Ducati Sporting Club UK > DesmoDue Race Series > DesmoDue - General Questions and Chat > fibreglass or carbon tanks,,,

[skidlids]

Originally Posted by Cranker V2

So the advocating of hammering a tank to fit is ok,

Nope, But it has been done by a DDer or two. There are better ways of making a 916 type tank fit.

Just used the Phrase "Hammering the Hell out of it" to illustrate what it takes to make a 916 style tank fit over a standard airbox and hint at the fitting of a Carbon version isn't going to be straight forward.

Some lovely Ali tanks out there in Japan
http://www.moto-works.jp/beater/index.html#d9
http://eng.spiralspinner.jp/products...ategory_id=126

[Chaz]

There has been several Ally tanks on DD bike's,Cobby,Harriet Riddly,Dallas,Ron Jolly,Andy Sheppard, are the ones that come to mind.

Most tanks can be made to fit with a bit of ingenuity, big hammer bit of cut & shut : ect.

I don't like plastic/F/G or carbon tanks I've seen to many smashed including the one on my DD bike when AK47 crashed it at Pembray.

[bradders]

aren't alloy tanks light weight? Isn't that the point? Certainly Ghosts was when he offered it me to 'try the difference'!!

guess I wont get any weight advantage with an SS tank either, likely that and the monster will be the same. Reckon the bast option which is allowed (and wont have me unreasonably stopped by an over-officious techy!!) is to have a alloy one made which is a combination of SS shape (although not as big) but with the bottom being same as Monster so it goes straight in.

So just need to find someone trustworthy who can do it...or maybe stick with what I have

[antonye]

Originally Posted by bradders

aren't alloy tanks light weight? Isn't that the point?

I would think so!

There's no rule about profiles, so you could make a tank just big enough to hold the right amount of fuel. This would cut the weight down of the tank even further.

Neal C made his own tank (or more accurately, got one of his plebs to make it for him ) so maybe you could throw some beer vouchers his way?

[bradders]

I did ask Neil last year but think he was wasn't keen. My other thought was try and copy what Senna has done; small alloy tank then a f/glass cover

Ghosts is tiny but when I tried his, braking = smacking my nuts on the clocks!

alas ambition outweighs talent with these things

[numbskull]

Originally Posted by antonye

Neal C made his own tank (or more accurately, got one of his plebs to make it for him ) so maybe you could throw some beer vouchers his way?

It took me a week over christmas last year!!

Hence not being too keen on a repeat performance.

And it was for sale a while ago, but more than one person thought £300 was too much to ask.

[bradders]

Originally Posted by numbskull

It took me a week over christmas last year!!

Hence not being too keen on a repeat performance.

And it was for sale a while ago, but more than one person thought £300 was too much to ask.

yep I know sometimes being cheeky works and I did speak with a place who gave me a good price but comms kinda fell apart, so how do I know it wouldn't be like Ron's experience when he tried to get one done...but thats life

[paynep]

All you need is a little bit of water and you can reduce the volume of the tank while keeping the standard fittings:
(and yes it passed scrutineering for Race 2!)

[Jolley]

It all boils down to how much weight you want to save, how quickly you want to do it, how much you are willing to pay, and how much work you want to do to make it work. Answer those questions first and your path will be much clearer. My personal views:

- Max cost with least effort: about £1,000 for a Beater tank from japan
- Medium cost with medium effort: +-£500 for a lightweight tank already available from other DD'ers or made to order by a RELIABLE (i.e. NOT "the tank shop") workshop
- Min cost with max effort: £cost of materials and make your own

At all times be clear in your head what you are trying to achieve.... saving weight... for example, Kev P had a lightweight tank, but anyone without his skills would soon add the saved weight (3kg?) by adding a cover and all the fixings for the tank and cover, and that doesn't even go into the complication of pump types and where you mount them.

It also helps to have an idea of weights in the first place, and realise the weight overall (like-for-like) for each complete install. Do you know what your tank and pump weigh and how much can be saved by each option? I know an empty steel Monster tank is 7kg, my Corsa 851 tank was 4kg, and the lightest homemade tanks were about 3kg.... but do you know what pump set-ups they require or how much other Ducati tanks weigh? There are people out there that do, and there are some surprising answers.

Personally, knowing how tight a lot of DD racers claim to be (although secretly most spend more than they admit), the cheapest easiest option is to buy something someone has already been using, so you know it is complete and will fit. It might sound expensive, but in the long run it won't be (and no, I'm not trying to direct anyone buy Neals tank or my 851 tank!)

[bradders]

thought Neil had sold his....and a 620 has a pump anyway so unlike a carby hopefully a decent net gain...and are you selling the 851 tank then? thought it went with the bike...pm me, be a shame not have have an ex-Jolley bit on the new bike

wish I had the skills to make my own, or the dosh to take a risk, buy the kit and just keep trying til I either had no hands left or it worked!