gas tank vendor/producer

Does anyone happen to know who produces the roadster gas tanks that Andover Norton offers for sale?

EMGO

I bought an EMGO Triumph tank some years ago, it was excellent.

grandpaul said:

I bought an EMGO Triumph tank some years ago, it was excellent.

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The Commando tanks are equally good. Shape is perfect, and heavier gauge metal than the original.
The only negatives are the seam around the front could be neater, and they do need a skim of filler to level the top of the tank behind the filler neck.

I have one of the Emgo tanks that I bought to replace the fiberglass tank on my '70 Roadster. It is still unpainted, but looks and feels pretty solid. I tested it for leaks and am just need a littl prep on it and the side covers before paint. Like B+Bogus, the front seam is a bit rough on mine.

RSR

When I bought my ‘74, the PO gave me loads of spares and stuff he had taken off and replaced, among them a brand new unpainted Emgo tank to replace the mint plastic one on the bike. It did cost a fortune to get prepped and painted along with the metal side panels that were included and does fit really well, the petcock positions being slightly forward of where the plastic tank ones were. Maybe they’re different now but there were some very evident manufacturing markings that had to be made good.

I've used 14 of the 15 I've bought and had shipped directly to my painter. He leak tests each one before starting work on them - none have leaked. He considers the prep to be WAY, WAY easier than when I send a painted OEM tank to be redone.

They are baffled just like the OEM tanks. They are heavier metal that the OEM tanks. I have not found rust inside or outside which is weird for raw steel.

All have one problem and some have another.

Some have an internal chamfer where the petcocks screw in. The sealing washers that most sell, even with the correct backing washers can weep. Today, I put on the backing washer (00.0167), then sealing washer (like comes with AN petcocks), and finally a Vitron O-ring. The AN 06.5329 may be thick enough to seal without the O-ring, and probably the fiber washer 00.0183 that AN sells with a backing washer would work fine.

A scary but easy to fix problem is found on all of them. The part at the back of the filler where the roll pin goes through is too low. With the cap installed, it will not close. So, padding and then a thin board or piece of metal behind the cap and a big flat screwdriver and pry the mount up a little. I keep prying and testing. Once I can get the cap to just close I stop. Over time it will "wear in" and become easy to close.

Is the market for parts of old bikes diminishing or increasing ? The other day I was told about a panel beater in Melbourne who is making aluminium tanks for motorcycles. I noticed a video on Youtube about a recently produced Molnar Manx. I would have thought somebody would reproduce the Seeley G50. It would make sense to road race something like that, if there were enough of them.

acotrel said:

Is the market for parts of old bikes diminishing or increasing ? The other day I was told about a panel beater in Melbourne who is making aluminium tanks for motorcycles. I noticed a video on Youtube about a recently produced Molnar Manx. I would have thought somebody would reproduce the Seeley G50. It would make sense to road race something like that, if there were enough of them.

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Molnar does...

acotrel said:

Is the market for parts of old bikes diminishing or increasing ? The other day I was told about a panel beater in Melbourne who is making aluminium tanks for motorcycles. I noticed a video on Youtube about a recently produced Molnar Manx. I would have thought somebody would reproduce the Seeley G50. It would make sense to road race something like that, if there were enough of them.

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You want a Seeley G50 racer ?

I know someone selling this… absolutely top drawer everything… one of the fastest anywhere… for sale at MUCH LESS than build cost… absolute bloody bargain…

In this discussion of gas tanks, several have talked about leak testing the tanks before painting. Is this as simple as simply filling them with gas and checking for leaks, or is low (air) pressure also introduced to verify it to be leak free?

quawk said:

In this discussion of gas tanks, several have talked about leak testing the tanks before painting. Is this as simple as simply filling them with gas and checking for leaks, or is low (air) pressure also introduced to verify it to be leak free?

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There are several threads on this subject you will find by using the search function. Boiled down:
1) Don't use pressure greater than your lungs can provide.
2) Fill with fluid and wait overnight.
a. if rust is present, Evaporust
b. if new and no rust: water, WD40, etc. (makes welding easier if no gas ever in tank)
c. if not new, gas or whatever highly flammable liquid you like.
3) Bunch of novel approaches.

I'm no scientist or engineer, but can gasoline find it's way through very small flaws and leak, where water may not, or is fluid, fluid and one works equally as well as the other? Since you mentioned using water it must be adequate to use for leak testing.

quawk said:

I'm no scientist or engineer, but can gasoline find it's way through very small flaws and leak, where water may not, or is fluid, fluid and one works equally as well as the other? Since you mentioned using water it must be adequate to use for leak testing.

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Possibly.

You should search and read - boiled down is not working for you.

For instance, Evaporust is more dense than water. However, my Triumph tank held gas, held water, but dumped all over the place when left overnight and the Evaporust removed the rust that was containing them.

This thread has a lot of good/interesting info: https://www.accessnorton.com/Norton...ure-test-check-before-paint.38208/post-647566

quawk said:

In this discussion of gas tanks, several have talked about leak testing the tanks before painting. Is this as simple as simply filling them with gas and checking for leaks, or is low (air) pressure also introduced to verify it to be leak free?

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I fitted fuel taps, put a rubber bung in the filler, pumped in a few psi with a hand pump then checked the tank for leaks with a weak solution of washing up liquid diluted with water. My Emco tank leaked in a number of places so a pal of mine tig welded the entire seam plus a couple of spits on the top of the tank (there were a few leaks) then went through the above mentioned leak finding processing again. After that I used a power file then a lot of work with emery cloth to get the edges and the top of the tank smooth. I then pressure tested again so I was 100% sure all was good before it went off for painting. I didn’t expect the tank to be perfect which it wasn’t but I’m happy with the end result. Oh and this was the second Emco Roadster tank I’ve had, the first was returned due to quality issues, it was significantly worse than the second one.

The Emco tanks are the right shape, the bottom is pressed and they have baffles fitted but they do require work to get a leak free nice looking end result.

Dave

Dellis said:

I fitted fuel taps, put a rubber bung in the filler, pumped in a few psi with a hand pump then checked the tank for leaks with a weak solution of washing up liquid diluted with water. My Emco tank leaked in a number of places so a pal of mine tig welded the entire seam plus a couple of spits on the top of the tank (there were a few leaks) then went through the above mentioned leak finding processing again. After that I used a power file then a lot of work with emery cloth to get the edges and the top of the tank smooth. I then pressure tested again so I was 100% sure all was good before it went off for painting. I didn’t expect the tank to be perfect which it wasn’t but I’m happy with the end result. Oh and this was the second Emco Roadster tank I’ve had, the first was returned due to quality issues, it was significantly worse than the second one.

The Emco tanks are the right shape, the bottom is pressed and they have baffles fitted but they do require work to get a leak free nice looking end result.

Dave

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How long ago and where did you get your EMGO tanks? I've had 15, none have had leaks and none have needed anything on the top other than primer and sanding. The front seam could look nicer, but not significantly different than original tanks. See post #7, this thread for the other issues.

You just need 2 or 3 psi of pressure inside the tank and some water with detergent. Spray the tank under pressure and look for bubbles. Problem with filling with water is fuel will leak out of gaps water will not due to its lower viscosity and its ability to dissolve crud and build up dirt hidden and hiding leak points.

marshg246 said:

How long ago and where did you get your EMGO tanks? I've had 15, none have had leaks and none have needed anything on the top other than primer and sanding. The front seam could look nicer, but not significantly different than original tanks. See post #7, this thread for the other issues.

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The first one was from a shop in the Midlands whose name escapes me and that was a few years ago that was an EMGO, the second was from RGM and I apologise as I’ve just had a look and it was described as a Wassell product not EMGO.

Dave

Dellis said:

The first one was from a shop in the Midlands whose name escapes me and that was a few years ago that was an EMGO, the second was from RGM and I apologise as I’ve just had a look and it was described as a Wassell product not EMGO.

Dave

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Whew! Good to hear it. AFAIK, the first batch of good EMGO tanks became available late 2018 and the second batch early 2022. I don't know when the current batch came available since I had some in stock and wasn't looking.

A "Wassell producs" tank would likely not be EMGO. Wassell is clear when it's EMGO and they do sell EMGO tanks today. I get all my non-crossover exhaust pipes and Peahooters from them and they are clearly labeled EMGO and are of high quality.

The Wassells tanks are EMGO