Removing the Gas Tank on a ZX-6R

Warning

I am not a mechanic or a representative of any motorcycle or tool manufacturer or anything else official. This page is only my notes on doing this procedure myself. Although I believe what I have documented here is correct, I make no promises and you do this at your own risk.

Objective

Removing the gas tank on your bike allows access to the engine compartment, and is the first step in servicing the air cleaner, carburetors, spark plugs, or the engine itself.

Required

Tools Required

• Rear stand (recommended)
• Phillips screwdrivers
• Hex wrenches
• Long-nose pliers

Difficulties & Warnings

Warning: You’re handling a tank filled with gas (hence the name “gas tank”). Work in a well-ventilated area with no flames or sparks and don’t smoke or allow your visitors to smoke.

Some difficulties could be:

• You could spill a small amount of gas from in the gas lines.
• You could spill a lot of gas if you forget to turn the petcock off.
• A full gas tank is pretty heavy, and can be hard on your fingers while lifting it out or setting it down.
• Apparently California-model bikes have additional hose connections because of their emissions regulations, so these instructions won’t be complete for those bikes.

Procedure

Putting the bike on a rear stand makes this job much easier by leveling the bike and holding it steady.

The tank is held in place with four hex bolts, two at the front and two at the rear. It is also connected to the bike by the gas line and by an electrical pickup.

First, you must remove both seats. Then:

Use a hex key to remove the two screws holding the front of the tank to the frame. (The front fairing is removed in this photo, but you don’t need to remove it.)

Use a hex key to remove the two screws that hold the rear of the tank. The bracket that holds the battery still is also held in place by these screws — remove it and set it aside.

Make sure the fuel petcock is in the “off” position.

Use a small Phillips screwdriver to remove the screw holding the petcock handle in place,

and remove the handle so it doesn’t bind on the frame when lifting the tank out.

Look under the tank in the area of the fuel petcock. Disconnect either end (whichever is easier) of the short line that connects the fuel petcock to the fuel pump.

Carefully lift out the tank and set it aside.

Here’s a view into the bike under where the tank was. In this photo, the fuel line was disconnected from the fuel pump, which you can see here.