Kingpaul
XS650 Enthusiast
I have a 1981 XS650 and I am on Ebay looking at a new Tank to buy, which tank do I need and whats the difference between XS special and standard tanks?
Thanks
Pc
Thanks
Pc
-
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Which tank do I need?
- Thread starter Kingpaul
- Start date
The Standard tank is larger, about a gallon more. Supposedly they'll fit right on a Special. 1979 and older tanks will have two petcocks as opposed to only one on your stock '81 tank. That's not a big deal. You can plumb both to a "T", then down to the single fuel inlet on your BS34 carbs, or block one petcock off and only use one.
However, there is a small downside to blocking one petcock off. That side of the tank won't drain fully. When Yamaha went to the single petcock tank, they redesigned it internally, lowering the area at the rear so both sides could drain out the one sided petcock better.
However, there is a small downside to blocking one petcock off. That side of the tank won't drain fully. When Yamaha went to the single petcock tank, they redesigned it internally, lowering the area at the rear so both sides could drain out the one sided petcock better.
Standard, (74-79), and Special, (79-84), tanks interchange on the frames from 74-84. All Standard tanks have twin petcocks. Standard Gas caps are different to the special caps and they are available from after market suppliers, eg Mikes and others.
There are differences in the Standard tanks you may want to consider. The 74/75 Standard Tank gas cap is very difficult to get parts for so if a tank is missing any gas cap parts i would pass.
76/77 Standard tanks have on/off/res petcocks and decals.
78/79 Standard Tanks have emblems mounted with screws and they are expensive to replace and they also have Vacuum petcocks.
78/79 Special Tanks have twin Vacuum petcocks
Pic 1; 74/75 on left, Note Gas cap difference........79Standard in middle...Special tank on right
Pic 2; 74/75 Gas cap from rear
There are differences in the Standard tanks you may want to consider. The 74/75 Standard Tank gas cap is very difficult to get parts for so if a tank is missing any gas cap parts i would pass.
76/77 Standard tanks have on/off/res petcocks and decals.
78/79 Standard Tanks have emblems mounted with screws and they are expensive to replace and they also have Vacuum petcocks.
78/79 Special Tanks have twin Vacuum petcocks
Pic 1; 74/75 on left, Note Gas cap difference........79Standard in middle...Special tank on right
Pic 2; 74/75 Gas cap from rear
Attachments
Haveing swapped a earlier 2 petcocked Standard tank to replace the stock single outlet Special tank for my SG, it's not as easy to put a "T" in. There's the line for engine breather, frame's back tube. Every "T" I found was too wide to fit. I ended up using a lopsided "Y" and a couple of small straight fuel filters.
