'Cuz I'm not in enough trouble already

gggGary said:
That's what I'm hoping. There's more to the story than I know, but "some Florida marine shop" had already installed a (failed) epoxy lining, it's coming off in sheets, prolly poor prep, but that makes for quite a project. One option I am toying with; have a custom aluminum tank built. F-glass is not the best material for the street.
Click to expand...

Hi Gary,
years back I saw a Buell parked at a swapmeet in MooseJaw.
Still being ridden after a major upset and presumably only having PLPD insurance because
it's owner must have balked at paying the price of Buell replacement parts.
The bike had a gunnysack over plywood seat and it's fuel was held in a pair of two-liter plastic soft drink bottles.
Any of the metal gas tanks available at your local bike-breaker's yard has to look better than a pair of 2 liter drink bottles, eh?
 
Last edited:
Ya know, it just occurred to me. This is my second old Suzuki that I'm going through (remember the '74 GT550?) and BOTH of them have some of the most buggered up wiring I have ever seen.

I think I need to find one more to establish a trend...maybe a Water Buffalo...:eek::devilish:
 
Hey look, it’s one of those triple water buffalos...

upload_2019-3-26_21-41-4.png
upload_2019-3-26_21-41-4.png
upload_2019-3-26_21-41-4.png
 
...and a very cool bike it is. Torque enough to get down the road, good brakes, electric start, quiet and smooth....

I always liked the Suzuki triples - the thinking man's two-strokes...
 
gggGary said:
The "Kettle" in Britain, the "Water Bottle" in Australia, and the "Water Buffalo" in the United States. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Hi Gary,
had one of those but circumstances forced me to sell it. Mine was an early model with the dual 2LS drum front brake.
I can just imagine an elderly Japanese designer thinking "I'll show 'em that this bike don't need no steenkin' hydraulics!"
It went to it's new owner before I could letter STOOMVINK on it's tank.
 
Gads....:yikes:
Have you looked at vinyl-ester resins?
 
Yeah knew this was an issue going in. PO had a Florida marine shop "reline" the tank. Ethanol is a big issue with boat fiberglass fuel tanks, a marine shop should have known how to do it. Who knows why but it didn't stick for long.
 
gggGary said:
Yeah knew this was an issue going in. PO had a Florida marine shop "reline" the tank. Ethanol is a big issue with boat fiberglass fuel tanks, a marine shop should have known how to do it. Who knows why but it didn't stick for long.
Click to expand...

Wow - what a mess Gary.

Say, did you ever contact any Norton people about their experiences with their F-G tanks?

Pete
 
Caswell Phenol Novolac Epoxy fuel tank coating has gotten a Norton owner's seal of approval. Note cracks in corners near the solenoids above. My gut says this is a reconstruction project not a slosh and done fix. Never done any glass work. Tank containing corrosive highly flammable liquids sitting over a vibrating high temp ignition source seems like a safe project to learn on. o_O :cool:
fuel tnak solinoid detail.jpg

Anyone else see an issue here? (beyond the obvious existing cracks)
 
Mixing up resin and layering fibreglass is super easy to do. But what would give me pause is that it looks as though gas has permeated the existing glass. Unless all that brown stain is just in the surface. I would clean that up really good and grind the surface a little to see if the glass is still good. I have also used pieces of steel screen door screen to layer into the glass to reinforce critical areas.
 
I agree with Mailman about exploring the existing structure to repair/reinforce any bad areas. There are modern chemicals and materials which should make any repairs safe and reliable.

There is a guy on YouTube - Dean Segovis - who made a bike fuel tank using the lost foam process. Apparently, he muffed some of the measurements on the resin and hardener and the tank eventually began to get soft, but his overall techniques are well worth seeing.

One interesting thing: he set 1/4” aluminium plates with holes tapped in them into the F-G structure for any fasteners. It made the thing fantastically strong and stiff. Check out the Honda V45 Sabre project at hackaweek on YouTube:


You might get some tips there.

Pete
 

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