[pratap007]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some advice as I'm at my wit's end to what is the right thing to do here.

I purchased a 2019 Interceptor 650 which had run just 5000 kilometers, barely used and pristine. The person had serviced it prior to my purchasing it.

Got everything transferred to my name and then went to the ASC for a GENERAL SERVICING - The only thing i mentioned on the job card was that they take a look at the rear brake as it did not actuate at all.

A couple of days later ( it was the weekend) they send me a video that straight out of a horror movie - They had removed my tank, my fuel pump and emptied all the fuel out of it - They sent me a message on whatsapp that my tank is rusted and the fuel pump is soiled so i will need to replace both of them and the cost is Rs.33,000/-

I told them please fit everything back as the bike worked fine and I'd take a look at it myself before I would authorize changing a tank and fuel pump for 33k .

They later called me stating I should bring some fuel while coming to collect the motorcycle, and when questioned they mentioned all the fuel was spoiled and they had to throw away 6 litres of petrol.

I informed them that pumps do not provide petrol and they should fill her up - I just paid for the fuel.

Now my worst nightmare begins as i went to collect my motorcycle -

I wanted to take a test ride and they kept insisting that the fuel tank is rusted sir you need to change it and the fuel pump - and I was like I had zero issues and would do it on my own time.

I took a test drive and the bike refused to rev beyond 4000 rpm and sputtered and gasped if we tried revving it beyond 4k to 5k rpm.

The ASC reiterated that this is caused by rust and faulty fuel pump - Now i contested stating the bike worked fine before and the workshop manager who took a test ride didnt note any issues - I claimed there is water in the tank that they put in there - they refused to believe again arguing it was the rust.

I asked them to drain the tank in front of me - they finally relented and did so and out comes a whole lot of water from the fuel line - I told them that the fuel was emptied so they must have drained the fuel from a carb instead of using a pipe from the top of another motorcycle - they agreed they must have made a mistake - I just was furious so i paid the bill and left.

I went to a local mechanic hoping to get it fixed, he drained the tank and out comes almost a liter of water - the fuel pump was in bad shape and the rust coloured water had reached the injectors as well.

Now in this situation I called up the RE helpline and raised a complaint - the ASC called me and offered to take a look at the bike again - they just drained the tank and did nothing to it.

The bike now runs horrible - No warning lights no other signs excepts it wont rev at all and I'm guessing it could be any number of things now - the rust from the tank dissolved in the water and seeped into the engine I suppose clogging up everything along the way -

Should I continue to demand RE fix this - Since they are under no obligation to do so, is it worth the time and effort or should i seek a solution with a local mechanic?

My main contention is that I gave them a working motorcycle with no mention of anything other than a rear brake issue on the JOB CARD so why did they have to mess around with the tank and fuel pump?

They have ruined a motorcycle that they are supposed to help maintain a ludicrous cost of 9k for a general servicing - and they of course will never take responsibility for it -

Any ideas what else I can try to get this fixed - with the tank rust locally no one is cleaning tanks and recommending cutting it and cleaning and then welding back again which i cannot begin to list out why its a terrible idea.

I'm at my wit's end.

Please help.

[b16h22]

Originally Posted by pratap007

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some advice as I'm at my wit's end to what is the right thing to do here.

I purchased a 2019 Interceptor 650 which had run just 5000 kilometers, barely used and pristine.

Please help.

I guess therein lies your problem. Rarely used bikes tend to have rust in their tank with modern ethanol fuel being hygroscopic in nature. 5k in 5 years is a negligible amount of running for a motorcycle. And we don't know if the guy left the bike standing 4 years after riding it initially for 5k. That amount of rust in the tank doesn't appear in a short time unfortunately. Maybe you were lucky to not have any issues prior to giving it for a service. The stuck rear brakes tell a story of the usage pattern from the previous owner or the lack of it.

[setuniket]

I dont think this amount of rust would come up in a few days.

There are two possibilities 1.The tank was indeed rusted from inside(its 2019 model) as it is barely run.Ethanol blended fuel is prone to accumulating water, fuel tanks with fuel stored for long have water and rusting.

2. The Service Centre swapped fuel tank, which belongs to someother motorcycle and asked you to foot the bill

Did you check the condition of fuel tank before buying the motorcycle? Why would regular/general service take more than a day or two? Why was the fuel tank drained without you asking? Did you notice drop in performance/starting/idling/acceleration issue and complain?

Remember barely used doesn’t guarantee pristine condition particularly if it is of 2019 vintage and not run regularly.

[Balaji31582]

Originally Posted by pratap007

I purchased a 2019 Interceptor 650 which had run just 5000 kilometers, barely used and pristine. The person had serviced it prior to my purchasing it.

Is this the same service center as that of where you gave now? Did you mind checking what were observations from service before you got it from the owner?

[Rahulkool]

I had a similar issue in my interceptor. I too bought a 2019 used bike, which had done around 2400kms in 2.5 years. Bike was still in warranty and i gave the bike for service just before warranty was expiring. I told them the tank rust issue, i could see rust around the fuel intake. RE changed the fuel tank and complete lock set(the rubber gasket for the fuel filter cap was damaged and instead of changing the rubber gasket they changed the whole lockset) under warranty, which i had requested. On top of that they also changed the fuel pump, some fuel pipes and filter under warranty.

There are some chemical available to cure the tank rust, i have seen some youtube video of the same.

[iron.head]

If you make enough noise, RE will cover everything in warranty. Fuel tanks rusting in less than a few years is a production quality problem and RE will cover everything in goodwill warranty if you give them hell.

When the tank was drained at the dealership it had water along with the fuel, like you said. That is enough grounds that it was the dealer the screwed up the motorcycle.

In regards to the fuel pump and the injector, I believe they can be saved by disassembling and cleaning but if RE replaces them then why not!

[pandabear]

Try this additive


To quote from the website

BHARAT ECOCHEM: Fuel additive for ethanol blended motor spirit (MS)
BHARAT ECOCHEM is a fuel additive to protect the metallurgy of fuel tank and the other
components of the fuel system in automobiles running on ethanol-blended motor spirit. In India,
currently 5% ethanol blending in Motor Spirit (MS) is mandatory which is proposed to be
increased to 10% in coming years.
In past two years, approximately 500,000 MT of ethanol is blended with MS. Blending of ethanol
reduces the dependency on fossil fuels to an extent. However, ethanol blending in MS
accelerates corrosion susceptibilities of metals during pipeline transportation, storage,
automobile fueling systems etc. due to ethanol’s hygroscopic nature and impurities present in it.
Therefore corrosion inhibitors are added into these ethanol-MS blends for reducing corrosion.
BPCL Corporate R&D Centre developed ethanol corrosion inhibitor, BHARAT ECOCHEM,
which is an import substitute, cost effective and technically superior additive for ethanol-
MS blends. The additive is developed and tested in the laboratory for various
metallurgies. Before commercialization, the product was sent to various BPCL depots
for field trials. After successful field trials, the product, BHARAT ECOCHEM was
commercially launched in January 2016. The cost of BHARAT ECOCHEM is four times
lesser than the imported corrosion inhibitor which is being used by oil marketing
companies in India.
The intellectual property rights of BHARAT ECOCHEM have been secured by filing patents in
the countries of business interest such as India, Brazil, Canada, Europe, Thailand and United
States of America. BHARAT ECOCHEM is indigenously manufactured for commercial use
qualifying for Made in India Initiative (Product Innovated and Produced in India). This
innovation has conferred with Special Commendation Award for “Innovator of the year –
Team”, by Petroleum Federation of India in 2011-12

[himanshu_trikha]

I have a similar issue with my 2016 Classic 350 ,bike has done less than 6.5K kilometres in all these years and I had to change the fuel tank last month ultimately.

This is a clear issue with Petrol tank being full at idle coupled with quality control at RE.

[amods]

It definitely looks like a tank swap. Someone known to them got your tank for free in most probability.