how many folks here have fiberglass tanks and what ..

..luck have have with them? i got a metal tank for the '70 cmdo i'm getting but it don't fit. no prpblem with the return but i may have to take the bike as is and coontinue to look for a metal tank. the glass tank had been coated once and should be good for a year or so, i hope.

also, what sources have you that got them, used?
thx,
goo

What do you mean it don't fit?

Since most of the 8 Nortons I've owned have been 750s, they had fiberglass gas tanks. IMO they suck, and I WOULD NEVER own another fiberglass gas tank. My very first purchase off fleabay, back in 2002, was a beautifully painted ... "Fireflake Emerald Green" fiberglass Roadster gas tank and sidecovers set, I luved it !!! (for the same $700, I could have had a plain blue set (in STEEL) from the same seller.) Anyway, though the color was never a stock Norton color, it sure looked like it was. I luved that paint job ! 8) Though it never leaked while I had it, it started getting what looked like "bubbles" on the outside surface in about 2010. Man was I freakin &^%$ pissed !!! :evil: Then I got an Interstate steel tank, and swore off any more fiberglass ones. Besides the "Fireflake Emerald Green" tank, all other Norton fiberglass gas tanks I owned ... eventually leaked.

swooshdave said:

What do you mean it don't fit?

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okay, it doesn't fit..

I don't think swoosh was dissing your grammar. Where/why doesn't it fit? Are we talking about Roadster tanks?

I have two fiberglass Roadster tanks put away. One is my original yellow tank and the other has a really nice (stupidly expensive) signal orange paint job. I bought a used metal tank in good shape on eBay a few years ago and had it painted locally to match the orange sidecovers for $250. Just didn't want to worry about or deal with the consequences of a dissolving tank. Not worth it. There are plenty of other things to do and life keeps getting shorter.

There is more than one OEM metal roadster tank. I have had the more common roll /spot welded seams and a more rare torch welded seam. This is well before the indian tanks were available.... The bottom sheet metal were noticeably different stampings and the torch welded ones sucked, and would hit the back bone tube....I.E. did not fit...
Should I have sold it for big bux on ebay?
I gave it to a guy for $5 and fully told him of the defect..
Maybe he sold it on ebay?

I had a fiberglass tank and it offered no issues.

I coated it with the "hirsch" product later to be on the safe side. I found a good used steel tank that was too good to pass up.

I really wanted it firstly because it holds a little more fuel, secondly because the fb tanks are not safe, and thirdly is because the probability of failure fb tank although it was excellent when I sold it.

I also believe they are illegal in the states but we have no inspections here in Michigan.

FWIW, I burn 110 leaded fuel mixed 50/50 with no lead 93. It's a pretty good compromise.

Dogt, don't tell me about avgas. They just won't sell it here, unless I had an Airplane.

Said it before, say it again. I run the stock fiberglass tank with no modifications and no fuel preferences. Seems to hold fuel and make the beast go down the road. Will continue to do so until it refuses to hold fuel.

Got rid of mine first opportunity . That bubble under my expensive paint job and another rider going up in a fireball news convinced me . Illegal after 72 as well.

aceaceca said:

Said it before, say it again. I run the stock fiberglass tank with no modifications and no fuel preferences. Seems to hold fuel and make the beast go down the road. Will continue to do so until it refuses to hold fuel.

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I agree with you but have my original red fiberglass roadster tank on a shelf for the last three years. Even after Ken Armann coated the inside, it started showing blisters in the gel coat surface. The fiberglass worked for 37 years. As far as local fuel goes, we must be using the same stuff as SF is only 70 miles from me.

I coated a fiberglass tank with the Caswell Novalac product. I ended up cutting it apart to make modifications before ever putting any gas in it. What I saw was small voids on the surface caused by bubbles in the original fiberglass did not get bridged over by the coating. That may explaing why some coating jobs seem to work and some don't. I redid the coating using some light weight glass cloth on the inside before putting it back together. We'll see.

goo said:

swooshdave said:

What do you mean it don't fit?

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okay, it doesn't fit..

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I was under the impression that any stock tank should fit any stock frame. What am I missing?

I think the tank he had was an early reproduction of questionable build.

pvisseriii said:

Dogt, don't tell me about avgas. They just won't sell it here, unless I had an Airplane.

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OK, I won't, but I wonder why or just lie, tell them you have an ultra-lite. I even told them I'm using it in a MC because of the fibergass and they didn't blink. One guy even told me some guys with MC come in and fill up. I don't have any problems taking 5 gal red plastic tanks and they fill them up out of a BP tanker truck. Of course the avgas limits you to the tankfull for trips, for most people that's not acceptable, I'm sure, doesn't bother me.

Dave
69S

I still have the original f'glass tank on mine. It did show sign of distress a couple of years ago so last winter I coated the inside with some stuff that I bought at a bike show before I'd read on here about the good or bad coatings. Mine had no name on but said it was ok for F'glass tanks. So far it has been ok but I do not leave fuel in it except when I'm riding it to try & preserve it. I also try to buy fuel with no ethanol in it, which is not easy because in the UK up to 5% ethanol does not have to be declared on the pump. I currently use Total Premium Unleaded which I buy from the same petrol station as I have tested their's & found it has no ethanol in.

I would like a steel tank but they are extremely rare on Ebay etc & go for stupid prices. I will just soldier on with my F'glass one until there is either a sensible priced replacement or I'm forced to replace it.

Ian..

dynodave said:

There is more than one OEM metal roadster tank. I have had the more common roll /spot welded seams and a more rare torch welded seam. This is well before the indian tanks were available.... The bottom sheet metal were noticeably different stampings and the torch welded ones sucked, and would hit the back bone tube....I.E. did not fit...
Should I have sold it for big bux on ebay?
I gave it to a guy for $5 and fully told him of the defect..
Maybe he sold it on ebay?

Click to expand...

I'm glad it's not just me that has had the fit problems with these tanks that were frequently fitted to MkIIIs. There was a thread with photos f mine.

annoying-tank-vibration-t1379.html

I have had an interesting experience with the fiberglass commando roadster tank. I had owned my Commando for about six months back in 1971. On a weekend leave I was involved in a serious accident. Coming home from a trip downtown an unlicensed driver shot through a stop light at an intersection and I hit him just to the rear of the front wheel, no time to do anything but grab the clutch and front brake. The front wheel folded up under the engine causing the main tube of the frame to bow up. Since the tank is secured in the front and rear, the fiberglass tank fractured like an egg shell, covered me with fuel and promptly exploded. I went sailing over the hood of the car with both handlebars firmly grasped in my hands, ripping them off the triple trees landing about 20 yards down the road in flames. Fortunatly I was still conscious and began to roll to put the flames out, I also got some help from some kind people who witnessed the conflagaration. I spent two months in a Naval Hospital and recovered. Interestingly, while researching the restoration of my Commando last year I discovered that what happened to me and others was the reason that fibre glass tanks were no longer installed on Commandos after 1974.That folks is why my newly restored Commando Fastback has an alloy tank and will never see the original Fastback tank even though I have one. I have related this , not to alarm you but to make you aware of the possibility that using a fibreglass tank could be dangerous. All of you ride safe and enjoy your bikes as I plan to enjoy my Commando come spring. Craig

thanks for sharing Craig. I think this is a reason good enough for me to go alloy instead of restoring a glass one...
We all know fiberglass tanks can brake, but when you hear the story from someone of us who's experienced it then you realise this can actually happen...

Craig,

Thanks for putting it so many can visualize. With all the reported failures of magic tank linings and the fact that the tank will probably dump all it's gas in the event of a collision, I don't think it is a hard decision.

aceaceca said:

Said it before, say it again. I run the stock fiberglass tank with no modifications and no fuel preferences. Seems to hold fuel and make the beast go down the road. Will continue to do so until it refuses to hold fuel.

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The shop I go to highly recommended that I coat my fiberglas tank. I dont have the bike on the road quite yet. The main issue was the dissolving fg going through the carbs and into the engine where it solidifies and causes damage, ( this is with ethanol blended fuel). I am guessing you dont have ethanol added? We have no choice in fuels here.
MikeM