Aftermarket gas tanks

[lewey]

considering buying some repop 3.5 gal tank shift tanks. Experiences? Certain manufacturers to go with or stay away from. What should I expect? How bad are the fits? Thanks for the heads up.

[Robert Luland]

There's only one manufacturer that sells to everybody else. And they suck! Get ready to have lots of fun making them fit. If you don't already have a torch set up, go out and buy one. Your going to need it. Bob L

[Kuda]

I'll gladly expound on what Bob said: Ayup. They're fairly awful, but if you're determined to use a tank shift and you can't afford some originals, Vtwin is the only game in town. They WILL work, but not without considerable work. In my case, it was the contours on the back side (indents too small to clear the frame in spots), tabs/holes not in the right place (holes had to be hogged out), difficult-impossible to get a stock dash to sit right on them without cutting the stock dash, etc. And all that is in addition to the fact that the tanks looks very little like the originals. Fill necks too low and flat, fuel valve hole not indented, back of tanks too fat, just basically not right. But again, if you want a tank shift...

-Kuda

[panz4ever]

Where to start with how bad they are....

1. Overall shape of tanks. The contour on the tanks is not the same as stock. Contour between the left and right tank is often not the same which means the top of one tank is higher usually near the rear mount area.

1a. Overall shape of the tanks. Because the contour is not the same you will need to modify the bottom of the dash cover if you are concerned about not have a large gap once the cover is in place. You start raising the rear of the tanks and you run into a problem with dash plate cover and switch attached to the dash plate. Switch ends up being recessed meaning you end up using small washers under the switch mounting holes in order to correct the difference.

2. Upper mounts. The rear holes in the tanks often do not align properly forcing you to elongate the mounts on your frame. And if you are trying to keep the tanks even across the top you often have to elongate one hole (or both) upwards in order to gain proper alignment. Now you have a hole the size of a quarter. The front mounting tabs are not drilled evenly causing either left or right side front to be higher (or lower) than the other (means more elongating holes). The front tab holes are too large to begin with requiring oversized washers.

3. Lower mounts. Tabs are way oversized and will interfere with the top of your heads. Tabs are not the same for either side. Holes are oversized requiring the use of oversized washers.

Think I have used about 4 sets of aftermarket tanks over the years and this is an accumulation of gripes regarding those tanks.

[amiabledave]

I DO NOT HAVE A HAND SHIFTER ON THE TANKS.

I BOUGHT 5 GALLON TANKS FROM A LOCAL PARTS HOUSE. THEY WENT INTO THERE BOOKS AND ORDERED THEM, PROBABLY V-TWIN. BARE STEEL,THEY HAD A COUPLE OF SMALL DINGS IN THEM, BUT NOTHING THAT A LITTLE BONDO/SPOT PUTTY COULDN'T REPAIR.

LEFT/RIGHT HALVES, BY EYE WHERE VERY CLOSE. THE BOLT HOLES LINED UP WITH NO PROBLEMS, BUT THE MOUNTING TABS ON THE TANKS/FRAME WHERE NOT FLUSH. I HAD TO HEAT THE TANK TABS AND BEND LIGHTLY TO MAKE IT SO.

I PAINTED THEM AND HAVE BEEN RUNNING THEM FOR 25 YEARS...

A FRIEND DIDN'T MAKE THE MOUNTING TABS FLUSH WHEN HE BOUGHT HIS, AND A WELD BROKE.

DAVE

[58bob]

Yep same as all of the above. The upper rear studs fitted, just, but the front upper mounts didn't align, tanks were at different heights. Had to hog out one tab to get the top front and bottom to align up. Couldn't get a bolt through the bottom 2 tabs at all! The worst thing is the dash (repo) didn't fit either. Had to hog the ignition switch hole out, then slot the speedo mount holes, drill out the ignition mounts to move the dash further back. Got the dash to sit nice at the front and rear but in the middle there is a huge gap for about 4" each side. Also the tank opening for the dash is too wide, its wider than the dash itself, so looking down onto the dash you can see the cutouts in the tanks either side....looks crap. Have 2 sets of gas caps, had 2 take the washers off one set and put onto the other so they would screw down.

[lewey]

I'm running the shifter off the frame with later model pan tanks. Would like to get tank shift tanks but it sounds like they're pieces of shit. A little modifying is not that big of a deal but sounds like I'm looking at a lot worse. Too bad originals are so damn expensive and it's not like I can't live without em.