DIY: How To Remove The Fuel Tank From A Fuel Injected Dirt Bike

While modern technology has helped make dirt bikes perform better these advancements have also made bikes a bit more difficult to work on. These complexities can be a bit intimidating for some people to the point where they don't want to perform the same mechanical or maintenance tasks on their newer bikes that they used to tackle on their older dirt bikes.

The good news is, these are still the same machines with two wheels, frame, an engine, and front and rear suspension that you're accustomed to. There's just a few more electrical components or internal parts to sort out. No big deal, as long as you have an Owners Service Manual for the year, make, and model of your dirt bike you can learn how completely tear down and rebuild your machine. If you don't have a service manual, remember, the internet is your friend.  The World Wide Web is filled with articles and videos, and with a few key words you can find out how to replace a part of repair your dirt bike.

Speaking of friends, our friends over at Vital MX stopped by a few weeks ago and pulled a Suzuki RM-Z 250 off our showroom to show you how to drain the fuel from a fuel-injected four stroke dirt bike. In the video Michael Lindsay walks you through the steps of how to gain access to remove the stock gas tank so that you can either drain the fuel from the filler neck or remove the fuel pump to drain the fuel from the bottom of the tank.

While removing the gas tank and draining the fuel from your old two stroke may have been extremely simple, as you'll see in the video, even though there's a few extra wires and a large fuel pump replacing the petcock, it's still quite easy and only takes a few minutes. All you really need is a few basic hand tools and a couple of shop towels to cover the engine because a little bit of fuel will likely drain out when the fuel pump is disconnected from the fuel line.

Once you get the seat off, the top or bottom of the shrouds unbolted, and the gas tank loose there should only be one electrical connection that needs to be disconnected, the power lead for the fuel pump.

After the tank has been removed from the bike you can then either drain the fuel from the top or remove the fuel pump and let the fuel flow out the bottom. The choice is yours, but as Michael points out, even though it's an extra step to remove the fuel pump, sometimes it's easier to get all the fuel out the bottom. Plus there are only a few bolts that secure the fuel pump to the underside of the gas tank so it's not all that difficult to remove. Once you have the fuel out and finish with all the repairs or do whatever maintenance you need to do you simply re-install the tank, shrouds, and seat the same way they were removed.

Watch the video below and you'll see just how quick and easy it really is.