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Post by bezzer on Feb 17, 2024 12:32:01 GMT 1
Have any of you lovely forum members tried one of the Indian made aluminium fuel tanks yet?.
Obviously I’m aware of the quality/fit/form issues of the steel ones, but wondered if anyone has actual experience of one?.
I must admit it’s off putting when in the description they say they’ve been pressure tested and are supplied with a liner! 😂. Presumably they fail the pressure test because of pin holes in the seams and the sealer is added to make them less sieve-like 😁.
Cheers chums. bezzer.
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Post by jon on Feb 17, 2024 12:36:35 GMT 1
I expect their pressure test is someone blowing into the petrol cap hole and listening for leaks?
Jon
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Post by bezzer on Feb 17, 2024 12:40:18 GMT 1
Haha 😆, now now Jon, let’s not condemn too quickly! 😁.
In fairness you are probably right though…….
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Post by jon on Feb 17, 2024 12:43:38 GMT 1
Thinking about this seriously, what about forum members donating say a £1 to someone so they can order one and review/dissect it?
Jon
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Post by JonW on Feb 17, 2024 12:44:37 GMT 1
Shows how desperate we are for tanks that we are still discussing and hoping these will be better year in year out.
Either way... we ALL* know... this idea will never be a goer.
* - Yep, even Bezzer as he typed his post...
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Post by bezzer on Feb 17, 2024 13:05:40 GMT 1
True JonW, but my rationale, and bear with me on this, is that aluminium would presumably not be as affected by ethanol in modern fuels?, I also genuinely like the look of polished alloy tanks (I think mead speed made one for the LC’s in the 80’s ).
And you’re right, I did envisage a lot of negativity towards this subject, given the historic atrocious quality of the tanks produced in India, but I wondered whether anyone had first hand experience, not that they’d admit to actually purchasing one, but may have bought a bike with one already fitted?.
I may set up an anonymous helpline for anyone affected by Indian made tanks, offering help and support through the process 🙏🏻😊.
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Post by JonW on Feb 17, 2024 13:38:51 GMT 1
Haha, I did the same sort of thing with my Raask Appreciation Society Klub... got more members than you'd think  |
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Post by bezzer on Feb 17, 2024 14:11:20 GMT 1
Somehow Jon, I think I’m going to end up being the founder and sole member 😂
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Post by veg on Feb 17, 2024 16:19:35 GMT 1
Iain
I’ll give you a quid just for the giggles. I do remember there was an alloy tanked Lc with gold pinstripes and decals in the late 90’s early 00’s for some reason I thought Nigel owned it? It was a club member from that time as well as I believe on Alec’s forum?
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Post by bezzer on Feb 17, 2024 16:28:31 GMT 1
Iain I’ll give you a quid just for the giggles. I do remember there was an alloy tanked Lc with gold pinstripes and decals in the late 90’s early 00’s for some reason I thought Nigel owned it? It was a club member from that time as well as I believe on Alec’s forum? Thanks for the info mate - I’d be interested to know if any photos exist of that bike? 😃. And sincere thanks for your kind offer of contribution , I just need another 239 like minded souls, and I’ll place the order!! 😂. Seriously though I do think an alloy tanked LC would look cool, I found details of a chap in the U.K. that can replicate any tank in alloy, obviously such a bespoke service comes at a cost - and time constraints, his order book was 18 months wait last time I checked. Cheers buddy. |
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Post by veg on Feb 17, 2024 16:45:32 GMT 1
There are a few people that make tanks in the Uk, however what I found when I was looking for a specific tank for a different bike was, the lead times are ridiculously long, the price generally means you need to order a short run of them, and because they are busy knocking tanks out that they already have patterns for they didn’t really want to do a one off and thus quoted ridiculous money. Now whether you could buy an Indian tank then get it adjusted to fit properly by a fabricator that could be a cheaper way of doing it?
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Post by veg on Feb 17, 2024 16:51:49 GMT 1
I think it was an article in CMM magazine late 90’s can’t find it though, it had an alloy tank gold graphics, gold wheels and allspeeds from memory
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Post by steve63 on Feb 17, 2024 17:38:26 GMT 1
As an ex sheet metal worker I could easily imagine making an LC tank even near to the original shape as being at least a week's work. No one gets out of bed for less than £500 a week these days. Add in a sheet of decent grade aluminium. I know very little about aluminium grades but I can see it being a minimum of £100 a sheet and you have £600 to start with. I believe they usually form them over a wooden former, basically a wood replica of the tank. You'd need a filler cap opening machining and one for the tap as well so there's another £100. The Indian ones would be a bargain if they fitted and didn't leak. Even if they didn't leak when new I wouldn't bet on them being fuel tight after a few hundred miles and thousands of road bumps. Sounds like a reasonable idea to get one and have someone re-weld it and adjust it to fit. My welder doesn't do aluminium and we don't have one at work that does either or I would have a bash at it (probably literally 😁).
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Post by steve63 on Feb 17, 2024 17:44:49 GMT 1
Just had a look and there's one for £207. They look pretty good. I'll donate £1.00 😁
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Post by bezzer on Feb 17, 2024 18:25:41 GMT 1
Thanks Lads, for your input, I concur with Veg’s initial idea of maybe getting one modified to ‘fit’, being a possibility.
The quote I had for a one off tank in alloy was £850, so Steve, your estimate is virtually spot on when you add the VAT. So as the ’test’ tally donations stand at 3 quid, it’s inching closer 😂.
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