As the saying goes, iron cannot be easily corroded, but iron corrodes itself. The main reason for rust in a motorcycle’s fuel tank is the reaction of water and oxygen with metal (oxidation). Due to this rusting, the structure of iron changes and the iron starts to corrode. The reason for rusting in a fuel tank can be divided into several reasons.

1) From humidity – Due to the geographical location of Bangladesh, the climate of this region is humid. Due to humidity, when our fuel tank cools down from hot to cold after riding a bike in the summer or when the environment is slightly cold during rain or winter, water vapor can condense inside the tank and rust can form from there.

Most bikers fill the tank with a small amount of fuel, i.e. 100-200 taka, which is left at the bottom of the fuel tank. As a result, condensation can also occur due to the fact that most of the space in the tank is empty.

2) Water entering the tank – If for some reason, even the slightest water enters the tank through the fuel cap during heavy rain or high pressure washing, rust can also start from there.

Although these two can be considered the most common reasons from a scientific point of view, the question arises – why has this type of problem not been seen on such a large scale in our old model bikes so far? So there are some other reasons in this case. So let’s review the other reasons.

3) Fuel adulteration – There is nothing new to say about the quality of fuel at most filling stations in Bangladesh. The presence of adulteration in the fuel of open oil and many petrol pumps can often be seen, which has increased in the present time. The third reason can be attributed to fuel adulteration.

Although many people think that E20 fuel mixed with ethanol is currently being sold in the Bangladesh market like many places in the world, no evidence or truth has been found so far. Therefore, this issue cannot be blamed for the problem of rusting bikes in Bangladesh.

4) Fuel tanks made using low-quality raw materials – Many people believe that companies are currently making bike tanks from low-quality metals, which is why they rust easily. Although this argument is partially true, it is seen that even in bike tanks that are 5-10 years old or more, there has been no problem for a long time, but recently, i.e. the last 1-1.5 years, there has been a problem with rust.

5) Anti-rust coating of the bike’s fuel tank is damaged – Another logical reason is that the anti-rust coating of the bike’s fuel tank can also cause rust problems due to various reasons.

Since the hobby bike is quite expensive, it is quite difficult for a biker to accept such a problem. Moreover, rust on the bike’s fuel tank not only ruins its beauty and fuel capacity, but this rust attracts more dirt, and this rust and dirt, mixed with fuel, can damage the bike’s fuel system (both carburetor and fuel injector) and the engine over time, as well as spread rust to other metal parts of the bike.