as we were preparing for a trip with the VRCC lowlands this weekend,
i got a call from a friend who was also coming to the meeting, saying that 'he heard a strange noise when he pushed the starterbutton'

which sounded like what i had described to him before.
went out to his place to inspect,
pulled the plugs : plug 1, 3 and 5 were wet, nr 5 dripping wet.
pushed the bike to turned the engine over : fountain of fuel
a typical hydrolock scenario.

removed the startermotor, to find this : :'(

(luckily only ) 3 teeth broken off from the 2nd gear.
gear is still in right place, the rod is not bend, case is not broken or anything worse.
1 week before, he just had a new to him I/S tank installed on his standard.
kept his petcock, but installed a new petcock screen.
mmh that's a coincidence !
when looking into the full tank ( ready to take a ride)
i see a lot of small rust spots.
i am blaming the tank :
i assume some rust particles came loose, tore the diaphragm in the petcock, and caused the float needles to stay open.
bike is at the dealer now, he is going back to the std tank for now.
any advise on how to clean rust spots out of a tank ?
shaking with chips, used in rotary vibrator, inside ?
Anthony