what plastics for a husky

[490 tez]

need help guys i need new plastics for 2 cr 250 @ 83 84 what does every one think they will be race bikes but want them to look good and shiny they are wr 240's 84 but want to make them look like 83 cr 250's but air cooled of coarse

[Husky500evo]

I have purchased an aftermarket, US made, Clarke plastic tank for one of my '84 Huskys this season. I think that it is supposed to be a replica of the '83 CR tank, but it seems a bit slimmer and I am very impressed with it . I have fitted UK made, "MXM" '83 Husky graffics to the tank (only I asked them to put perforations in them because they were going on a plastic tank). There are some issues with using an '83 style tank on an '84, such as the seat foam and cover have to be modified where it meets the tank and you have to use an '83 right sidepanel (which doesn't quite match up with the rear mounting point on the '84 frame). I am using an '84 style left sidepanel, which is also slightly different to the '83 and seems to look and fit better.  They are DC plastics aftermarket sidepanels, which are not as good as original, but are still not too bad . I can post up a picture if you want. 

[490 tez]

thanks a picture would be great i saw those clarke tanks they look the part as 83 tanks are getting hard to find. so how many liters are they? what about guards dc as well ? thanks again for your help one is for my son hope to get them to cd7

[Husky500evo]

Here is a picture of my '84 500AE, fitted with the Clarke tank. I can't remember how much it holds , but is the smallest one they make for this model bike and is still more than enough tank capacity for VMX racing. The front guard, which I prefer the look of over the original one, is a UFO. The rear guard is a good quality replica of the original, which I think I got from Husqvarna_Parts.com in the USA. I bought my Clarke tank through Les Richters from Mainly Maico/VMX Unlimited because he gave me a good deal . Les could probably supply you with a complete package for a good price, rather than having to ring around the world yourself for the different suppliers.

[PEZBerq]

What a great looking bike Mark.  Go the 500AE! Would look even better with the full enduro fruit on though  .  The unpainted cases look good - has there been any corrosion of the magnesium?

[huskibul]

  Hey husky nice bike  does the clarke tank use original type fittings (cawi bayonet cap and karcoma tap 16x1mm outlet ) also how are you finding the mxm decals standing up to use ?  p.s 490 tez ive used dc plastic guards on two of my husky's they seem to be fairly good quality plastic but their not what you'd call shiney, they do the job for me though  :)cheers

[Husky500evo]

      The Clarke tank comes with its own fittings, such as tap, cap and the long mounting bolt that goes through the frame at the front of the tank (although it has an imperial thread). The MXM graffics are holding on very well , but I haven't put fuel in the tank yet . I think that the secret with the MXM graffics is to fit them as soon as you get them , when the adhesive is strong and fresh. You only get one go at putting them on straight though, as the glue is really strong and you would probably destroy the decal trying to get it off or move it . I had some older MXM graffics that I had stored for a while, that the adhesive had seemed to lose strength over time and they wanted to peel off once I had got around to fitting them to a tank.
      Fortunately the 500AE has aluminium engine cases , instead of the magnesium used in the CR/WR/XC motors, so I don't have any issues with corrosion . In my opinion, magnesium is a curse because of corrosion issues and the difficulty of welding repairs and is not worth the trouble for the insignificant weight saving .