New tools had to be collected to build these tanks. All the cutting, sanding, and bending really makes a mess in the shop!
Starting with a bunch of raw materials and shaping them into a sturdy leak-free fuel tank is more work than you might think.
Here are some of the raw materials after laser cutting and machine bending.
Thick wall tubing is cut and cleaned up with a bench sander and die-grinder.
Tubing is notched in a drill press and cleaned up with the same tools.
Parts are sanded to spec and check for size and fit multiple times before welding.
After all the parts are fit, the welding commences.
Some of the welds don't need any touch-up as you can see on the hinge to clamp welds.
The most difficult welds - this thin-to-thick stuff is tough - are cleaned up with a flapper disk as necessary.
Stands are then welded to the finished clamps.
Filler necks are fitted, squared and tacked into place.
Bulkhead fittings and completed filler necks are welded to the top and bottom parts of the tank.
Bottoms and sides are tacked together before installing the baffles.
Tanks are ready for baffles after the filler neck welds are complete and the sides are tacked to the bottom.
After the baffles are welded in, the tops are fit and tacked in place.
Once the tank body is tacked together and double-checked for fit, the seams can be fully welded. Seam welding has to be done a couple inches at a time to minimize warping of the tank body.
I'm not perfect, so I hit the high spots with my trusty flapper disk to make them pretty.
After the tank bodies are built, the stands are carefully tacked in EXACTLY the right spot to assure good fit to the seat's grab handles.
After the tack welds cool, each tank is test fit on my bike before the welds are completed.
After all the welds are made, the tanks are filled with water - to the brim - and let sit overnight to test for leaks.
Any leaks are re-welded before the tanks are shipped out for powder-coating.
When the tanks come back to the shop after powder-coating, bits of 1/8" rubber are cut and glued to the clamps to propect the seat's grab handles.
Fuel Caps are installed and mounting hardware is packaged before shipping.
