Alloy Fuel Tank Fabrication

[Tomas]

There is a guy somewhere around Albany WA that makes aluminium tanks. I have seen one tank  he made for a Yamaha and it was exactly same as the original. I can not remember his name but everyone called him Buff. He is into custom motorcycle frames, frame repairs, fenders etc. He said that he uses 3mm aluminium sheets for fuel tanks and fenders. I am sure that someone from around Albany, WA will know him.

[Lozza]

http://www.broadlandleisure.com/index.htm

Vol 2 will step you through it. Getting sheet in O condition will be the biggest hurdle, the rest just is time and money 

I’m sick & tired of chasing down plastic fuel tanks that are either faded & require a month of Sundays to recover them, only to see them go back to the original state 12 months later (or) they crack after being put back into service. I had a thought that fabricating a replacement tank mimicking the original from aluminium would be a better longer term solution. I’ve tried to come up with patterns but I get out of my depth when it comes to patterning off the original tank given that you are working from the outside surface of the tank not the inside. Trying to deduct the thickness of the tank in various points from the alloy plate whilst maintaining the compound bends is just too difficult and time consuming for a backyard fabricator like me.

I then had a thought that if I sacrificed an old (damaged) tank and filled it with concrete utilising a vibrating bench to remove all the air trapped in the tank, allowed sufficient curing time then cut away the plastic I would have a buck to work from. This would allow me to shape/fabricate the sheet using an English wheel to get the compound shapes then it would be a simple matter of having someone weld the fabricated pieces together.

Thoughts?

[FourstrokeForever]

If you are going to get the job done, don't do half yourself and then hand it on to someone else to finish welding etc..... They will only end up charging you double to fix "your mistakes".

[Michael Moore]

Unfortunately John B's Volume 2 is currently out of print.  But this article will give you the basics on making a tank:

http://www.eurospares.com/graphics/bodywork/KyteTank.pdf

I made an alloy tank for my KT250 as well as several tanks for vintage road race bikes.  As with so many things the first attempt involves some learning, but a simple tank isn't rocket science.







cheers,
Michael

[KTM47]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rw5lYMmxSB0

[url][/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmQ_V5ihmZYurl]

[sleepy]

I made a batch of Maico tanks a few years back and was thinking if anyone was interested I would  make a few more. They were the 74 style but with some minor changes could make the later pre78 style as well.
Other thing I thought of doing was an alloy CZ replica tank.

BAHNZY.
Anything that has simple curve is quite easy to do. Like the old pom in the video I used 1.6mm plate, it wasn't anything flash from memory just not the marine grade. Welding was all done with Tig and for the filler neck I pressed up out of flat to use an old Camira oil filler cap that was the same as the Maico one.