Gas Tank Modifications

[Nomad2day]

Where would I look to have someone modify my existing tank? I am wanting to change the lines of my bike and add some more fuel to the tank for much needed requirements.
I will contact seatmaker to match the seat to the new lines I hope to add.

How much fuel am I able to add to the existing 4.6 gallon tank? I know that is a open ended question but does someone know where a calculator is for this type of thing or know from experience? Is 6 gallons feasible?
Thanks ahead of time..
Neil

 

[Nomad2day]

I guess this is a tough question. I will try calling BDM and see who supplies the tanks they use on the bikes and see if they can make a one off for mine. Hopefully I will have some good suprises for myself here on this scoot soon. Need some info from the people who have already paved this road before me and can point me in the direction I seek...
Ride brothers ride...:2thumbs:
Neil

 

[Raywood]

Neil, I've been planning for a couple years now to pull my tank and modify it. My brother a welder by trade will do the work. I plan on cutting out the tunnel so the mounts don't have to be modified. Then I want to cut the bung out and split the tank down the middle. Then open the front about 3" and open/tilt the top open to give the sides an angle and fill in the open parts with sheet metal. Should give me an other gallon at least.
I've ran out of gas so many times this year!!! :angry:

 

[sh8kr]

Nomad, I had Jim @JSR customs do a one off for my Mastiff. I was interested more in design than capacity, not cheap but doesn't leak and din't require a lot of prep work. pm me & I'll give more info, price and pics. there is apic in my gallery. here's a link
custom choppers,chopper kits,custom gas tanks,bobbers,custom chopper kits

 

[Nomad2day]

Raywood,
I can understand your delima. Great to hear you have someone who can help you fullfill that quest. It will make your adventures much more pleasent for sure.:2thumbs: :2thumbs:

sh8kr,
I sent you a pm for details. Enjoyed the sight....:up:

 

[Raywood]

Neil, did you find someone to alter your tank or buy a new on? Just wondering and looking for an update.

:flag:

 

[BigDognSoCal]

Ray...Could a K9 tank be mounted on a chopper?

Sorry, Nomad I don't mean to jack your thread...

 

[Raywood]

Ray...Could a K9 tank be mounted on a chopper?

Sorry, Nomad I don't mean to jack your thread...

Not without modifying the frame mounts (I think the K-9 is a 3 mount and the Chopper tank is 4 mounts). Cutting and welding on new mounts is something I don't want to do. I might be up to this this winter if I strip my bike down and have the frame and tins re-painted. My bike needs a re-build so it can be as purty as all my buds I ride with!!!

 

[Nomad2day]

Raywood,
I will send you a pm on this so far....

I have sent out a couple of emails and have not asked Big Dog Motorcycles for contact info on the tanks they buy yet.
I have someone local to talk too but the bike is not at my house at the moment so I can take it buy to him to see if he is willing to do it.
Neil

 

[05chop]

Heine's 57 here chopper with a mastiff tank on it.Mastiff are a horizonal tank with petcock up front dont work to good on this set up.

 

[05chop]

 

[bdmridgeback]

:crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

Maybe he just borrowed that tank for the weekend from his buddy!!!:roll:

...and talk about forward controls!!!

 

[vision]

There are quite a few shops that work with custom gas tanks:
The big ones are Fat Kats and Independent. Kool Kustomz, Fuel Fabs, Tig Man, Metal Shop and my shop are all smaller shops but can handle the more custom work. Finally there are your local shops and the ever changing cast of guys who are trying their had at it for the first time on ebay. All you really need to know is what you want and what your budget is.

But yea, by any standard 6 gallons is a big ass tank to put on a factory bike. As mentioned earlier there is usually going to be a trade off with capacity on one side and styling on the other so it is better to know in advance just how bad you need the extra cruising distance and how important is it that your bike look lean and mean or even cool? If you have a 6 gallon tank people will see it as soon as they look at the bike and it will look BIG and round.

And like 05Chop mentioned, mounting and petcock location can play a huge role. I bet that dude with the Heinz57 isn't even getting half of the fuel out of his tank before he runs out of gas. He should have relocated the petcock if he wanted to use that tank because he probably gets less gas now then he did with a much smaller tank.

 

[Nomad2day]

Vision,
My bike is a pro-street model, EFI Bulldog,
The tanks on these bikes are not anything close to round, Long and sleek if anything. The lines being changed is something that it is a given on more capacity. The tank where it meets the seat is like a tiny waist on a chick and has room to grow or widen. Looking at my ole lady verifies that.
Here is one reply I had on fuel volume Mind you my tank is a 4.6 gallon and fuel is feed through a fuel pump.
"If I added approximately 1" to the sides and 1" to the top it should increase it by well over a gallon."
That really is not a lot of variances on the lines. As far as where the seat meets the tank, I would have the seat redone and the width increased to match the tank. It needs to be done at some time anyway.
I guess I need to get the bike specs into auto-cad somehow and play with the lines and figure out the math on the tank capacity.
Where are you located at Vision?
Thanks for the info,
Neil

 

[vision]

"If I added approximately 1" to the sides and 1" to the top it should increase it by well over a gallon."
...
Where are you located at Vision?

The tank you got now is not a super svelt little thing so yea I would tend to agree that you could get very near your target of 6 gallons without changing the lines of the bike too much but..... I dig your analogy and IMO it is spot on: Think of it like this; if mama goes up two waist sizes it is goona be a lot more tramatic if she started as a size 3 and is now a size 5 then if she started at size 11 and is now 13

Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area I am now semi retired and located in scenic (not really) Thailand.

 

[Reaper]

Here are some recent pics of my 2005 Ridgeback that has a custom gas tank. This was a 2005 Bulldog tank that was cut in half, stretched, filler hole moved, pop up bung, and cap installed, and petcock moved to proper location. Also re-tunneled to fit the Ridgeback frame. Work was done at my dealership Gateway Bigdog here in St. Louis, Mo. Just an example of one possibility to keep it all Bigdog.

 

[vision]

Man they sure did a nice job. The tank looks great but I guess I am never gonna be able to understand the allure of sticking with the same brand. All bikes are made of components and most (if not all) of those are sourced out to different companies right? Frame here, motor there, trany and primary from 2 morre compaines. The "factory" may go with one brand of ignition one year then switch next year...makes it a shadowy line between when something is factory and not. Anyway enuff of my rant.

Bottom line is Reaper your tank looks killer, it goes well with the lines of the bike and it was no doubt done right so that is the most important thing.

 

[Nomad2day]

Reaper,
Gateway did a awesome job bro.....
The scoot looks great. Did not know until now that you have had your tank modified.....:2thumbs: :2thumbs:
With the paint job you have it is easy not to notice with the exception of the cap relocation....

Seeing yours re-enforces my thoughts that the tank can be modified for what I want "capacity" and still flow with the bike nicely.

Who did the work for you there or was it just farmed out by Gateway?
Neil

 

[Nomad2day]

Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area I am now semi retired and located in scenic (not really) Thailand.

You talking about Thailand where they have been battling it out lately with Cambodia?
A couple friends I work with both have Thai wives and go back every year to visit families. Beautiful temples and gardens and such. Everyone loves the King even though he has no real power...
Neil

 

[vision]

You talking about Thailand where they have been battling it out lately with Cambodia?...

Thats the one. I can see Cambodia from where I live :lol:
Fun place to holiday thats for sure but one does need to exersize a litttle bit of self controll.

Who did the work for you there or was it just farmed out by Gateway?

Good question, it sounded to me like the dealership did it but most dealerships shy away from any kind of custom work so if they did do it he has one cool ass dealer for sure.:up:

The other thing I am wondering is....What did you do with your old tank? I have recently become very interested in fooling around with a tank that will bolt on to BDM bike.