Fiberglass tanks

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pbmw

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I asked this on the other board and got some unclear answers. Well...they were unclear to me.
I believe I need to line my interstate tank. I have used POR 15 products for many years with outstanding results.
I bought a regular kit to do the new 5 gal tanks on my Shovelhead. I was going to use that on my Interstate when it dawned on me that they were two different things...
So I bought a POR 15 Marine (fiberglass) kit.
I've been told by my boating friends that this works well. I was told on the other forum that Caswells is the only thing to use...
I've found over the years that it's the prep work that makes a better result.
So, my question is, Is the POR 15 marine kit the right one for doing this tank???

Thanks
 
i have done these coatings many times over - Caswell for fiberglass - yes - but my advice is ultimately don't pay for an expensive paint job if you use them - eventually the ethanol in the gas is going find a way through it all (i've tried it many times etc...and they always eventually leak, may be 1 yr , maybe 3, but they do) and ruin your paint job....
steel tanks are really the only true cure for fiberglass leaks!
 
mikegray660 said:
steel tanks are really the only true cure for fiberglass leaks!
Click to expand...

I've come to the same conclusion. I found a supplier who was selling a steel tank made in India on the web, but I forgot to bookmark it. Any info on aftermarket steel or aluminum would be appreciated. I really don't like the idea of buying anything made in Pakistan. Used tanks on ebay seem to be a crapshoot.
 
Walridge has some Roadster steel tanks for a decent price, but I don't know where they come from.

Dave
69S
 
Dave,

Bingo! That's the site I was looking for. I believe I called them and they said India. I"ll let you know when I find out for sure.

Thanks!
 
pbmw said:
So, my question is, Is the POR 15 marine kit the right one for doing this tank???

Thanks
Click to expand...

No, Caswells is much preferred to POR 15 for this. But as stated above, no matter how meticulously you apply it don't expect it to last more than a couple of years. We've all BTDT.
 
maylar said:
pbmw said:
So, my question is, Is the POR 15 marine kit the right one for doing this tank???

Thanks
Click to expand...

No, Caswells is much preferred to POR 15 for this. But as stated above, no matter how meticulously you apply it don't expect it to last more than a couple of years. We've all BTDT.
Click to expand...


That's what I needed to kow.
Thanks

I was looking at Evan Wilcox's site last night. He used to be in Seattle, then moved to Ariz and now in N Cal. I've seen his work a number of times in person at Teddys at VME meetings. I've wanted one of his tanks for a long time. I'm thinking about it pretty seriously. So, I think I'll line this Interstate tank and ride it for a while.
 
I'll add my agreement with ethanol fuels and the ultimate destruction of fiberglass tanks. Finally packed mine in a couple of years ago after California switched to ethanol. Ken Armann, local San Jose Norton wrench/guru, has some super secret, highly cancer causing coating that was supposed to the be the abosute best coating. It failed. Too bad, I really like the fiberglass roadster tank shape better than the steel version. :(

Evan Wilcox was at the British Clubman's Show in San Jose last year. He may be back. Come on down Mar 27.
 
I think that fiberglass tank, used, should not be used anymore, at least in CA: my B25 tank was lined by Ken Armann too...it was plugging the carb less than a week later! Maybe the new products work well with new fiberglass but me think that older ones do not provide enough support. Port15 does not even stick well enough on metal: I saw a guy fishing the coating off his metal tank: it came in 3 big parts...I have now a BSA Spitfire tank on the B25 and use gas filters on every bikes I own.
Philippe
 
Just a warning if you go the steel "Made in Pakistan" route. I bought one last year. It comes very well packed but needed work to smooth down the metal. It leaks around the filler cap and also has 5 pinhole leaks in the seams. If I did it again I would sort the seams first. I have just resin sealed it...

I still have a slightly damaged fibreglass tank I am thinking of doing up...

Rob
74 Roadster
95 daytona Super lll
 
According to the coatings folks the Caswell Novalac coating is impervious to ethanol. The problem is getting 100.0% coverage. I cut my fiberglass tank apart to do some repairs and found lots of small voids on the inside. Looks like bubbles in the original resin that came to the surface and popped. It would be hard to know your coating got down in all the little cavities. In my case, I was able to grind out the voids and apply the coating with a brush so hopefully it'll last a while.
 
I bought all new Fastback FG parts from Burton bike bits in the UK when I was over there a few months ago and brought them back. The new FG tank was, according to them, made of resin that is supposed to be fine with ethanol however they still recommended sealing it with Caswell, which I did before putting gas in it for the first time. It will be interesting to see how it holds up. Re that, I have seen Roadster and interstate tanks in steel but no Fastback tanks. Where any original fastback tanks made in steel and are any now?

Re ethanol...at the moment Mexico does not put ethanol in in gasoline and I was quite smug about that a few months ago since I don't really see this Commando ever leaving Mexico, but just recently there was a report that Mexico will start putting ethanol in the gas "soon." The only good thing about that news as that it's Mexico and "soon" can just as easily mean never. :)
 
MexicoMike said:
Where any original fastback tanks made in steel
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The standard Fastback (not-LR) tanks were never made in steel, as far as I know?

MexicoMike said:
and are any now?
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I don't recall seeing them made of steel, only various alloy versions, such as this one, as sold by RGM Motors etc.. http://www.rgmmotors.co.uk/home.htm

Fiberglass tanks
 
MexicoMike said:
I bought all new Fastback FG parts from Burton bike bits in the UK when I was over there a few months ago and brought them back. The new FG tank was, according to them, made of resin that is supposed to be fine with ethanol however they still recommended sealing it with Caswell, which I did before putting gas in it for the first time. It will be interesting to see how it holds up. Re that, I have seen Roadster and interstate tanks in steel but no Fastback tanks. Where any original fastback tanks made in steel and are any now?

Re ethanol...at the moment Mexico does not put ethanol in in gasoline and I was quite smug about that a few months ago since I don't really see this Commando ever leaving Mexico, but just recently there was a report that Mexico will start putting ethanol in the gas "soon." The only good thing about that news as that it's Mexico and "soon" can just as easily mean never. :)
Click to expand...

The best use for corn is to make tortillas, not fuel :roll:

Jean
 
MexicoMike,
from what I have read in the USA, the metal tanks were a safety requirement by 1973 in the US.
At that point the fasback was dropped from the catalogs I've seen here in the US for 1973.
Seems the launch of the interstate in 1972 was the replacement bike in the US .
That's why they didn't make steel fastbacks as they were not in the lineup anymore in the states.
I can't speak for the UK or European market.
Marshal :roll:
 
MarshalNorton said:
MexicoMike,
from what I have read in the USA, the metal tanks were a safety requirement by 1973 in the US.
At that point the fasback was dropped from the catalogs I've seen here in the US for 1973.
Seems the launch of the interstate in 1972 was the replacement bike in the US .
That's why they didn't make steel fastbacks as they were not in the lineup anymore in the states.
I can't speak for the UK or European market.
Marshal :roll:
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if it was the US requirements as England definitely restricted fiberglass at that timeframe.

(Warning: more Bultaco blather henceforth) In England approximately 1972 imported Bultacos had their tanks replaced by alloy ones. For the US the continued to receive fiberglass until at some point they were replaced with plastic. Hence my assumption that the switch to steel for the Nortons may have been a domestic law and not US. That coupled with the Fastback perhaps not being as fashionable into the early 70s. I know, I used fashionable and 70s in the same sentence. Save it, I already have nomex underwear ready for the afterlife. :mrgreen:

It could have also been a US restriction that I am not aware of. Not many bikes were using fiberglass at that time.
 
I bet you would have a lot better chance of the liner working on a new tank.
 
MarshalNorton said:
MexicoMike,
from what I have read in the USA, the metal tanks were a safety requirement by 1973 in the US.
At that point the fasback was dropped from the catalogs I've seen here in the US for 1973.
Seems the launch of the interstate in 1972 was the replacement bike in the US .
That's why they didn't make steel fastbacks as they were not in the lineup anymore in the states.
I can't speak for the UK or European market.
Marshal :roll:
Click to expand...



The Interstate I have (With the aforementioned FG tank by the way...) is a 1973 model.
I am quite sure the tank is original to the bike.
 
For what it's worth, Ducati were building bikes with fibreglass tanks until 1976, although they were homologation models for Proddy racing
 
US regulations required steel tanks, except for smaller manufacturers. The wisdom being that requiring steel tanks would place an excessive burden on smaller manufacturers. I don't know what the cut-off was back in '73, but it was probably somewhere between 5-10 thousand units. This is why smaller manufacturers, like Bultaco, Hodaka, Ducati, etc. could avoid having to supply metal tanks on their bikes in the US. I would assume that Norton met the requirement of being a major manufacturer, and had to provide steel tanks on their '73 bikes.
 
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