Egli Norton?

The alloy Fastback tank made by Bartel (Asa Moyce) and supplied via RGM is about 3 1/2 uk gallons and is a bit slab sided to look at but the extra 1/2 gallon over the standard fastback tank is good. The long-range fastback tank at 4 gallons doesn't fit the frame very well without a lot of bits of rubber to pack it out. I tried it and moved it on pretty quickly.

Hi I heard from Ross Thompson that he has retired. The Comatlas tank he made for me was the last one he did. I like it, it fits really well and takes 18 liters which is useful for me as I average about 45 mpg.
The weight is not a big deal.

Have a good day,

Martin

There seems to be quite a bit of interest in a larger roadster tank , I am surprised no one has contemplated doing a run of them .
I am sure they would sell well .

dero said:

There seems to be quite a bit of interest in a larger roadster tank , I am surprised no one has contemplated doing a run of them .
I am sure they would sell well .

Click to expand...

I’m not.

There is a huge difference between ‘interest’ and ‘genuinely willing to pay for one’...!

Tooling up would cost a fortune and I’d bet on an almost zero chance of covering that cost with the sales...

Which would look prettier on a Commando-
A bulked up 18 litre version of the Roadster tank or a slimmed down 18 litre version of the Interstate, both in Alloy?

Glen

Slimmed down interstate tank.

A bulked up roadster tank would irradicate the whole basis of the roadster tanks visual appeal.

I think you're right. It would be, " My God what happened to your Roadster tank?" vs " that's a nice looking Interstate tank"

Glen

The Roadster tank is too small for touring at 11 litres

=============

In 1972 I toured 4000 miles around the Unites States on my Combat with Roadster tank just fine, filling up every couple hours no problem

I happen to like the way the Atlas tank looks on a Commando, so I may not be the best responder, but I also like the way the Interstate tank looks. I just never cared for the seat that went with it. I think a slimmer version of the Interstate would be a nice way to go. The length suits me fine for riding.

The photo below was shared by a member here who may or may not still be around. I saved the photo because I thought it was interesting. The tank on this bike is a modified steel Interstate. I would never have the guts to do that to my Interstate tank. But I do have an aluminum Interstate tank here that was made in India. I bought it cheap off of somebody who could not abide by the crappy looking welds on it. I have it sitting on a shelf figuring that one day I might cut it apart, modify it and weld it back up. It could be narrowed in the process. Or you could accept that the indents will reduce the volume.



Whoever did this was pretty good. The tank came out looking clean. I'd be interested to know what their process was. Any ideas? You think they pulled this off without cutting the tank and rewelding it?

My guess is they cut out the indent sections, made up the concave filler pieces , welded them in and smoothed the welds.
A lot of work!

Glen

1up3down said:

The Roadster tank is too small for touring at 11 litres

=============

In 1972 I toured 4000 miles around the Unites States on my Combat with Roadster tank just fine, filling up every couple hours no problem

Click to expand...

The problem is, the 125 mile perfect world range of the Roadster tank will not get you from gas pump to gas pump in the places I ride. There are many small towns that had pumps 5 years ago but don't have them now.
I had to do 20 miles of engine off coasting last year because of this. And that was with a 15 .5 litre tank on the Vincent.
Luckily we were on was on the uphill side of things when the fuel ran out.
Then there are range reducing mountains and headwinds that will leave the rider with yet more miles to push.

Glen

worntorn said:

My guess is they cut out the indent sections, made up the concave filler pieces , welded them in and smoothed the welds.
A lot of work!

Glen

Click to expand...

Nobody said it would be easy! Or cheap. Yes, I suspect they cut the tank and welded in the indents. I have yet to decide what I might do with the aluminum Interstate tank. But the bottom of it looks like it was put together with bubble gum, so one day I will be at least cleaning and reworking the welds, but I might decide to modify it. I agree on the extra range needed but then my closest gas station is a 100 mile ride once I leave home. It's easy to put on a hundred miles in BC or the Yukon and not see a gas station. Or another person for that matter. It's a little harder to do in the lower-48 but it is awful nice to have the option to turn away from a population center when you come to the fork in the road as opposed to having to go there to get fuel.

Russ

That's true. The old highways in Montana and Wyoming also have some very long stretches without fuel.

A couple of years ago and close to home where there is lots of fuel, I rode with a couple who tour on their 850 Roadster. The lady is 6'1", her husband is 6"5. They carry camping gear and two lawn chairs!
Range is about 90 to 100 miles on the flat, but as they pointed out, there isn't always a gas station exactly at 90 miles, so they start looking at 50 miles. If they find gas at 50 or 60 miles, they gas up rather than run out at 90 where there is no pump.

We did a couple hundred miles together and spent more time in gas stations than on the road!

Glen

The above image is from Ross Thompson's site. I think these are a pretty good looking tank, but of course its subjective. He says they are over four gallons.

They seem to look better in dark colors. But that too is subjective.


I have never held one of these tanks so not sure how he fabricates the bottom of the tank to fit a Commando. Anybody here have first hand knowledge of his process? Is each bottom custom made or is he pressing these out and then welding them into the Atlas tank?

Glen, I'm not trying to hijack your thread, but obviously I have an interest in larger-than-roadster fuel tanks.

PS - I think this tank would look better on a bike that was a little more cafe racer oriented than stock. So yeah, subjective.

No problem, it's the same subject and it's all of interest.
Ross Thompson has a great reputation for quality workmanship. Unfortunately, he has retired, according to Martin.
I agree, the purple tank looks nice, the silver not so much. Not sure why that is.

Glen

I saw the post about his retiring. I just wonder how much tooling he has or needs for this process. It would be possible to do a one off. Maybe. I suppose I could contact him and see how much information he is willing to share.

As for the dark tank. I think the dark paint makes the tank look smaller. Also the tear drop on the silver tank doesn't quite work with the shape of the tank. I think getting the paint job right would make a big difference. I note you have said you don't want the extra weight, so this might be moot. For me, the weight of the tank is less a problem than the weight of the rider.

The extra weight in steel isn't that much on its own, especially when looking at an otherwise stock bike.
When building a complete bike with an emphasis on weight reduction its a different approach.
If the builder is disciplined and makes every part as light as reasonably possible, only includes what is needed, the end result is a large reduction in weight. Ludwig took that approach to the extreme and reduced dry weight of the standard 850 by approximately 125 pounds.

I'm aiming for a standard Commando weight - 100 lbs.

Glen

rvich:

I agree very much with your comment about rider weight. When I was at N-V and riding the prototypes, I gassed up at a station that had a weighbridge. I just rode onto it, and the bike and I weighed 408 pounds combined, with a full gas tank, but with no prop-stand or center stand. The tank was a fiberglass lash-up that, I think, came off Peter Inchley's 250 racing Villiers bike, dating just before the N-V creation.

I was a whipper-snapper back then at about 135 lb and really enjoyed the Commando performance. Now at 76, I've managed to reduce from 205 to 185 lb. in the last year or so, but I'm no longer an active biker (since July 1968).

IMHO, I like the looks of the indented Interstate tank and the dark Atlas tank.
I have toured with a Roadster tank and an Interstate tank. I will say that after having an auxiliary tank set-up on my Goldwing I am spoiled. I now leave one of the auxiliary tanks in the wing all the time. Once you are used to having the extra range, stopping often for fuel seems bothersome.

Glen,
It sounds to me like you need to find a good aluminum fabricator or become proficient yourself. Then you can make tanks for the rest of us!

I get the idea of reducing weight and making it a thorough approach. After all, I have read Ludwig's threads. Everything is a bit of a compromise in the real world. The extra fuel weighs more than the extra weight of a larger tank to fit it. I noticed in another thread the Madass is not providing fuel tanks any longer. However, he might be a good resource. He does have an aluminum Interstate tank for sale for $1000. Which really isn't that bad. But its a little steep if you are going to cut it up and narrow it!

Here is his post from yesterday:

Broken links removed

"850commando" I have this one I was keeping for a future project but may consider letting it go.
Its probably not exact replica but pretty close, Tank and side covers. I had them frame mounted but
never used.Tank is lined with Caswells ethanol resistant liner, NOT because it leaks but a thick coating
of Caswells actually strengthens the tank, cuts down on the humming noise when tank is low on gas
and it seals up and contains any foreign matter from construction. I wont be offering any more tanks and
the couple I have left will be keeping for my own future projects. One of the problems shipping tanks
and seats etc is shipping cost, Even though the tank doesnt weigh much, the couriers have their own
calculations called "dimensional weight" which means items like this cost a lot to ship because they are
big in size. A shame becoz I have a few different style seat bases which would cost a lot to ship but
probably not worth it from the buyers point of view.
Anyway US$1000 for the above + shipping.
Don