Topic: alloy fuel tank from India - any one bought one

[Scott]

Hi there
I am thinking of getting an alloy tank for my Rickman to get the bike back on the road.
The only one I have seen so far is from a dude in India selling through ebay.
I was wondering if any one has bought one of his tanks or has seen one of his tanks in person and what you thought of it.

Thanks for any thoughts or opinions
Scott

[chewbacca5000]

Hey Scott,

Heard of other members getting an india tank and said it worked, but needed modification.  Not sure how extensive the mods were.  If it is going to be a forever keeper you might want to consider getting a Rock City or other comparable.

[Scott]

Thanks, I checked out the web site.  The stuff looks good, but not sure if the tanks they have would fit with the seat base and frame shape.
I will dig out my tank and have a closer look.

[greenjeans]

I have what I think is one (99% sure).   I got it off ebay a while back.   Yes, it needs modification.   The tank mounts on mine don't work for a 750.   A mount for the rear is in place, but it is not a stock type mount.  The tank is longer, so you would have to figure something out on the frame or tank anyway.   As far as the craftsmanship, it's pretty good.  It's not 100% perfectly symmetrical and some of the edges leave a little to be desired.  I paid $500 bucks for mine, so I couldn't complain too much.   This is my first alloy tank, so I am not really sure what gauge metal is typically used.  To me, it seems like it is a bit "soft".    But, I think it is a very fair deal for the price.   Mine came polished and while it's not 100% mirror polish, it doesn't allow to hide any defect. 

I'd rate my tank a 7.5 out of 10.  I've seen show tanks made by my buddy Fuller, so I know what a 10 looks like.
For the price, I think it is definitely a fair deal.

[754]

Hard to send back for work..

[faux fiddy]

I think those guys from India were at Barber in 2013, probably last year , too but I didn't see them.

When I saw them they had mostly Norton stuff they were selling, not much else.

[alacrity]

I had a not so great experience with a particular vendor from India, which as you know, is a rather large place.
This one is called Singh Precisions.
I was building a cb500-4 cafe for a friend/colleague.  I liked the idea of an alloy tank and Singh advertises on FB and eBay.  My buddy didn't have the cash for a usa-made one so we took a chance on Singh's Lyta style tank. I communicated with the guy and sent specific measurements of an OEM cb500 tank that I was hoping to match so his tank would truly be plug and play. I was assured and reassured.  Payment went and ... 2 months (with various intermittent excuses) transpired before the tank finally arrived. It was pretty awful.  Firstly it was out of scale with the bike-- it' prob a good fit for a long backbone norton featherbed frame, but was completely wrong-sized for the cb500 with OEM seat pan. Mounts were incorrectly located as was the fuel bung. Plus: rough amateurish welds, really wavy surfaces esp in the knee cutouts where it should be mirror-like parabolas. Weld around the fuel bung was bumpier than moon surface and I feared fuel leaks.  Singh said, no prob sorry... Let me try again.  We sent it back.
Then weeks.. And More Excuses ... Etc and then he made another one, which arrived like another month or so later.  Size was better but his work was still really sloppy (to my eye).  This is subjectivity of course, but it would prob be ok at ten feet or if your eyeglass  prescription was off by 10%. Maybe his satin finish would hide the warts better.  But if you are gonna polish metal to a mirror finish it better look like a mirror.  His surfacing is just too rough, the cut lines are not straight, his curves have bumps and waves in them when they should be pure smooth and pretty, and there were never more than 2 or 3 weld beads in a row that matched.  Look at a bimota's neck welds for that perfect roll of nickels excellence.  I wasn't expecting that, but I was hoping for better.  He's also not a good communicator- where you wait days for responses and then he just promises and agrees so you are "hearing" what you want to hear but the final result is disappointing at least.  Now we are gonna have to sell that 2nd tank to someone less finicky because he hasn't responded to refund requests