Just curious...??? holes in Atlas/Dommie oil tank (2013)

While preparing my Atlas oil tank for new powder coat finish, I noticed these threaded holes on the backside. They are not used on the Atlas, so I suppose them to be left over from earlier models, Dommies, 99's, or ???. Seems like they may have been an alternate way to mount the tank.

Anyone know what they were for?

Do you have the stock battery box arrangement fitted, and considered the (optional) air cleaner arrangement ?
And, what year is this Atlas again, remind us...

Rohan said:

Do you have the stock battery box arrangement fitted, and considered the (optional) air cleaner arrangement ?
And, what year is this Atlas again, remind us...

Click to expand...

I am original owner of Atlas...a 63 model (serial number indicates a build in late 62.) The battery box is original, the air cleaner was removed ( only filtered big leaves and twigs...so I run only velocity stacks). Nothing was ever mounted on the backside of the tank, hence piquing my curiosity why these threaded inserts are in the tank. They are obviously expensive to install...so why put them in? Maybe Norton put them in to hasten going out of business?

Thanks for the reply, Rohan.

Nortons were quite profitable while they were building Atlases - and Commandos too, come to that.
It was only ( forced) Govn'mt amagamations that brought them undone, financially.

The parts book says there were 3 or 4 versions of tank back in 1962,
but by 1966 the tank was common to all models.
My Atlas tank has those fittings too, but I'm not so certain of its year.
Parts book is little help here though, not showing illustrated parts or assembly orders.

Somewhere there the oil tank / air cleaner / battery box were all one complete assembly, thats where those holes would be utilised ?

I think the threaded holes are a throback to the days when you could have a single carb and a box filter which used studs to fix to the back of the tank. I have such a device fitted to my 1960 99. Perhaps carried on so that bikes like the Mercury? could have a Filter if ordered.

Has the oil tank got a tower on the top, or not?