Fuel Tank Removal - Upside Down?!

Hoping to do some PM on my the bike before it rolls out of the basement for riding season and looking thru the service manual I noticed the fuel tank removal steps -

• Remove attachment bolts, lift and support tank so you can reach underneath (ok, I've done that before on other bikes)
• Disconnect some tubing and electrical connectors (fuel injected bike so the electrical connectors aren't really a surprise)
• Turn the tank upside down to remove more tubing (upside down! Will I be spilling fuel all over the floor? Will the tubing stretch that far? Where do I rest the tank?)

Wanted to ask here before possibly setting my basement on fire. Bike in question is a 6th gen - 02VFR

Any info/advice would be much appreciated

You should remove as much fuel as possible before beginning.
The fuel line has a banjo bolt attaching it to the fuel pump assembly. Needs to upside down to access with tools, and it will pour fuel
Out as soon as it's disconnected.

Thanks KC, I'll get to worker draining the tank. Raises another question - after draining the tank will sit dry, which isn't the best thing for it. Any way to avoid that?

Without a helper, I couldn't figure out how to turn the tank over and at the same time remove the hoses - so I just did that with the tank propped up.  I also found I got a lot more of the fuel siphoned out in that configuration as well.  I just placed an old towel under the banjo bolt to catch any fuel spillage, but it wasn't much. 

On my 5th gen I place some padding on the subframe and remove all but the main fuel line, and the rear tank bolt. I can then rotate the tank over backwards so it is right upside down. The back of the tank needs to slide forward a bit, then I can undo the fuel banjo bolt. You'll get a few drops from this but no spillage at all from the tank. The tank can then be parked somewhere soft upside down with no leakage.


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Prop the tank up when it's fairly empty, and siphon from the very rear of the tank using a hose when the tank is up as high as you can get it.

That will get most all the fuel out.

Then, try running it to see if there is any more, until it stalls.

When I pulled the tank on my girlfriend's 2000, I unhooked the fuel line to the throttle bodies and stuck it in a gas can, then used a wire to jump the 30 & 87 pins on the fuel pump relay and let the pump do all of the work for me. [image: ee6d7b52bc601e310a2ce2faf62b18c0.jpg]

Without a helper, I couldn't figure out how to turn the tank over and at the same time remove the hoses - so I just did that with the tank propped up.  I also found I got a lot more of the fuel siphoned out in that configuration as well.  I just placed an old towel under the banjo bolt to catch any fuel spillage, but it wasn't much. 

I have two milk crates that I use for lots of stuff, including stacked beside the bike to sit the upside-down tank on. Shop towels on top of the crates, of course.

Thanks guys, I think the odds of me setting my basement on fire while doing this are much lower now. Still non-zero though  :laugh: