Author Topic: knee indents  (Read 4747 times)

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Offline Doggie

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knee indents
« on: June 20, 2011, 08:14:13 PM »
Has anyone added knee indents to an existing fuel tank.
I don't want to cut into the tank, just add on material to resemble the knee indents. ( this would be for a Cafe Racer bike)           
                 Doggie
                                       

Offline mitch500

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Re: knee indents
« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2011, 08:17:03 PM »

Offline Doggie

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Re: knee indents
« Reply #2 on: June 20, 2011, 08:23:09 PM »
I see that some tanks are longer that the stock CB550 tank. So I got the idea to add on some sheet metal and form it into the knee indents. Was wondering if anyone has seen it done or tried it themselves.
                                                   Thanks, Doggie

Offline johnny

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Re: knee indents
« Reply #3 on: June 20, 2011, 10:20:34 PM »
If you can find a CB350F tank, they already have indents. It may work depending on your build.
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Offline cafe400f

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Re: knee indents
« Reply #4 on: June 21, 2011, 06:56:45 AM »
Hmmm...not sure I'd be comfortable wackin the heck out of a tank like the guy in the video to get the knee indents.  The problem with that approach, my opinion, is control.  It's hard to control how much indent you get and your going to have surface variations as well.  You can take up the variations with bondo, but still, one wrong wack and you've got a problem.  Plus, the attempt at making them exactly symetrical cannot be easy.  I'm a cutter, I'd mark both sides symetrically and either plasma cut it or use a nibbler, then form the pieces and weld them up.

Offline Elan

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Re: knee indents
« Reply #5 on: June 21, 2011, 07:03:46 AM »
I did the hammer, came out nicely. I did have to go back with some filler. I also used heat to soften up the area.  I'm not sure I would do it to a tank I was not willing to replace if things go bad though.  If you do decide to, make a template and draw your shape onto the tank. I also sanded my rubber mallet so it has a subtle curve to it. Then wrapped it with some cloth so the hot tank doesnt melt the rubber- it stinks!
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Offline tortelvis

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Re: knee indents
« Reply #6 on: June 21, 2011, 08:42:10 AM »
There is a guy on here who will do it for you for $125. Search!

Offline Kong

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Re: knee indents
« Reply #7 on: June 21, 2011, 05:00:33 PM »
Go buy a used tank on E-bay to do it to.  Find one that already has a couple of dents in it and it won't cost much at all.
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Offline jneuf

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Re: knee indents
« Reply #8 on: June 21, 2011, 08:40:35 PM »
Did I read this wrong...or is the goal to get knee dents without altering the stock tank, except by possibly adding sheet metal to the back of it?
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Offline Doggie

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Re: knee indents
« Reply #9 on: June 21, 2011, 09:06:13 PM »
yes, you read that right. Can this be done or am I barking up the wrong tree as we say? Has anyone done it?
                                          Thanks, Doug

Offline jneuf

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Re: knee indents
« Reply #10 on: June 21, 2011, 09:32:58 PM »
I can't speak from experience, as I've never dented a tank...so hopefully someone else will chime in. However, I think you'd have to do a significant amount of work to the tank to make it look proper if you're adding sheet metal to the back of it. That being said, if you can weld and work with metal, and have a fair bit of time, I have no doubt it could be done!
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Offline Kong

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Re: knee indents
« Reply #11 on: June 22, 2011, 05:07:19 AM »
Yes, I've done it.  The information you got above is correct.  It isn't hard to do, it doesn't take long.  About the only hints I can give you, other than the one above about using a tank that already has some damage to it, is to take a grinder to the thing (80 grit wheel) and get all the paint off of its sides and leave good deep scratches before you start banging on it.  This will help the heaps of bondo you are going to have to use something to cling to.  Also, for your initial buildup, make sure you use a fiber-reinforced filler.  Keep your layers of filler relatively thin, about an eighth of an inch at most.  That means be prepared to put on a number of coats.  Don't cheat by adding additional hardener to speed up the process either, that only weakens the material and decreases the ability to bond.

Normally when you do body work on bare metal you would clean and grind the metal and then seal it with epoxy before going on to your filler.  However in this case you are going to have to use an extraordinary amount of filler.  This is one of the very few places where you should go straight to filler after you grind (and reclean - use acetone) the metal.  Shoot your sealer on after you have done your rough shaping of the filler, not until you're ready to shoot your 2K and start block sanding it.  Of course if its going to set for over a couple of days you need to go ahead and seal it.

Back to process.  You can do your banging with a plastic or rubber mallet, you can do it with a ball-peen hammer if you like.  The one thing is that if you're going to hammer the dents rather than cut and weld them just make sure to take it easy.  You can use a big hammer and do the dents in 15 minutes and spend the next three days trying to smooth it out.  You can also use a small hammer and lighter blows with it and take 30 minutes to do the job and then spend a half a day to sand it into shape.  Your choice.

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Offline greenjeans

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Re: knee indents
« Reply #12 on: June 22, 2011, 02:42:49 PM »
It can be done with very little body filler.  Really - very little.   I couldn't find photos of the second tank I did, but this was the first.   It doesn't take much in the way of banging - I was suprised how softly you could hit it and get things to move.   You can see some dimples in the first one I did, but the edges needed no filler.   Take your time - tap, tap, tap.  Not bang, bang, bang.    Would be a great idea to find a tank that you could practice on.  The second tank I did was much easier and a lot less nerve-racking.   I'll did around and see if I can find the photos.

The hammers I used look like these




« Last Edit: June 22, 2011, 02:45:24 PM by greenjeans »
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Offline Doggie

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Re: knee indents
« Reply #13 on: June 22, 2011, 07:36:30 PM »
What I was thinking of doing was making a wooden block the size of the added piece and bend and form the metal around the block. Then weld it to the main tank. Anyone out there ever add metal to their tank?     
                                           Thanks, Doug

Offline lone*X

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Re: knee indents
« Reply #14 on: June 22, 2011, 08:02:59 PM »
Knee dents are meant to narrow the tank so you can pull your knees in when really leaned over or tucked in tight to reduce wind resistance.  Seems to me "adding" anything without first narrowing the tank (indents) is counter intuitive and will actually make the tank wider, less appealing, more top heavy, and make you spread you knees out further into the slipstream. 

The answer to your last question is yes, many tanks have been stretched in length to match a particular  body line and to fit a particular seat.  A good metal smith can create just about anything if you give him a good plan.   I have even seen a few stretched in width but only to add gas volume for touring.   But just adding width to "look like knee indents" without actually denting the tank would not look right on a cafe in my opinion.  Cafe' bikes should be slimmed down, not bloated.

« Last Edit: June 22, 2011, 08:05:40 PM by lone*X »
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Offline Doggie

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Re: knee indents
« Reply #15 on: June 22, 2011, 08:38:11 PM »
The added on piece would be smaller in width than the tank itself ( the width of the seat) and would take up the space between the tank and the cafe seat. Looking at some of the British tanks in the Cafe Racer Magazine gave me some ideas on how it should look. We have a complete sheet metal shop where I work so that might help in the cutting and forming.
I'll take pics on my progress and post them. Thanks for all the help.
                                              Doug

Offline Retro Rocket

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Re: knee indents
« Reply #16 on: June 23, 2011, 12:50:20 AM »
Doggy, i linked this thread to another thread where a guy has just bought a 750, basically stock except for a tank with knee dents, he may possibly want to swap, or visa versa....

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=91315.msg1020360#new

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Offline Ricky_Racer

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Re: knee indents
« Reply #17 on: June 23, 2011, 01:37:09 AM »

Here are a couple photos of a CB750 with an extension. The original tank is intact with standard capacity; the extension is a hallow rear half of a second tank, overlaying the front real tank. Beautiful job; beautiful bike.  RR

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Offline greenjeans

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Re: knee indents
« Reply #18 on: June 23, 2011, 05:32:08 AM »
Ahh - didn't read the post closely enough.   Check out nokrome's build:   http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=69202.0     The pics are on the first page.

He didn't really add to the tank by just tacking on - he actually cut it and welded it back together.   If you can weld, that would definitely be the way to go.   His is the best looking, most proportional stretch I've seen.
« Last Edit: June 23, 2011, 05:33:53 AM by greenjeans »
Yep, I'm the kid that figured out how to put things back together...eventually.