Registered Forum User
Big Twin
Bikes: 959
Posts: 1,134
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Surrey/Northants
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!)
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