Baiirdco:
Below I have included your whole post below mine so I will not be accused of taking out of context but don't these comments seem a little condescending?
"but you all want it for nothing"
"this is my biggest pet peeve with this "hobby." people with cheap bikes and a cheap motor kit think everything else should be just as cheap."
One, I build my bikes (I don't even consider them "glorified mopeds" as you state in your post), from new (and expensive, over $300 bucks a pop) industrial bikes. I add on and modify within my limited ability all sorts of aftermarket parts. Adding the engine and aftermarket parts etc probably puts 750 or so worth of cash in my bikes (I dont' consider this cheap) and that is not counting the labor (I can see why these things cost around 2000 built up if you want something fancy and with no labor). It's a true (and growing) hobby, I do it solely for my own fun. I admit (and I said so in my first post) you get a great investment with the 300 buck custom tanks if you are building a single or an investment bike, but like you admit there isn't any variety. If you don't want variety these are great tanks. If I could afford to build five or six bikes at least one would have a scarapat tank but the others would have different shapes because I need variety. I also like variety in the forum but no one has to provide it but some are apparently like me, they like the road less traveled.
It is a "hobby" of course, so if someone wants variety you have to do it yourself and I want to encourage more folks to take a shot at these vintage style bikes because they are a hoot and are a link to our history, especially those that try to tribute the old motorcycles. Simple tank covers can create a lot of shapes. Tank covers can be cheaply made out of just about anything.
They just need an underlying inexpensive as practical tank which doesn't hav to be pretty, just work and fit.
I don't consider the cheap chinese rectagular tanks I got for 20 bucks even close to the custom tank quality. I don't expect them to last long. They are extremely thin and I suspect poorly brazed or welded, they are also a bit oversize. Scarapat's tanks are first class but he put a lot of intelligent design into them and at least from my vantage point he did a lot of extra work to make them a generic tribute to the old style tanks.
I disagree with you when you state that somehow these cheap chinese tanks (I am not including the tanks that come with the chinese engines as they don't "fit" the BTR concept) cost the same to build as the custom tanks.
The time/effort/materials that go into custom tanks are significantly more as they cost material and labor wise and no accusations of price gouging are made. If you can afford them go for them.
However for this hobby to prosper we need all kinds of folks pitching in. Some folks by providing custom parts can make a buck or two here and there and that is great....that helps the hobby grow.
A friend of mine saw my first bike and then built a much better one than I did at a lot less cost both in material and labor. He found a used worksman, used plastic leaf blower tanks he had and covered them with bent metal and screws (you can't see the screws). No welding. No powder coating (the originals weren't powdercoated), but his bike is a head turner and gives great homage to the early Cyclone motorcycles. With a new baby at home he couldn't afford to put the dollars I put into my first clumsy effort yet he did a far superior and faster job (he was able to learn from my mistakes which helped). He has about 500 dollars in his bike with really limited labor (even has a awesome headlight he made from an ashtray and cheap oil lamp parts). Just because it's inexpensive, doesn't make it cheap. It's not a stretching frame, but not all want stretched frames.
I think it is great that Scarapart is offering a generic BTR set up for those who can afford to take short cuts, it is a real service to the hobby as it gets some very nice bikes out their fast, but some folks want (or need) to either to save $ or perhaps just "build it themselves" even if they don't have a garage or shop. Me, because I want several bikes for my purposes, I have got to cut corners on costs but that still doesn't stop me from buying quality after market stuff when I can find it and afford it.
Now if Scarapat could make twelve different styles and keep the price down to 300, now would it not be a wonderful world? I never asked or expected that. What I was suggesting was a small generic underhang tank be it rectangular or rounded that would fit in between the bars of a worksman and thereby be extremely flexible for different style coverings that could be made from anything from wood, to fiberglass, metal, or anything the builder felt comfortable. Surely that could be produced for a lot less than the near sculpted masterpieces? If I had welding skills I would try it myself. Buying something like this would be better than having to scrounge up a tank and have to modify and spend a lot of time on it.
i'm not sure what exactly you're looking for when trying to decipher your rambling post, but i gotta say, custom tanks ain't cheap. the same craftsmanship goes into a crappy china two stroke bicycle tank as that of a high dollar custom motorcycle tank. but you all want it for nothing. or at least, less than the cost of the motor kit.
sportscarpat makes worksman tanks, and they're top notch. but you want him to make 12 different styles to fit whatever kinda look you're going for? that just ain't gonna happen. we're not building reproduction motorcycles here. we're making glorified mopeds.
and there's no money in it.
this is my biggest pet peeve with this "hobby." people with cheap bikes and a cheap motor kit think everything else should be just as cheap.
go try to get a custom made exhaust for your car, or a set of custom made wheels, or aftermarket lights, tank, paint, tires, friggen valve caps...
if you want a 19.99 custom tank from walmart, all you gotta do is learn chinese and show them there's a market for it.
then you can buy some socks, a new sleeping bag, beef jerky, and a new tank for your bike all at the same place.
Here's a real basic tutorial for making a simple in-frame tank if yer curious, as it was for a 40's Rollfast - it's also a bit more curvy than the Worksman *shrug* but no compound curves I'm afraid lol: 
