metal tank from old brits
- Thread starter goo
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The following is from a former Indian Motorcycle executive vice president:
What happened?
The company needed enough money to carry it just a few more months, until its 2004 bikes were ready to be sold. Without the investment it was counting on, O’Hagan said Indian didn’t have the cash to finish building the 2004 models and plan its future products. Even if the company had stopped its product-planning to fund 2004 production, it “would go another six months, and then it would close,” O’Hagan said.
“The motorcycle industry is not for the faint of heart,” O’Hagan said. “(It) takes an awful lot of capital to succeed. ... In the end, the company didn’t have the money.
“On the other hand, our 380 employees and 200 dealers have something to be proud of, and that’s 13,000 beautiful Indian motorcycles driving around the country.”
More Indian motorcycles have been selling than ever before. May was the firm’s best sales month ever, although September was on track to beat it. This year, O’Hagan added, Indian was on track to sell 4,500 bikes, compared to 3,822 last year. Indian planned to build 6,000 machines for 2004.
If you want to read the whole article, read this: http://www.cycletownusa.com/Gilroy/index.html
What happened?
The company needed enough money to carry it just a few more months, until its 2004 bikes were ready to be sold. Without the investment it was counting on, O’Hagan said Indian didn’t have the cash to finish building the 2004 models and plan its future products. Even if the company had stopped its product-planning to fund 2004 production, it “would go another six months, and then it would close,” O’Hagan said.
“The motorcycle industry is not for the faint of heart,” O’Hagan said. “(It) takes an awful lot of capital to succeed. ... In the end, the company didn’t have the money.
“On the other hand, our 380 employees and 200 dealers have something to be proud of, and that’s 13,000 beautiful Indian motorcycles driving around the country.”
More Indian motorcycles have been selling than ever before. May was the firm’s best sales month ever, although September was on track to beat it. This year, O’Hagan added, Indian was on track to sell 4,500 bikes, compared to 3,822 last year. Indian planned to build 6,000 machines for 2004.
If you want to read the whole article, read this: http://www.cycletownusa.com/Gilroy/index.html
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You could end up with a larger tank with enough pressure 
. Stuck the bore hose in a mates car tank , on the lawn
before welding it .'We' had somewhat greater fuel capacity after . Had to flatten the top as it was a underfloor tank .
Plenty long threads on the strap mounts , G.M.
Gotta watch it with Brass Radiators too , 15 Lb got all the verdigi of on and didnt decrease the capacity .
Wonder if you could polish that up with the old 3M / scotchbrite pad , & just clear coat .
Going for the same ' english Green ' quite a 50s/60s shade you have . Somewhat unique .
Id stick with it , for a respray .
Was ' Leaktec ' Low viscosity stuff , for checking aircraft tanks for egress in the seams .
. Stuck the bore hose in a mates car tank , on the lawnbefore welding it .'We' had somewhat greater fuel capacity after . Had to flatten the top as it was a underfloor tank .
Plenty long threads on the strap mounts , G.M.
Gotta watch it with Brass Radiators too , 15 Lb got all the verdigi of on and didnt decrease the capacity .
Wonder if you could polish that up with the old 3M / scotchbrite pad , & just clear coat .
Going for the same ' english Green ' quite a 50s/60s shade you have . Somewhat unique .
Id stick with it , for a respray .
Was ' Leaktec ' Low viscosity stuff , for checking aircraft tanks for egress in the seams .
looks like a nice tank, the creases in the sides look spot on compared to the Asian ones I have sen up close, is the filler spout squared up on top, that was the other giveaway on the poorly finished Asian tanks. What kind of cost is it, if I may ask?
Cheers Richard
Cheers Richard
stockie2 said:
I'd actually be surprised if that tank is NOT of Asian origin. I spoke to Joe about the Andover tanks back when the introduced them and AFAIR - Joe, please correct me if I'm wrong - he told me that they source them from India (or was it Pakistan?) but actually run a relatively tight QC on them which explains the price. You take the lottery aspect out of the game with those, I'd say.
Tim
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Petrol tanks- the first ones we had were mostly o.k.- our (Andover Norton's) buyer rejected the obviously substandard ones straight away- but the last ones we had, some months ago, and which we then gave back, were bad. We discussed pressure testing and sealing them, tried it, and found the test tank was still porous. We then decided to discontinue selling them.
My son Tim has one on his Commando which is fine- but that was one of the first batch we had (and of which Old Britts had theirs, I believe). We are in discussions with a British firm to make them from pressings. They will probably not competitive on price against Indian child labour, though.
Joe Seifert
My son Tim has one on his Commando which is fine- but that was one of the first batch we had (and of which Old Britts had theirs, I believe). We are in discussions with a British firm to make them from pressings. They will probably not competitive on price against Indian child labour, though.
Joe Seifert
I have used minerial spirits to look for leaks and when I was rebuilding transmissions if I thought a torque converter had a leak I would fill to the top with fluid, take a rubber tip air blow gun and go around the welds and watch for air bubbles.
Matt Spencer said:
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We would like to offer all variants- Fastback, Interstate and Roadster. But that is a while away. We need to make money on stuff we have to invest in stuff we don't have. If you look at the page http://www.andover-norton.co.uk/New%20Items%20In.htm you will see that is what I did since I aquired the company nearly five years ago. I have yet to see a Penny back- plowed everything back in. Not that I complain- it was my choice.
People buying imtation spares from obscure sources, apart from risking to get inferior quality parts, don't help this programme. Enough said.
Joe
People buying imtation spares from obscure sources, apart from risking to get inferior quality parts, don't help this programme. Enough said.
Joe
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I saw some yamaha racing tanks made from Carbon fibre at the stafford bike show, and very nice to! is carbon fibre E proof?
rvich
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Look at what used tanks are going for. They haven't been tested either.
There certainly seems to be a market for tanks. Would any of you pay 750 bucks for one that was made in England? You can get a custom alloy for about twice that. Seems to me we have been living the good life with Commandos being pretty reasonable to buy and fix. At some point we should be happy we can buy spares and support the effort.
Russ
There certainly seems to be a market for tanks. Would any of you pay 750 bucks for one that was made in England? You can get a custom alloy for about twice that. Seems to me we have been living the good life with Commandos being pretty reasonable to buy and fix. At some point we should be happy we can buy spares and support the effort.
Russ
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