2003 Suzuki Suzuki Motorcycle

THE SUZUKI VL1500LC INTRUDER (LC FOR SHORT) HAS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH ITS FUEL TANK CRACKING RIGHT BEHIND THE FRONT RIGHT MOUNTING BOLT. THIS IS KNOWN TO THE LC COMMUNITY, AND WE ASSUME THAT IT IS KNOWN BY SUZUKI. THE LATTER, HOWEVER, HAS SO FAR NOT DONE ANYTHING TO REMEDY THE SITUATION. YES, THEY WILL REPLACE THE TANK, BUT THE NEW TANK CRACKS IN THE SAME PLACE, SO THAT IS NOT A 'GOOD' FIX. THE TANK ON MY BIKE HAS DEVELOPED THE SAME CRACK, AFTER LESS THAN 14,000 MILES. THE GAS IS ROUTED TO DRIP IN AN AREA VERY NEAR THE EXHAUST PIPES. (ON A BIKE WITH STOCK EXHAUST, IT MAY WELL DRIP ONTO THE EXHAUST EXPANSION CHAMBER.) BECAUSE THE REPAIR - IE REPLACEMENT OF TANK - IS NOT A SATISFACTORY REPAIR MOST OF US SEE NO REASON TO LEAVE THE BIKE IN THE SHOP FOR A WEEK OR MORE TO FACILITATE REPLACEMENT OF SAID TANK. IN STEAD, OTHER REMEDIES ARE SOUGHT. SOME SUCCESS IS REPORTED USING JBWELD.

I HAVE A 2003 SUZUKI INTRUDER LC1500. IT IS 2 MONTHS OUT OF WARRANTY AND HAS 5,100 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. RECENTLY I STARTED SMELLING GAS AND, AWARE THAT OTHERS HAVE HAD CRACKS IN THEIR FUEL TANKS THROUGH THE LC FORUM, CHECKED THE SUSPECT AREA OF THE TANK. THERE WAS RESIDUE, I CLEANED THE TANK AND RECHECKED IT YESTERDAY. THERE WAS NEW RESIDUE AND THE CRACK IS VISIBLE.*AK

A SMALL SEPARATION OF THE TOP WELD ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE GAS TANK ON MY 2003 SUZUKI VL1500LC MOTORCYCLE. I NOTICED IT WHEN I WAS CHANGING THE EXHAUST SYSTEM ON MY BIKE, THE FIX IS TO USE JB WELD TO CLOSE THE CRACK. SUZUKI INTERNATIONAL WILL NOT EVEN TALK TO ME ABOUT THE PROBLEM. THEY STATED NHTSA WOULD HAVE TO FORCE THEM TO EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE GAS TANK. *NM

TO WHOM IT MAY VCONCERN. LAST WEEK I RECEIVED A SAFETY RECALL FROM SUZUKI MOTOR. REFERENCE A 2003 SUZUKI, VZ800K3 MOTORCYCLE, I PURCHASED ON 07/05/04 FROM QUINSEY POWERSPORT OF EL CAJO, CALIFORNIA. WHEN I CONTACTED THE DEALER TO HAVE THE WORK PERFORMED ON SAID MOTORCYCLE I WAS TOLD BY THE MANAGER OF SERVICE TO RIDE THE BIKE IN AND 3 DAYS IT WILL BE READY. HOW COULD A RIDE IN A BIKE THAT THE MANUFACTURER STATES " DO NOT RIDE YOUR CALIFORNIA MODEL". I HAVE CALLED PEOPLE AT THE DEALER AND AT THE MANUFACTURER WITHOUT GETTING A STRAY ANSWER YET. WHAT SHOULD I DO NEXT? DID I MENTION, THAT ON THE FIRST DAY I TOOK THE BIKE HOME. WHILE IN MY WAY TO WORK DOING 60 THE SPEEDOMETER BROKE. DO I HAVE A LEMON? THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. MARIO