Thoughts on this as a tank

G

Greenbiker

New Member
Im about to start a build and wanted to bounce this off you guys. Im gonna have a Wald dual basket rear rack on the bike amd rather than the stock tank, im going to buy a 3 gallon boat tank. My friend wally has them for like just under 40. Im not sure how im going to attach it yet. I was thinking ratchet straps in the appropriate spots. The tank also has a handle on it so i was thinking about making it more secure by usimg a master cuff lock aroind the handle and put the other end around the frame. I also thought about putting the tank in a bag that is specially modified to allow for the fuel line and attachment gear.
Questions?
Is three gallons full or patially full sloshing around in a turn too much unsprung weight?
It this too much of a target for meth heads or other theives? Is it more trouble than ots worth?


Any more mounting ideas? This is a link to the kind of tank im talking about
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0053HOWFY...&ascsubtag=11169b2b626548f637bc4b42bbda7763_S
Bonus feature, a light shined against the tank will cause it to glow red, so a simple blinky strategically placed will increase my nighttime visibility a lot.
Edoted to fix link, not sire how that happemed
 
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The night time visibility thing is a definite plus.

I doubt if having, say, 2 gallons of fuel over your rear wheel is the very worst thing you could do. But there might be times when you feel that weight pulling and pushing you around.

And 3 gallons will give you more range than you're ever going to need. That's good. But I wonder if it isn't overkill?

All in all, I don't think it's a terrible idea. And you might find that you like it. You might as well give it a shot, carefully, and see how it works.
 
Three gallons of fuel is a lot. First consider the weight. Gasoline weighs a little over six pounds to the gallon. That will add about 20 pounds to your bike and the tank itself will weigh a bit, and it will be mounted high.

It might not impact stability too much but the lower the center of gravity, the better.

Of course you wouldn't have to fill the tank :)

Tom
 
Well this is stacking up to b an expensive build but worth it. The boat tank will eventually be replaced with a cylindrical aliminum tank of similar or smaller capacity as it will look better, be smaller in the right dorections, and **** its just cooler. And it can be painted to match the bike. The boat tank is cheaper and is out of the way behind me so thats what im gping to use for now. Im worried about jerks trying to steal the tank or its fuel when its tied up. I will build a cage for the aluminum tank when i get it, but until theni guess i will make due with the straps amd cuff lock.
 
It's definitely good to lock it up like you were saying, but I feel like if they'll go as far as stealing your gas tank, they'd probably just try to take the bike.
 
Yeah, ima gonna have that bike "on lock" as the hip hop crowd likes to say. Im not gonna say theft proof, but its gonna be a hard job to take it, i just didnt want to offer an easily snatchable valuable item up to the thievs out there, a boat tank full of gas is a boat tank full of gasafter all. Just to make sure im not over thinking this, one reason i decided to go withthe larger tank other than capacity, is because it seems like the small tear drop tanks would be a pain to fill from the pump, and that i would end up havong to carry a gas can with me to fill up on long fills or if i just let myself get too low to get back home. I can just see trying to fill such a small tank and getting a face full of gas as well as gas on the paint and motor. Is this a problem? Plus, with gas prices so low, its hard to go in and say i want .75$ of gas please, the clerk is gonna shake his head at you.
 
I've been advised to always mix your fuel ahead of time. I think that you can't count on proper mix when you put fuel and oil separately into the tank.

You can expect 50 miles or so from one peanut tank. Do you ever expect to need more?
 
I agree with the mixing ahead of time part, but I think his bike is a 4 stroke so he wanted to be able to go fill up at gas stations. However with the tiny tanks these bikes have and the high flow pumps at the gas stations, he's worried it'll be like filling a water bottle with a fire hose. Plus if the gas spashes out it can damage the paint and soak you with gas etc. I mean technically you could just gently squeeze the handle so it doesn't blast out of the nozzle, but it would still be nice if there were a clever solution so he wouldn't have to worry about it as much. I'll keep brainstorming haha.
 
I could use one of the brigs 1 gal metal tanks they sell on amazon for 80. I think i coukd fill that with no splash back, and it woukd barely look like it was there on a tail rack, but its a bottom feed so i have to make sure theres space and clearance for the line and fenter and such, thats what i like about the boat tank, top feed, means i can use an internal weighted fuel filter, which cleans up my fuel system visually amd i can have a solid fuel line rather than having to splice in a filter. And yes im gonna use a 4 stroke so i dont have to worry about mix.
 
Im thinking of switching my tank choice to the under rack rear tank for everyday riding as i want to be abke to use a set of conjoined nylon saddle bags that will fit in the baskets and the mind part goes over the rack. Its 3/4 gal capacity, and its deep enough i think it will fill from a gas pump without splash back. I think will be able to mount it to the wald rack either with mod or without. I might have to put a deck on the rack to attach the tank to. I will still get the boat tank for longer rides amd the way i figure it, even if i cant fill it from the tank, i can get one ot those trapezoidal 1 gal gas cans to put in the basket, that would give me a full tank, plus the can, and even after filling up from the can, it would have another quart to give if i ran out again. Has anyone used these little rack mounted tanks? Lynn at CMB sells them, but i have seen them elsewhere too.
 
My bikes used little 2-stroke weed wacker motors with little tanks. I carried a 20 ounce soda bottle for extra fuel, with a little Testors paint bottle in my tool bag with Amsoil - just enough to mix with the 20 oz of gas.

Putting gas in the little pop bottle was pretty easy since it is clear and hand-held. Pumping directly from the nozzle into a small, mounted tank might be trickier.

Don't worry about what others might think about you pumping into an "unapproved" container or putting 37 cents on the counter to pay for your fill-up. Ride proud, brother!

Even if you use an external, removable tank, do you think it would get stolen?
Not for the dollar worth of gas but maybe for the tank itself if it is snazzy enough? You gotta judge how shady your neighborhood is.

Good luck
 
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Well the benefit of the boat tank is that i could use something like the master bike cuff (but based on the videos ive watched of master products, i might not use that) to lock it by the handle to thw frame, so they either have to cut the lock of the tank. I have been doing bikes for a while and havent had many theft issues in the past few years even with motorized rigs. This one is gonna be pretty nice looking though, so i may have to take extra precautions. I think the rear flat tank is less likely to be grabbed because its harder to see and not very big. I hadnt thought of motor theft really before but now im kinda worried about it. O well, no risk no reward.
 
Harold, i will keepnthat on mind, both of them. Im sure you can do better than 80 on the b&s tank that amazon wants. Still confoguring things in my head, unless someone tells me that all those under rack flat tanks are made of peanut butter or swiss cheese something, i think it would loom real good on my bike. Id like it to be green, butnill take what i can get. But, i will be starting a second build right after this one, and who knows what i will do with that one.
 
Just out of morbid curiosity, has anyone here dropped the hint to bikeberry that their ad should read turn your bike into a motorized scooter, not "a motorize scooter"? A few years ago when i got i to this, i almost dismissed them out of hand because pf the poor language usage.
 
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