Topic: Fiberglass tanks on the street?

[memphis3724]

Hi there.  I was reading up on cafe tanks and found Airtech's site. They have really nice ones however don't recommend people use it for every day regular street use. In fact there is quite the warning disclaimer at the bottom of one of their pages.

Please note!!!! These gas tank are not recommended for street use, these are fiberglass gas tanks that will not dent!!!! It is possible that the gas tank will rupture and spill fuel possibly catching your motorcycle on fire if you happen to crash on the street. This lightweight racing gas tank is recommended for racing purposes only!!!!

Anywho, does anyone know of aluminium cafe tanks out there?  Who makes them? How much am I looking at having to spend etc?

[kettlesd]

Cool!!! I guess the gas won't leak if you crash on the track!!!!!!!!!!

Sounds suspiciously like lawyer-ese to me................

[OldSchool_IsCool]

I was wondering if you could make fiberglass "covers" to slip over the original tank.  Have a few different colors and designs for when your mood changes or for when you need conflicting eye-witness reports 

[MrFry]

i think the idea is - if you crash on track chances are they will be able to put the bike out and will not cause considerable damage to surrounding area.

that being said, i also looked into this and Alloy tanks aren't cheap.

Team Hansen Honda can make a CR Replica for about $900

Benji's Cafe Racer will make a metal tank (as well as fiberglass)
TA BAker Quoted me:
Price of tank £275.00  Fuel cap £40.00  Post and packing £90.00 for their CR Replica tank (slightly cheaper than Team Hansen Honda).

i'm sure there are more, i just can't remember any off the top of my head

[memphis3724]

Thanks.  I guess my next question is are there many people out there riding around with fiberglass tanks?

[Sam Green Racing]

I don't think they are legal in the UK any more for the very same reason.

Not sure on price but you can also get them from Mead speed in England.

Mine came from Bartel Engineering in Northern Ireland. (see it in the link at the bottom of this post.)

Sam.

[doug_id]

Thanks.  I guess my next question is are there many people out there riding around with fiberglass tanks?

Yep, I have one on my bike.   In hindsight I wish I would have spent the extra money and got a metal one.  Not that there is anything wrong with it in terms of quality but metal would be safer and I assume longer lasting..........Back then though I didn't realize how I would be spending 

[TwoTired]

Hey Doug,
Does you fiberglass tank have a liner or interior coating on it?  If so, do you know what it is?
If not, do you know what resin was used in the fiberglass composition?
Cheers,

[doug_id]

Hey Doug,
Does you fiberglass tank have a liner or interior coating on it?  If so, do you know what it is?
If not, do you know what resin was used in the fiberglass composition?
Cheers,

Hi TT,

Don't know much about fiberglass (except for it shouldn't be sniffed).   It does have black interior so looks like it was coated with something.  I asked benjie if I needed to do anything to ward of delamination and he said no it should be good.   I can ask him the specifics but he might consider that knowledge a trade secret.

Doug

[jonbuoy]

I bought a Dunstall original fi-glass tank recently - its gotta be nearly 30 years old and looks immaculate after a re-spray.  I'm going to treat it with this:

http://www.hirschauto.com/newpages/gastankrepair.htm


I really wanted an ally tank but with the shipping it made it way too expensive, no one locally was keen on making a custom tank so I had to go the glass way.
 

[bryanj]

As tp the liteweight covers that is the way Dunstall went for 2 reasons
(1) cost
(2) UK rules banned fiberglass tanks (NOTE- NOT PLASTIC)

[wardmoto]

Jonbouy...used Hirsch liner on my glass tank...awesome stuff and cheap.  They make a bike tank sized portions...

[jonbuoy]

Jonbouy...used Hirsch liner on my glass tank...awesome stuff and cheap.  They make a bike tank sized portions...

Thanks,

Thats good to know - I've been scratching my head over what to use for a while now, good to know that Hirsch is the way to go.

 

[bill440cars]

         Hey McFry,

               I know this is about fiberglass tanks but, I just wanted to put in a plug for one of out own.

     Greg (ohiocaferacer) of ohiocaferacers.com makes aluminum gas tanks. for $750. Anyone
 
     who's interested  should check them out.

         http://ohiocaferacers.com/


                Here's a shot of one on his CB350 Cafe

                 


             
   

[merc2dogs]

Hey Doug,
Does you fiberglass tank have a liner or interior coating on it?  If so, do you know what it is?
If not, do you know what resin was used in the fiberglass composition?
Cheers,

Most commercial tanks use gell coat as a sealer,  Gell coat is fiberglass resin mixed with talc, with or without pigment for color

  Use Epoxy resin (available at west marine and many other places, WM is not the cheapest) thin with whatever is recommended, pour into the tank, and work over the interior the same way as you'd apply tank sealer.

 Same method's  used in building boat tanks.

 Alternate, build tank with a styrofoam plug, with a good layer of resin over it, layup the fiberglass then use gasoline to dissolve the styrofoam out of the tank leaving the inner gellcoat.
 
 if you buy gellcoat in a can, it's normally poly

  Recommend Epoxy, there have been several statements made that modern gas formulations (primarily alchohol blends) will break down regular poly based fiberglass resin.