I haven't bought a set yet myself but have seen 4 different sets that friends have and I can say they are spot on in paint quality and color match and wouldn't hesitate to order a set when I have the opportunity and money as it's much faster to get from Yamiya, as in within a week or two at most to the New England area from the time you pay for the order(as long as the color is in stock). BD's high quality painting is @ 1 year out to get done at this time and upwards to $1800 for the full set you want. The Japanese yen is much lower right now, so you'll be @ $1400 now shipped in a week to your shop. If Yamiya has the color you want, don't hesitate.
The rust warning is from the water leak testing the tanks go through after they are welded as part of the manufacturing process. They are dried after the testing but not coated after the process. So they recommend that you coat the tanks with high quality epoxy(Caswell or POR15 after you inpect and clean of any flash rust) to insure no leaks over the years to come.
As with the original tanks and how they were made in the 70s, these tanks are made of steel and can flash rust inside if you don't take care of your bike over the years.
I highly recommend if you don't coat the tank with epoxy (which I don't do epoxy myself), that you do a full tank, 5 gallons of Evaporust to clean it of any rust in it(2 days in the full tank), empty the Evaporust back into the 5 gallon bucket(to reuse at another time). Then immediately rinse the tank of the Evaporust with 1-2 qts of fresh diesel fuel, shake well to get all moisture out, do 4 rinses. (Dump each rinse into a 5 gallon bucket to let water separate from the diesel fuel and you can reuse in a few days after it settles and separates). Then wipe out the tank with a 2' grabber stick and a clean rag. Then fully coat the tank with 6 oz 2 stroke oil. Dump out the excess oil and fill with fresh gas and it's ready to go.
I also recommend that you add a couple oz of 2 stroke oil to each or every other tank of gas to help prevent rust happening from ambient moisture that is attracted into the gas while it sets in the gas station tanks and in the bike tank before you eventually use it up. Keep the tank full of gas as much as possible during the riding season. Myself I empty my tanks each fall and store the tank emptied, fully coated with 2 stroke oil (pull the tank, empty the gas, then put in 6-8 oz 2 stroke oil and turn the tank all around to coat it). It works great to preserve the tank. Put a 4" piece of fuel line to loop the 2 outlets on the petcock to stop any oil leaking out through the petcock during the storage period(or a rubber cap on single outlet petcock of 1975 and later petcocks).
Dump the oil out of the tank in the spring (and drain the oil in the petcock) and you are ready for fresh gas and a season of riding.
