.
I noticed the first blister a couple of months back, slowly followed by a couple more. However over the last few weeks the number and size of these blisters has suddenly increased dramatically.
Some photos of the blisters.
I put up the photos on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BikesAndTravels/ and another motorbike forum and asked some advice as to what these may be. Due to one suggestion I pricked a pin into a couple of the blisters but no moisture came out. With the help offered from fellow bikers and further research by myself on these blisters it would appear they may be due to some problem with moisture or contamination during the original spraying or sealing of the tank. Moisture may become trapped in the paint if it is sprayed in high humidity or if the compressor used is not drained correctly. Contamination can occur if the surface is unclean, possibly with oil or grease left on the surface prior to painting.
For this reason although the bike is no longer in warranty I believe Keeway should sort out this problem because I do not really find it acceptable that the paint should fail like this after it is just over 2 years old.
I purchased my Keeway from MCO (Motorcycle Centre Orrell ) so they were my first point of call. They were very helpful and explained that as the bike was no longer under warranty any decision as to what may or may not be done would have to come from Keeway direct. They supplied me with their service engineers name and email address so I could send him my photographs of the blisters. He will then forward these photos onto Keeway on my behalf.
So for now it is wait and see. I will let you know the outcome but in the meantime if anyone else has had a problem like this please let me know. From what I have read other brands have suffered this kind of blistering to the tanks so it is not just a Keeway problem. I would like to know if anyone has has a definitive explanation for these blisters and how wide spread this problem is be it in Keeways or an other brands.
Reader's Comments
S Latchford said :-
No facts Sharon but just a thought, if water based paint was used then this could be the problem, metal and water together, with little or no primer on it? Like I said just a thought.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Bob said :-
I would say it's paint applied to metal with an inadequate (or completely absent) corrosion inhibiting primer. So you've got rust blebs forming under the paint.
The way to tell is to pierce one of the blisters and see what comes out, eewww...
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Paul said :-
Hi is the fuel tank steel or plastic if plastic its more than likely ethanol affecting the plastic which is an additive to petrol we are tending to see more a more of these cases try to buy a fuel with no ethanol in it
01/04/2021 10:17:06 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
It's a steel tank Paul.
01/04/2021 11:16:23 UTC
Bill said :-
Pick off one of the blister and examine the surface below. As suggested it either poor or no primer or reaction between primer and top coat most likely due to contamination.
A professional paint shop may have a non destructive device were you can examine the paint thickness. Had a similar experience on a car the blister came off revealing white spots, looked like a dalmatian, the manufacture tried to claim stone chips but was a bit difficult to explain on rear panels, paint thickness test then revealed the car had already had paint repaired at factory before sale, so resprayed under warranty.
01/04/2021 16:33:33 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Cheers Bill. This post dates back to 2015 now and thing moved on!! Click on the link below for a LOT more details of the tank.
https://bikesandtravels.com/biker.aspx?ride=1154...
02/04/2021 13:08:07 UTC
Bill said :-
Sorry Ren bever noticed it was an old subject just response to a current post
02/04/2021 18:36:17 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Ha! Cheers Bill. The page where Sharon paints the tank (and some other bits) is worth a look as there's some images of what she found under the blisters.
03/04/2021 10:57:04 UTC
Steve said :-
I have the same problem that has just occurred on my BMW R1100RS, it was perfect until a few weeks ago. The bike is a1992 model.
18/04/2021 21:10:44 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
It's hard to imagine that, after 29 years, the BMW's paint had a manufacturer's fault Steve! Which then raises a question. Sharon and I have always believed this was a Keeway problem from the factory but if this kind of blistering can happen many many years later we could be wrong? Is there a cleaning product we have used that causes this? Certain atmospheric conditions? We don't know at present but I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.
19/04/2021 07:33:39 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I await someone to tell us it's ethanol.....
[edit] oh someone did.... [/edit]
19/04/2021 10:49:58 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I haven't got a clue what it is, except probably annoying.
But it's nothing new.
Back in the mid 80's a colleague of mine had an MG Montego (remember them) and always filled it at his local Shell fuel delivery establishment. The paint blistered all around the fuel cap area after a couple of years. Shell actually paid to repair it.
Oh the good ol'day's.
Upt'North.
19/04/2021 13:03:36 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
"MG Montego (remember them)" - Yes, even better was the Maestro turbo whiich went like a rocket but only if you had the steering straight ahead. I had one as a "company car" when I was developing computer systems for Austin Rover and it occasionally scared me to death.
19/04/2021 16:06:09 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Maestro? Blimey Ian you must have really upset someone to have been given that as a company car. When I wur a lad we was ded posh innit. Daddy had a lovely red Fiat Strada. Eeeee, remember when cars used to rust before your very eyes!
19/04/2021 17:27:44 UTC
Jim said :-
Fiat Strada - Handbuilt by Roberts. Points are available to anyone who can identify the comedic reference.
20/04/2021 20:20:28 UTC
crofty said :-
Wasn't it Robots Jim ?
20/04/2021 20:25:00 UTC
Steve S, said :-
Not the nine o clock news. Hand built by Roberts.
20/04/2021 21:38:14 UTC
Jim said :-
Points to Steve S - well done. After I’d posted I remembered that the car in the Bob sketch was actually a BL Ambassador, but the sketch was a parody of the Fiat Strada adverts.
20/04/2021 22:55:29 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
This is the Sketch apparently. The volume is quite high so turn your speakers down a little.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU-tuY0Z7nQ...
21/04/2021 08:47:50 UTC
Steve S. said :-
Jim thanks for the points. And what do points make? Not on this site. Nice to see the old clip again Ren.
21/04/2021 09:11:39 UTC
Bill said :-
Another good one from not the nine o'clock news.
We used to show it, as it was a good publicity for Leyland trucks.
We always had BLMC company cars, once had a rover 600, British racing green which I thought had colour matched window seals until the car wash removed the mould built up from being in outside storage for a year, before being delivered as a new car :-)
https://youtu.be/HZbQ3lTObas...
21/04/2021 14:37:06 UTC
nab301 said :-
"Daddy had a lovely red Fiat Strada. Eeeee, remember when cars used to rust before your very eyes"
Known as the Fiat Ritmo in my part of the world... not all bad, in fact they inspired a budget racing class which I competed in for a few years.. It took me months to find a good "shell" and then hours with a Mig welder to build up a suitable car . Photo shows the limit of standard suspension . Phoenix park races in the early 90's
Nigel
21/04/2021 20:12:29 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Yes, if I recall the Strada became the Ritmo here for about a year before it was finally withdrawn. I can't ever imagine them as a race car but of course in the right class? That's a cracking image nab301.
You got me started on a Not The 9 O'clock News rabbit hole Bill. I suspect I was sent to bed before this came on TV so it's all new to me.
23/04/2021 08:45:05 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Well, there's a thriving MZ racing series and not many people would consider them as race bikes. As for the Maestro - I was fortunate in that as main supplier to Austin Rover we got a new car every 6 months and could choose within reason. The worst one I had was a Vanden Plas Maestro with Borg-Warner automatic gearbox. On my frequent sorties between Redditch and Cowley, before the M40 was built, and which essentially formed part of the production line, there were very few overtaking opportunities. One of these was exiting Long Compton for the long drag up the Cotswolds. The only tactic that worked was to assume no oncoming traffic and exit past the derestriction sign flat out in 2nd gear. If there happened to be oncoming traffic a very swift brake application was necessary....
23/04/2021 11:39:20 UTC
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