A few people have expressed interest in the fuel tank set up I made for the Atomic BB, so I'm posting this how to in order to explain exactly how I made it. So far in over 500 miles of riding it's proved trouble free, and it's very easy to duplicate.
Parts needed,
1. Camp fuel bottle of your choice and size. Mine is 30 oz, and I run 2 of them. The bottle I'm using has a 2 piece cap that incorporates what's called a pour hole. I'll explain why this is desirable in a minute. You can buy them on Amazon, eBay, Wally world, or most sporting goods stores. I bought mine at REI. Expect to pay $10-20. I recommend not using aluminum water bottles. They're a lot less expensive and look about the same, but they're not as thick, and are very light duty in comparison. Don't do it.
2. You'll need a way to mount the fuel bottle to your bike. Since I run 2 30 oz bottles, I'm utilizing a dual water bottle cage that mounts on my seat post just behind my seat. Make sure the fuel bottles you buy will fit in a standard water bottle size cage.
Profile Design Aqua Rack 2-bottle Aero Bottle Holder. They sell this same one at a lot of places so if the link goes dead google it.
Amazon.com: Profile Design Aqua Rack 2-bottle Aero Bottle Holder: Sports & Outdoors
3. You'll need fuel petcocks. I bought mine from a discount motorcycle supply store. A common size has 1/4" pipe thread.
4. A 1/4" brass nut from the plumbing section of a hardware store.
5. Teflon paste
Tools needed,
Electric drill
Automatic hole punch (can probably do without)
1/4" drill bit for pilot hole (exact size not critical)
7/16 drill bit (this one is critical)
1/4-18 NPT tap
How to vent the tank.
What you're looking at here is a short piece of stainless steel tubing inserted into the hole in the cap that formerly served as the vent. The hole it sized so that the steel tube is a tight fit. It's jammed into the hole, and then I used some plastic fuel line that I bought at the hardware store to fit over the steel tube. Then I used a heat gun to make the fuel line hot, almost to the melting point. Then while still hot, I used a pair of needle nose pliers to squeeze the end of the plastic fuel line closed. All you have to do after that is use a very small screwdriver to insert into the line to make sure it's not welded shut.
The first time I opened the plastic line back up it didn't want to stay closed all the way, so I repeated the heating process a second time, slightly higher up the tube. After that, even after slipping the screwdriver into the line, it stayed closed all the way when I removed the screwdriver.
Now it acts as a one way valve, allowing air into the bottle as the fuel level drops, but doesn't allow fuel to splash out of the vent hole, and drip on my rear fender when the tank is full.
The pictures I'm fixing to post should be self explanatory, but I'll be happy to answer any questions.
Parts needed,
1. Camp fuel bottle of your choice and size. Mine is 30 oz, and I run 2 of them. The bottle I'm using has a 2 piece cap that incorporates what's called a pour hole. I'll explain why this is desirable in a minute. You can buy them on Amazon, eBay, Wally world, or most sporting goods stores. I bought mine at REI. Expect to pay $10-20. I recommend not using aluminum water bottles. They're a lot less expensive and look about the same, but they're not as thick, and are very light duty in comparison. Don't do it.
2. You'll need a way to mount the fuel bottle to your bike. Since I run 2 30 oz bottles, I'm utilizing a dual water bottle cage that mounts on my seat post just behind my seat. Make sure the fuel bottles you buy will fit in a standard water bottle size cage.
Profile Design Aqua Rack 2-bottle Aero Bottle Holder. They sell this same one at a lot of places so if the link goes dead google it.
Amazon.com: Profile Design Aqua Rack 2-bottle Aero Bottle Holder: Sports & Outdoors
3. You'll need fuel petcocks. I bought mine from a discount motorcycle supply store. A common size has 1/4" pipe thread.
4. A 1/4" brass nut from the plumbing section of a hardware store.
5. Teflon paste
Tools needed,
Electric drill
Automatic hole punch (can probably do without)
1/4" drill bit for pilot hole (exact size not critical)
7/16 drill bit (this one is critical)
1/4-18 NPT tap
How to vent the tank.
What you're looking at here is a short piece of stainless steel tubing inserted into the hole in the cap that formerly served as the vent. The hole it sized so that the steel tube is a tight fit. It's jammed into the hole, and then I used some plastic fuel line that I bought at the hardware store to fit over the steel tube. Then I used a heat gun to make the fuel line hot, almost to the melting point. Then while still hot, I used a pair of needle nose pliers to squeeze the end of the plastic fuel line closed. All you have to do after that is use a very small screwdriver to insert into the line to make sure it's not welded shut.
The first time I opened the plastic line back up it didn't want to stay closed all the way, so I repeated the heating process a second time, slightly higher up the tube. After that, even after slipping the screwdriver into the line, it stayed closed all the way when I removed the screwdriver.
Now it acts as a one way valve, allowing air into the bottle as the fuel level drops, but doesn't allow fuel to splash out of the vent hole, and drip on my rear fender when the tank is full.
The pictures I'm fixing to post should be self explanatory, but I'll be happy to answer any questions.
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