SP/DR fuel tank info

[Tony T]

Remember that beat up PE tank I gave you a couple of years ago, Leith? I tried that on an SP at the time and it would have gone on, but the lines all looked a little strange. Which is why you got it. 
Hey David, have you got the original Dirt Bike articles from '79 where they built the same thing you did?
I can scan and email to you if you're interested?

[LWC82PE]

yes i got that tank still. stripped it back found a few dents and could see it had been modified for use on another bike at some stage. i was going to use it on my Ts 185 and then decided agianst it as it would need a lot of work. For me it is beyond getting being back to original to use on a later PE and some one in USA gave me a real good alloy PE tank that just has one largish but shallow dent on one side and hasnt been modified so i will fit that one to use on a PE. it just arrived today! With the other one you gave me a few weeks ago i decided i would repair it and modify it to go on my TS 185 at some stage. It would be a good candidate for that but not to get it back to being a good tank for a PE because of the mods done to the seat area and where it fits near the triple clamps.

[bazza]

rm125  250   370  alloy fit
Clarke tanks go cheap from time to time on ebay.Bazz

[David Lahey]

Remember that beat up PE tank I gave you a couple of years ago, Leith? I tried that on an SP at the time and it would have gone on, but the lines all looked a little strange. Which is why you got it. 
Hey David, have you got the original Dirt Bike articles from '79 where they built the same thing you did?
I can scan and email to you if you're interested?

Thanks again for the SP370 bashplate Tony. I just got the new air filter today so I will finally be able to go for a ride on my Suzuki this weekend.
I read that article in USDB at the time and it was what got me excited enough to do something similar, but wondered why the hell they went to all that trouble to fit the SP370 motor into the RM frame when you can just weld the back bit off the RM onto the front bit of the SP, which is what I did. Maybe they didn't want to wreck the SP frame?? Anyway yes please I would love to see a scan of that article again.
A bit of a coincidence about the SP370 happened tonight. A 50th birthday present from my sister arrived today and it is a calendar made with different photos from my bike riding past on each month and my eyes popped when I saw that she has photos of my old bikes that I have never seen before including a really good one from 1979 of the SP370 when it was new and I was just about to go for a ride with my buddy George on his PE175C. We are dressed in our period riding gear (leather MX pants, Bell Moto Star helmets etc) and it is a great clear photo. It's a bit late tonight to scan it so tomorrow I'll post it on the forum. Yes my sister has great taste hey. In blokes too because she married George.

[Tony T]

They did actually cut and shut the frame much like you, I think. But got themselves in the shit and the guys from Champion had to fix it for them.
I spoke to Rick Sieman in length about this particular bike when he was over here and he didn't have much nice to say about it.    He did mention that the head of Miaco at the time bought it from him. 
I'll scan later today and email to you.

[David Lahey]

Yes Tony I wouldn't rave about how it is to ride either, but it is fun to look at and remember the rides it was used on, and it's not a Honda.
Here are more photos of my bike. One is when the SP370 was still an SP370 but made a bit more dirt friendly, taken in 1979. On the PE175C is George Mckenzie. I think we went riding at Mt Glorious/Dayboro that day. My Datsun 1600 is behind us.
The "after" photo is after I did a repaint in 1981, including black sidecovers. Muffler was a supertrapp.
The good things about this bike are the amazing longevity and smooth performance of the motor, the fuel economy, and the ease with which it goes up very steep hills.
The bad things are that it has a relatively long wheelbase and raked out steering, so needs to be ridden with care on single-track, and you need to pay attention to what you are doing in corners on an MX track. The RM seat is a pain on long rides.