aft mounting bracket II

Here's how it looks now

aft mounting bracket

The forward mounting brackets worked out okay so I reinforced them and sanded them down a bit. Now it is time to get the rear bracket sorted out.

I wanted to use the OEM rubber damper that fit the original tank to it's mounting post that we left intact here, so I'm going to fabricate a tab that attempts to use it. The layup here was as quick as possible: build up a cardboard form with some thickness at the bottom to accommodate the offset of the rubber. I'd then prep it and rest the tank on the glass/epoxy layup while it was still curing so that everything dried in place.


I folded up some newspaper to support the cardboard form right where it would make contact with the tank.


Here you see everything prepped and draped with paper to prevent drips from sticking to the bike. In the upper left you see a wooden block that the tank will rest on during the cure.


Here it now sits. We'll see how it looks tomorrow morning!

forward mounting brackets

Had the hardest time trying to figure out how to place the forward mounting tabs for the tank. The tabs are nothing more than a "C" cross section that I molded around a foam block. Well I eventually cut the tabs to size and then press fit that foam block in where the mounting posts would be, and then tacking the "C" tabs into place. It sort of works, but It was hard to transfer the mounting points exactly onto the tank when it was in position.

I'll lightly test fitment tonight and if it looks okay, reinforce the attachment with more glass and epoxy.

more work on airbox

OK took some time while the tank glue-up dried to finish and test out the fit of the air intake adapter. Worked pretty good but I am going to have to put a slight "elbow" for the inlet flange to orient the air filter a little upwards and a little inwards for better tire clearance. I'm wondering if 6,1/2" long filter is really necessary but If I can get it to fit, then no worries.

tank assembled

OK, mixed another slury of the milled glass fibers with the slow cure epoxy and laid a bead along the interfaces. Got a lot of squeeze-out once the thing was taped down (especially along the inside when I peered in with a flashlight through the cap hole). Hopefully it'll be alright.

one last check before closing up the tank

OK, I talked to the tank sealer guys at Caswell and they said I ought to scuff up the insides of the tank since I can and it'd help adherence. They said go ahead and glue everything up before dumping their sealer into the tank to coat the interior. So that's what I'll do.

It's been a long process so I'll take a sec to make sure everything's wiped down clean with acetone after sanding and vacuuming all the dust. Nothing but rubber gloves at this point; you don't want any of your finger grime/oil getting onto joint surfaces.

losing the foam

OK! a few CC of acetone into the inlet duct and it just sort of devours the foam:



A few minutes of clawing away at the inside with a long screw driver and I've got most of the guts barfed out the intake orifice. The PVA melts with the acetone as well, so the tape that sealed the foam inside peeled from the walls pretty easily. any remainder will come off in a hot water bath...here's my new shower toy: