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Building a gas tank

  • Thread starter Thread starter n1elkyfan
  • Start date Start date
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n1elkyfan

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I've been thinking of building a gas tank for my gs and was wondering If I should make it out of fiberglass, which would be easyer, or making it out of steel, which I'm thinking could be safer. My questions are has anybody on here ever built there own gas tank or have anybody had experiance with a fiberglass gas tank.
 
n1elkyfan said:
I've been thinking of building a gas tank for my gs and was wondering If I should make it out of fiberglass, which would be easyer, or making it out of steel, which I'm thinking could be safer. My questions are has anybody on here ever built there own gas tank or have anybody had experiance with a fiberglass gas tank.
Click to expand...

Glass could be dangerous if you're not familiar with running a glass tank on the street. Could be easy to poke a hole in given a small crash. I don't think I'd hesitate to do it tho. I've actually been thinking about how to make a reinforced glass tank. That way I could make it look exactly like I want it to.
 
Glass tank could be very dangerous...but what about taking an existing metal and doing glass overlay to your desired shape?? Or even steel facades? Building a tank from sheet scratch will inevitably prolly cost you more than buying one. plus unless you have ALOT of experience with metalforming, it might prove very frustrating. Unless you're planning a old school toaster box cafe tank or something, but i would guess you're not.
 
n1elkyfan said:
My questions are has anybody on here ever built there own gas tank or have anybody had experiance with a fiberglass gas tank.
Click to expand...

yes is the answer to both of those questions :-D

steel is easier if you can weld or braize to a decent standard the difficult part is getting compound curves & getting an exact match on the other side but its possible with patience

glassfibre is more difficult if you are not well versed in how it works, its really a job for an experianced mold maker/ laminator (I am experianced at this stuff & still found it bloody hard work)

I did use a grp tank on a gs1000 for 3 years & crashed it once with just minor scuffs A mate highsided the same bike & the tank flew off but was still usable & did not leak which is more than could be said for him :cry:

the decision is yours but neither option is easy & i now stick to altering tanks from other bikes to suit :)
 
I have more experiance working metal then fiberglass but I don't have all they tools I would need to make one out of steel. So It could be an excusss to buy more tools \\:D/, but would add to the cost. Or I could get some more experiance with fiberglass \\:D/. Either way it would be a plus. I know it would be cheaper to modify an exsiting tank or buying one but I would rather say I made it myself.
 
Another option is to form one in aluminum. It forms easier than steel and makes an excellent tank when done. It is also harder to work with in terms of welding and requires pretty much the same skills as steel for the forming part.

But NOTHING looks better than a polished aluminum tank!:-D

Mark
 
That is another Idea I hadn't thought of. And it would give me a chance to learn how to weld aluminum. \\:D/

But I could also use this
346.jpg

Its fiberglass with aluminum covering it.
 
A la carbon fibre? It'll look plain out devilish. Anyone say Confederate Hellcat... Probalby wouldn't go with the style at all but damn if it doesn't look cool
ConfederateHellcat.jpg
 
DAYYYUM that is a sweet bike! i dont even like cruisers much but i would rock the hell out of that!
 
I don't even know how to classify it. Its suspension is more setup like a sport bike but it looks wicked cool like a cruiser. One thing's for damn sure. It looks fast as hell. 124 CI engine surrounded by carbon fibre and aluminum. Deathwish some might say :-D
 
for sure..most of that thing's weight would be rider motor and forks and wheels..lol
 
You can scratch wheels off of that lol. I think they're carbon fibre also. And if I remember correctly the motor is all aluminum. And I wouldn't doubt if the forks were aluminum also. So really its only the rider's fat ass that weighs it down lol
 
man i bet that thing costs a small fortune tho..carbon fibre isnt cheap for sure.
 
A metal tank would be best but without proper forming tools it could be a bear to do in steel. Aluminum would be easier but again tools like an english wheel would be needed to get a smooth finish and a TIG welder would be required for buttoniong everything up.

Fiberglass would be easier for most folks but still requires a good knowledge of forming. In this case mould making. There are also other considerations like the correct resin and cloth to use. Standard resins are not up to gas so you can't get away with a trip to the autostore for a gallon of body repair resin.

As mentioned, glass tanks can be dangerous in accidents and in most jurisdictions are illegal for street use.

Overall, I think it would be best to try and adapt/ restyle an existing tank or go to an aftermarket tank manufacturer to see what they have. If you have the coin, I'm sure a custom tank could be fabbed.

The bike builder guys make it look easy but without the right tools. training and experience it would be difficult and potentially a disaster.

Sorry to rain on your parade.

Chers,
Spyug.
 
Spyug your not raining on my paradie at all if anything it makes me want to do it more. I think I'm going to go with a Fiberglass tank because I don't want to buy the metal forming tools right now. I know I'll have to use Vinyl Ester resin which is designed to be resilint to gas. I was also planning on Por-15 the inside of the tank for an add layer of safety.
 
AAAAGH ! whats this glass tanks are dangerous bull fella's 20 odd years in the industry tells me otherwise, as mentioned in a previous post they are fine & will if properly made stand up to far more abuse than a steel one, but making them is a bitch

As for the legality i cant say whats true in the us but in the uk the grp & abs tank laws were lapsed years ago to alloy certain ducati's & some small enduro bikes to be imported to this country

Rant over :-D
 
tone said:
AAAAGH ! whats this glass tanks are dangerous bull fella's 20 odd years in the industry tells me otherwise, as mentioned in a previous post they are fine & will if properly made stand up to far more abuse than a steel one, but making them is a bitch
Click to expand...

I don't know if I would say they will stand up to more abuse, but they certainly aren't any worse.

Last option is to make a boxy aluminum tank and cover it with a sexy looking fiberglass or carbon fiber shell. It hurts your fuel capacity, but it sure is easier to build and looks great when finished.

FYI, you can also gas weld aluminum (a lot of tank builders do it this way), but it is non-trivial to learn and requires some practice. Of course, an oxy-acetylene torch is a fraction of the cost of a TIG welder, as well. You can trade $$$ for time if that works for you.

Mark
 
i was under the impression that glass tanks were illegal for road use in the US or at least most states but since have been told otherwise.
 
I'm still not keen on the idea of glass tanks for the street but I guess if done well they should hold up for anything other than a major crash. I still think you would have an issue with your DOT folks and it could make reselling the bike a bit of a chore, especially if a certification process is required. Having said all of that I'd be interested in seeing how this all turns out for you.

I have done some fiberglass work over the years and recently did a seat for my XS Tracker using the glass over foam technique. This requires the use of epoxy for the resin as it does not eat the rigid foam. Easy enough to do.

You could use this method for fabrication of your tank. Using rigid pink or blue foam glue up ( urethane glue i.e. Gorilla Glue) as many pieces as needed to make a rectangle big enough for tank. You can get rigid foam in different size sheets but use at least 2" or better 4" thick if you can get them. Rough cut to the size & shape you want with saw, surform and or files then smooth with progressive grits of sandpaper. It does not have to be 100% smooth as the tank skin will be formed around it. The "buck" should be about 3/16" to 1/4" undersize to compensate for the finished skin.

Now you will need some epoxy to paint the entire buck. Try and ensure there are no holes or areas nor covered. I'm not sure if it would work but you may be able to apply the POR-15 for this purpose. I think from what I've read and experienced myself the Phenol Novalac from Caswell plating may work better as it is a true 2 part epoxy. Do some trials first of course.

Once the epoxy is cured you can lay on your glass and resin and I'd think you would need a minimum of 2 glass coats. Vacuum bagging would also be a good idea to add strength to the build. There is a lot of information on this all over the net so do some studying.

Once the glass has hardened you can cut a hole ( gas cap area) to expose the foam. Using acetone, pour in a bit at a time to melt the foam. Pour out the sludge. Flush with a power wash if possible. Recoat the inside with POR or other liner if you didn't use the above method.

The exterior should be sanded as smooth as possible without breaking through the gelcoat and finished with bondo and skim coats of scratch filler. A good primer /surfacer befor paint would also be recommended.

Depending on your fittings you may need to build up some areas for some extra strength. For a nifty gas cap, go down to the local marina or boat store and see what they have.

The only issue I can see with this technique is it would be difficult to build any internal structures ( if you wanted baffles or something).

There are other variations on this method and depending on the shape of the tank you may be able to make a simpler buck out of thinner panels of foam if built in the shape of a 6 sided box ( i.e. like a "toaster" tank).

The nice thing about foam is it is easy to work and infinitely shapeable. It might make the project a bit easier as the alternative would require 2 moulds. The two sides would then need to be seam joined which might add another level of complexity to insure a good fit and tight seal.

Just some thoughts.

I'll be looking forward to hearing how you will proceed & let me know if I can help.

Cheers,
Spyug
 
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