TAB II Alloy Tank #3

Fast Eddie said:
I had mine on the track several times. I was honestly quite surprised by how much fun it was. I was only doing track days rather than actual races… so winning wasn’t an issue... so the lack of power wasn’t either. In fact, it was actually great fun having such a good chassis, suspension, brakes and having to try my hardest to get every ounce out of it.
I seriously thought about doing one up as a track toy recently, but honestly, fears of mechanical disasters (being ridden so hard all the time) put me off.

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Superb idea.
Have the crank and balancer blueprinted and the clutch basket checked first by the Cootes.
Then get one of these, and go for it!

TAB II Alloy Tank #3Hosted on Fotki
 
Fast Eddie said:
I had mine on the track several times. I was honestly quite surprised by how much fun it was. I was only doing track days rather than actual races… so winning wasn’t an issue... so the lack of power wasn’t either. In fact, it was actually great fun having such a good chassis, suspension, brakes and having to try my hardest to get every ounce out of it.
I seriously thought about doing one up as a track toy recently, but honestly, fears of mechanical disasters (being ridden so hard all the time) put me off.

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Triton it
 
Voodooo said:
Triton it
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No question in my mind that a modern 1200 Triton would be a cool thing.

Also no question that it would instantly improve the performance of the 961.

But… I do doubt that it would be any better than a straightforward Thruxton RS.

And… fragility, unusual noise, etc aside, the engine is one of the big appeals to the 961, to my eye at least.

Anyhoo… bottom line… that’d be a big job, and one I don’t fancy taking on at present.
 
So, a bit of information for those looking to have decals produced for their TAB tank. My plan was to have my chosen scheme produced as a decal, so I could run it for a while to make sure it worked before getting it painted.

The decal firm I hired produce great stuff, although mainly for dirt bikes - they came recommended. However, they had the following issues:

- they initially had difficulty getting a smooth set of curves; I could see the vector points.
- eventually got a relatively smooth set of curves but had difficulty where the pinstripes intersect to a point. Before correcting this;
- they did a dry run with a test decal and could not get the decal to adopt the steep curve toward the front of the Norton tank, without creasing. Despite using heat etc.

Got a call this morning to say they couldn’t complete the task - C’est la vie!

I have the AI & PSD files so I’m gonna try and complete the graphic myself and find a local wrapping firm. They should have no problem with a wrap rather than a much thicker decal.

Failing that (and eventually anyway) I’ll get it painted. Until then I put the logo decal on - looks just OK to me.

The takeaway then - choose your decal firm well. Ideally they would have experience doing a wider variety of jobs, beyond the flat profile stuff prevalent on dirt bikes. Challenge them from the outset on whether they can apply your chosen decal to the significant curved profile present at the front of the TAB tank.

When I’ve finished the decals I’ll put the files on the resources page should anyone want to use them.

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Short tank first test ride today. Bike was faultless - tank not quite so!

I filled up prior to setting off, making sure not to overfill as TAB recommend. 50km in I stopped for a coffee and noticed fuel dripping down the RHS of the tank. Cleaned it off and made the return journey. 100+Km total and still losing fuel from the cap at the end of the ride - so definitely not an overfill situation.

Pretty sure it’s coming via the cap itself, so maybe vapourising and forcing past the diaphragm because the vent hole is blocked? Or the diaphragm nut needs to be adjusted (tightened) slightly to increase the spring pressure between diaphragm and tank closing face?

TAB warn of slight leakage because of the Monza style of cap as its requirement to ‘breathe’, especially when topped off. Hoping this is not the norm for anyone who wishes to fit decals or paint the tank.

I’m a Monza virgin - anybody experienced this with their TAB tank, or other - Ideas?

Should’ve fitted the decals after the test ride - right one is ruined! DOH!

Rhymes with ‘clucking bell’! :rolleyes:

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Stephen_Spencer said:
Short tank first test ride today. Bike was faultless - tank not quite so!

I filled up prior to setting off, making sure not to overfill as TAB recommend. 50km in I stopped for a coffee and noticed fuel dripping down the RHS of the tank. Cleaned it off and made the return journey. 100+Km total and still losing fuel from the cap at the end of the ride - so definitely not an overfill situation.

Pretty sure it’s coming via the cap itself, so maybe vapourising and forcing past the diaphragm because the vent hole is blocked? Or the diaphragm nut needs to be adjusted (tightened) slightly to increase the spring pressure between diaphragm and tank closing face?

TAB warn of slight leakage because of the Monza style of cap as its requirement to ‘breathe’, especially when topped off. Hoping this is not the norm for anyone who wishes to fit decals or paint the tank.

I’m a Monza virgin - anybody experienced this with their TAB tank, or other - Ideas?

Should’ve fitted the decals after the test ride - right one is ruined! DOH!

Rhymes with ‘clucking bell’! :rolleyes:

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Well that sucks ! How much hard cornering are you doing when its full ? Were you turning to the right ? Mine does not leak , and I will look at the gap you point out.
 
TonyA said:
Well that sucks ! How much hard cornering are you doing when its full ? Were you turning to the right ? Mine does not leak , and I will look at the gap you point out.
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The joys of hand made Tony:D! I knew of the possible issue if topped off so it was nowhere near filled - short test ride only.

TAB warn you in their instructions, where it says Monza caps can leak routinely. Way too much on mine to be acceptable though - or safe to be honest; it streamed down my side panel initially.

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I was cornering pretty aggressively as ever, but same same on the way back, so the tank would be holding about 60% capacity and still leaked. My cap is on the RH side.

Thinking about it last night, when I opened the cap, fuel had collected beyond the outer edge of the tanks machined mounting face, then obviously dripping down the RHS of the cap/tank. So, fuel is either crossing the diaphragm rubber seal or exiting through the breather hole, over the diaphragm and out - or vaporising through the vent (not sure that’s possible).

There are some bumpy roads on that route so fuel tumbling, or washing over on RH corners is likely The joint of cap to tank looks good.

I’ve contacted TAB to let them know that I’m delighted with the tank - just need to solve this fuel issue. Obviously not even going to look at painting until it’s resolved.
 
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BikerBore said:
Interesting you were warned of this and that the tank needed washing out. I received no instructions when I received mine and just fitted it.
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I think it might be fair to say that they may not have quite fully recovered from the tragic loss of their main welder/fabricator (by way of standards/quality). That’s only my guess and may be incorrect. You could find that you have a bit of debris that has been collected by the fuel pre-filter.

Not too concerned as long as I can find a fix. The bike‘s off the road currently, unless I swap tanks back to the standard. Really don’t want to be doing that.

I’m waiting a response from TAB - don’t want to blindly start adjusting the diaphragm or looking for a stronger spring etc. The securing nut obviously sets the required spring pressure and will be secured with Loctite, so it’s does’nt vibrate off and into the tank. Also not sure whether the rubber washer or brass pressure plate may have rotated in relation to each other, thus blocking off the vent hole. Unlikely, as the plate hole vents into a raised channel so shouldn’t matter if offset to the washer hole - probably designed to be.

Guess it’s not gonna help where my vent hole is located currently though - @ almost 3 O’clock, which places it at the lowest point possible for right hand bends.

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Mark Savage said:
Are the tanks baffled?
I had a similar problem with a Monza capped tank that I stopped by inserting foam blocks like these.
www.ebay.co.uk

PETROL FUEL TANK FOAM INSERTS JMP ANTI SURGE RACING TRACKDAYS STUNT RIDING | eBay

<p> Foam insert in cube shape For fuel tank. </p><p> Reliably prevents the back and forth sloshing of gasoline in the tank. </p><p> Ideal for MX, racing, trackdays and stunt riding. </p><p> Dimension 60 mm x 60 mm x 60 m. </p><p> Content 24 pieces sufficient for 10 liter tank. </p>
www.ebay.co.uk
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Well I never! Been around bikes my whole life - never heard of these! Gonna try and work out why mine is leaking and others with the same tank/cap are not, but I won’t discount other options.

Not baffled, but rather an irregular shape due to the under tank battery storage situation. Cap opens onto the top of the battery box section.

Thanks for the suggestion Mark.

TAB II Alloy Tank #3TAB II Alloy Tank #3
 
Just received some detailed advice from TAB - great service!

Gonna have a good look over the next couple of days. Spring pressure is already quite high - I strongly suspect that it’s just washing up through the vent hole, exacerbated because my cap is offset.

I’ll report back with the findings - it may influence where others decide to locate the cap.

TAB II Alloy Tank #3
 
Stephen_Spencer said:
Just received some detailed advice from TAB - great service!

Gonna have a good look over the next couple of days. Spring pressure is already quite high - I strongly suspect that it’s just washing up through the vent hole, exacerbated because my cap is offset.

I’ll report back with the findings - it may influence where others decide to locate the cap.

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From your photo it looks like the tank seal may be leaking , try the seal adjustment.
 
Stephen_Spencer said:
I think it might be fair to say that they may not have quite fully recovered from the tragic loss of their main welder/fabricator (by way of standards/quality). That’s only my guess and may be incorrect. You could find that you have a bit of debris that has been collected by the fuel pre-filter.

Not too concerned as long as I can find a fix. The bike‘s off the road currently, unless I swap tanks back to the standard. Really don’t want to be doing that.

I’m waiting a response from TAB - don’t want to blindly start adjusting the diaphragm or looking for a stronger spring etc. The securing nut obviously sets the required spring pressure and will be secured with Loctite, so it’s does’nt vibrate off and into the tank. Also not sure whether the rubber washer or brass pressure plate may have rotated in relation to each other, thus blocking off the vent hole. Unlikely, as the plate hole vents into a raised channel so shouldn’t matter if offset to the washer hole - probably designed to be.

Guess it’s not gonna help where my vent hole is located currently though - @ almost 3 O’clock, which places it at the lowest point possible for right hand bends.

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gas tank foam will help with fuel surging but the venting issue is why I asked a while back about where is the vent? All the large tanks we have had made with a Monza cap have a secondary breather installed on top pointing forward that we install a breather line on. You will see this on most large tanks FYI. That small pin hole is not enough to equalize the tank pressure. IT will work on smaller tanks but not this large capacity
TAB II Alloy Tank #3
 
City Garage said:
gas tank foam will help with fuel surging but the venting issue is why I asked a while back about where is the vent? All the large tanks we have had made with a Monza cap have a secondary breather installed on top pointing forward that we install a breather line on. You will see this on most large tanks FYI. That small pin hole is not enough to equalize the tank pressure. IT will work on smaller tanks but not this large capacity
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Yep, remember you asking the question CG. Don’t doubt what you’re saying, although others with the same tank on the site have no such leaking. The fact that TAB warn about it suggests others may have experienced it though, so venting might not be quite right. I’m just lucky I suppose :rolleyes: !

I’ll try the adjustment first and switch the vent to 9 O’clock.
 
Stephen_Spencer said:
Yep, remember you asking the question CG. Don’t doubt what you’re saying, although others with the same tank on the site have no such leaking. The fact that TAB warn about it suggests others may have experienced it though, so venting might not be quite right. I’m just lucky I suppose :rolleyes: !

I’ll try the adjustment first and switch the vent to 9 O’clock.
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More volume/more pressure against spring. Look how oem's vent typically has two hoses.

And as you have found, placement can be an issue because its not the "highest point"
 
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