Petrol tank removal
 

Can someone tell me the petrol tank removal process on a 999.

My 996 had clip release fuel lines making it easy to remove but the 999 is clipped differently.

Any advice/guidance gratefully received.

Call the AA...they have lots of experience with 999's.

Sorry Dave...Friday afternoon drinkies starting to kick in!!:lol:

He crashed at Rocky as well as Silverstone, Dave how many times have you crashed your 999R.
From what I saw when Simon (Chippy) removed his 749 tank it looked as simple as removing the one on my 916

lol:D

Kev...your mean!

No crash at Rocky, no funny jokes, no advice :(:(:(

remove the seat pad thats connected to the tank. ,Dissconnect the fuel lines from underneath and pull the tank towards the rear of the bike. There are 2 prongs inserted into the front of the tank from the headstock, thats why you pull away from them.

very easy.:D

[Edited on 13-5-2005 by revdecal]

The clips that hold the fuel lines to the connectors that enter the tank can be F****** to get off. The two metal pipes that enter the tank are held in place by a single bolt and clamp in the middle. Undo the bolt and pull the connectors out from the bottom of the tank.
These have an "O" ring seal, smear a very thin layer of grease when re-fitting.


Best to drain tank first or have very little fuel in it.

Other suggestion is .... Ducati do a set of fuel lines for the 749 / 999 with the dry break fuel fittings in as per the 916 / 996 / 998 . Buy a set of these and do the conversion when you take your tank off.

[Edited on 14-5-2005 by Carbon749]

[Edited on 14-5-2005 by Carbon749]

Is it true that the fuel line over the top of the rear plug hole also serves as the seal, and has to be correctly manouevred into place when you put the tank back on to ensure the seal is sorted?:puzzled:

Not heard this one, I just let the fuel lines take a natural line and let them sit were they want to without forcing them in to any funny shapes.

Yes and no Alan..

The fuel lines "should" sit underneath the tank neatly, if you look at the underside of the tank you'll see a channel of sorts this is where the fuel lines are supposed to sit. It doesn't seal or help the coil/plug assembly in that way as such but I was informed that if not routed that way the fuel lines vibrate and rub the wiring at the plug cap and can cause a failure.

Having just lifted the tank to get to the rear coil (failed and replaced under warranty by the way) I found that it is very easy to get one of the pipes caught between the tank and the head and it gets squashed. Just prodding the pipes in at the sides before fastening the seat/tank down will push them into the correct position.

Should the fuel line, on the left hand side of the bike, literally sit underneath the tank, behind the bolts running along the top of the engine?

Sounds about right, twist both pipes at the fuel pump inwards and they should route up inside the hollow underneath the tank if that exlpains it

See my reply above about prodding the pipe so it is not caught!

You've got me all paranoid now! :o

Does this look ok?

I'd say NO!

Like I said above you can twist the pipe at the fuel pump, the fuel line will then ride up inside the tank slightly, and not rest on the head as yours is doing there, and looking slightly pinched also.

It looked exactly like that the first time I moved the tank to take off the seat, thats why I put it back the same!? :puzzled:

Haven't had a problem riding like it is, but I don't like the look of it sitting there all squashed up, I think I will try to move it.

That's how mine was after I removed the tank, but put a new tank on at the weekend and made sure I fitted the lines accordingly.

First of all a big thanks for all the advice, especially Chippy.


The petrol lines certainly ran along the cylinder head nuts as you described. With my bike they aren't squashed and will move slightly given that there is very little play. You cannot get the left hand line (looking rear to front of bike) further past these nuts as it will foul on the spark plug cap see (A) below.

The yellow dotted lines indicate the fuel line routes before the tank was removed.

Mine looks like this. I can move the pipe with my finger so I know it is not trapped.

That's how mine are, you can see the fuel lines dissapear up inside the tank (kind of) and not resting on the head as such

That's right. In Everton's reply above he talks about them not being able to go over the plug connector because it fouls. There is clearance up under the tank there so it does not seem to be tight.

Maybe some fuel lines are shorter than others so they cannot go into the recess? (not all fuel lines created equal?)

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

Being a 999R it probably has another 9mm of fuel line:smug:

Fantastic diagram Henry, I can't move mine in too much because it'll also foul the connector. Anyway, not had any trouble with it, so perhaps I can leave it as it is. ;)

Actually ... it was Everton who posted the diagram but not to worry. :eureka:

Oops! :lol:

Was reading too fast (thats my excuse anyhow!).

Big up Everton for the diagram then! :D

Just to add to the apologies ..... when I gave advice on the routing of the fuel lines I "forgot" that my tank is not standard and that the lines may sit differently.

All that said, the fuel lines should not be trapped between the rocker cover bolts and the underside of the tank, they should run inboard of the bolt heads which should give them a little free play between the tank and rocker cover.