gas tank

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help please ,looking 4a 750 commando roadster 1969
STEEL gas tank my fibre has developed a serious leak
just wks after a fresh paint job, dont wanna risk a
repair,and another paint job. so looking for a steel one
jim
 
FYI, I emailed walridge for more info about the steel tanks. He's getting them made in India and is expecting a batch of 50 soon (didn't say when). The tanks will be unpainted so you'll have the expense of a new paint job on top of whatever they sell for (he didn't tell me that either).

I'm going to keep my glass tank in service for a while longer. I patched the crack, need to touch up the peeled paint and install a liner. As pointed out on another thread, it will never rust or dent! :)

Debby
 
Jim,

Can help with F/Glass Tank if you get desperate, sorry no steel for sale.

I will have a nicely painted steel Black Interstate Tank for sale in a couple of months time, if anyone else is interested.

If you browse this site you will see both tanks that I will eventually sell.

http://users.bigpond.net.au/nortonfan/forsale.htm

Reg
 
When looking for a steel Roadster tank to replace the fibreglass one, try to find one from a '75 MkIII. The seams on these are "lapped" rather than "pinched" and when painted and installed can't be told from the original fibreglass one until you look for the rear hold-down buttons.

I know steel tanks are hard to find of any year, but if you find a good MkIII tank, grab it.
 
Mk3 steel roadster tanks

Ron,

I noticed that a couple of years ago and agree. The Mk3 tank looks very similar to a fiberglass tank, except the cap is hinged from the wrong end...restricts gas pump space between cap and handlebars. The Mk3 tank holds 3.2 gallons, a plus over my fiberglass that I actually measured at 2.5 gallons although advertised as 2.7g.

Debby,

Fiberglass attributes; color is in the fiberglass & can be repaired without painting, leaks can be repaired without damaging the original color since it's not paint, no ugly weld seams, cap's on correctly, doesn't rust and won't dent. Eventually I expect to need to replace it, but not until I have to.
 
unfortunately a previous owner did paint my tank, hence the need to touch up the peeled paint.

I actually bought another glass tank off ebay to use while I finish fixing my painted black tank (it's going to take me quite a long time for a variety of reasons I won't bore you with). The 'new' tank has original gelcoat in a lovely blue metalflake :)

Debby
 
fiberglass tanks

Debby,

I think I saw that tank on e-bay. The metal flake colors are a bit more difficult to buff out and I've seen some really badly faded ones. Mine is signal red and has a few nicks, but no fading. When I bought this one the intention was to put new production racer bodywork on. After sanding and buffing out the original roadster tank and side covers, the finish came out so good I left it alone.

To the question of which side for reserve, Dana you pull in the clutch when the gas runs out!? That just quarantees the engine goes dead. If left in gear it will continue to turn over long enough to get the tap on and get fuel flowing again, then continue on. Wouldn't want you to end up as Debby put it an SUV hood ornament.
 
If you are out of gas, the engine stops and acts as a compression brake slowing you faster. Pull in the clutch and let it coast until fuel fills the bowl, then "bump start" it.

I have also seen a couple old Honda twins that were run out of fuel on a hot day and apparently leaned out and seized.

I'll pull the clutch.
 
David - the tank arrived today. Actually looks quite nice, has a few scratches but the finish isn't faded at all. I think it should look ok with my black sidepanels. Thought I'd put the black tank back on after lining it and touching up the paint though. Black and gold just looks so good.

The blue tank still has its "reserve" sticker on the right side down at the bottom. I'm putting reserve on the left though. Funny thing is, that's pretty much the only thing labeled on the bike and it's going to be wrong! Headlight switch, ignition switch, handlebar switch clusters - not a marking to be found. And of course no idiot lights. Unless you count the generator light which is on all the time because the assimilator doesn't work. LOL - a rider accustomed to modern bikes would have a pretty hard time adjusting!

Debby
 
Debby,

Thanks for sharing which side of the gas tank you found the "reserve" sticker. I'm sure this is the original factory-applied sticker. So, its location should finally settle which side of the tank the reserve petcock is supposed to be located. This is valuable information for someone performing a "pure" restoration. However, I plan to keep my reserve on the left.

Regards,

Jason
 
running out of gas

Hi Ron,

This is friendly, but I completely disagree.

That aside, I have a bump start story about my first '72 combat 750. For my 21st birthday I went to the mountain station bar, top of the tram on Mt San Jacinto, just west of Palm Springs. After getting back to the parking lot I thought I'd give my leg a rest and bump start the bike by rolling it down the very steep road going up to the lot. In fourth gear rolling to 40mpg I dropped the clutch and it skidded to a stop. Pretty impressive compression! I think the bike had about 2,000 miles from new.
 
running out of gas

Hi Ron,

This is friendly, but I completely disagree.

That aside, I have a bump start story about my first '72 combat 750. For my 21st birthday I went to the mountain station bar, top of the tram on Mt San Jacinto, just west of Palm Springs. After getting back to the parking lot I thought I'd give my leg a rest and bump start the bike by rolling it down the very steep road going up to the lot. In fourth gear rolling to 40mpg I dropped the clutch and it skidded to a stop. Pretty impressive compression! I think the bike had about 2,000 miles from new.
 
illf8ed,
You disagree that the bike slows faster with a dead engine against compression than freewheeling with the clutch disengaged? Try it.
 
going on reserve

Hi Ron,

No, I disagree with pulling in the clutch while switching to reserve. If you let the engine keep turning over you have time to switch the reserve petcock without loosing the inertia of the flywheel. As soon as you pull in the clutch the engine stops turning.
 
OK, now I understand. It seems that usually when I hit reserve it's at idle at a traffic light anyway. Then the @#%& thing stalls anyway and I have to find neutral, switch on reserve, and kick it while ten cars behind me are swearing cause the light just turned red again!! It's taught me to keep the tank full.
 
yes they do tend to run out at the worst possible moment don't they? Murphy's Law I guess.

Debby
 
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