Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum

Royal Enfield Motorcycles => Bullet with the UCE engine => Topic started by: wildbill on August 14, 2012, 03:38:40 am

Title: top tank rack photo's
Post by: wildbill on August 14, 2012, 03:38:40 am
got this top tank rack from n'field gear. pretty solid construction - chrome not so hot.
couple of photo's. tank held on by 4 suction caps.

(http://i907.photobucket.com/albums/ac278/wildbill2010/P1040022.jpg)

(http://i907.photobucket.com/albums/ac278/wildbill2010/P1040025.jpg)
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: Jack Leis on August 14, 2012, 05:12:00 am
Looks great !
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: wildbill on August 14, 2012, 08:09:56 am
thanks, just waiting now for the hagons to arrive. i will then take it for a run and see how those suction caps handle a bit of movement/vibration.
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: hortoncode3 on August 14, 2012, 12:29:29 pm
Wish my rack came with those..! I'm thinking magnets..dunno where to even get any..
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: wildbill on August 14, 2012, 12:44:02 pm
underside showing suction caps

(http://i907.photobucket.com/albums/ac278/wildbill2010/P1040028.jpg)
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: mattsz on August 14, 2012, 12:58:53 pm
looks tres cool...

but what does one use it for?
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: jartist on August 14, 2012, 03:48:03 pm
looks tres cool...

but what does one use it for?
It's for drying you're dishes after washing them. They dry much faster when you're doing the ton than if they were sitting in drying rack next to the sink!
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: TWinOKC on August 14, 2012, 05:06:14 pm
The rack looks cool, very retro. 

Is it useful, can you put 20 or 25 lbs?  max weight?

 :)

 
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: hortoncode3 on August 14, 2012, 09:57:30 pm
With those suction cup I wouldn't put on anything heavier than a cell phone or GPS! Speaking of GPS, trying to get info on plugging one in on the bike, something relatively weather resistant as an outlet.. and unobtrusive.
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: Arizoni on August 14, 2012, 11:02:49 pm
If I was going to use one of those tank carriers I wouldn't rely on the suction cups.
Rather, I would just use the carrier to support the whatever and us a strap under the fuel tank to hold it all together.
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: GlennF on August 14, 2012, 11:50:00 pm
Speaking of GPS, trying to get info on plugging one in on the bike, something relatively weather resistant as an outlet.. and unobtrusive.

Most GPS run on 5 volt not 12v.

You would need to knock up a 5 volt regulator or if your not good with electronics steal the guts out of one of those USB adapters you plug into a cigarette lighter.

I didn't bother. I just bought one of those external charging packs for ipods/iphones that give you an extra 10 or 12 hours on USB devices and plug the GPS into that.  This sort of thing ...

http://www.made-in-china.com/showroom/iwoxs123/product-detailpeTJktzovNhQ/China-USB-External-Battery-Pack-for-iPad-WS10350A-.html
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: wildbill on August 15, 2012, 01:51:06 am
i think it's more for show than go. it really looks the part but because it's pretty heavy could do a bit of damage if it came loose.
roads are rough around here so within the next few days will give it a good test ride
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: jartist on August 15, 2012, 02:47:28 am
Seriously, though, I have a tank bag that straps on the tank.  It's amazing how much stuff will go into the tank bag and the weight is in a good spot to balance out the tendency to load stuff on the rear when touring.  I think it would work well under the tank bag to keep the bag from scratching the tank.
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: Lwt Big Cheese on August 15, 2012, 10:14:56 am
You need to wrap an old leather belt around to secure it - like a Bentley bonnet!
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: Arizoni on August 15, 2012, 08:55:40 pm
Old leather belts are getting hard to come by.
New leather belts are also getting expensive.

My wife bought me two new 'leather' belts for Christmas.
It turns out that both of them were made in China.  I'm not sure what the core is made from but they had very thin (.020", 0.5mm) strips of real leather bonded to the inside and outside surfaces.  This of course immediately decided it was going to come off.

Speaking of Bentley's I  saw a new one the other day.  Can you believe it?  It didn't even have a leather belt holding the bonnet on!
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: Lwt Big Cheese on August 16, 2012, 09:57:07 am
This is the last one I saw:
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: gremlin on August 16, 2012, 01:50:46 pm
that is very cool ......  I'd remove that front PTO & add a vertical slat grill, replace the engine with a late 90's JeeP straight six & drive the heck out of it.....
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: jartist on August 16, 2012, 04:41:44 pm
that is very cool ......  I'd remove that front PTO & add a vertical slat grill, replace the engine with a late 90's JeeP straight six & drive the heck out of it.....
Blasphemy!  I'll take you're engine with "PTO"  when you're done with it!
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: Lwt Big Cheese on August 17, 2012, 08:21:13 am
No you wouldn't.

That's a blower on the front.

It's a famous racing Bentley that went for  £5,041,500.
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: Lwt Big Cheese on August 17, 2012, 08:27:19 am
http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/20143/lot/204/
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: Roch48 on August 18, 2012, 12:31:52 am
Head's up with these. Mine fell off while riding, the suction cups can come loose from the vibrations.
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: Ducati Scotty on August 18, 2012, 12:34:53 am
Bonnet?  These cars wear hats?
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: tooseevee on August 18, 2012, 12:58:03 am
that is very cool ......  I'd remove that front PTO & add a vertical slat grill, replace the engine with a late 90's JeeP straight six & drive the heck out of it.....

          That's a blower not a PTO.
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: wildbill on August 18, 2012, 01:41:48 am
top tank rack. prior to fitting i locked all 4 bolts that are attached to the suction caps with blue tread locker and allowed several hours to dry.
next day followed by a generous amount of spit on all four caps i place the rack in position and pressed it down firmly.
following yesterday's  hagon shock test run - today i checked it out. it's still on very firm.actually very very firm - no movement at all. if you grab the rack in the centre and pull sideways you can see the tank move but the rack stay rock solid.
in other words held on extremely tight. as for the life Span of the suction caps that's a different story but for $70 and i paid $50 postage it's a good nostalgic look for a period style bike.
plus you can throw away your gps and buy a map :D
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: hillntx on August 18, 2012, 02:11:09 am
I saw one of these tank racks at the dealer with bungie cords around the gas cap and the rear tank bolt.  I guess that's not the standard mounting practice.
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: Lwt Big Cheese on August 18, 2012, 07:57:40 am
Bonnet?  These cars wear hats?
Whereas a hood is a ...

hat!

 :o
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: JoeSchmofo on July 16, 2015, 01:45:51 pm
I know this is an old thread but I've always wanted to have a tank rack on my Bullet but I don't like anything that didn't have a practical purpose. Now I'm thinking that the suggestion of adding a belt round the tank might work.

So my question... those who have already got the suction tank rack...if you added a belt would it rub away at the paint on the tank?

Cheers and sorry for opening up an old thread.
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: Ragmas on July 16, 2015, 02:45:42 pm
When I got my bike it came with a rack.  The suction cups had a dab of RTV silicone beneath them.  I have since removed the rack altogether. I couldn't justify hanging anything on it.  The suction cups degraded fairly rapidly.  Now, to have bungs welded to the tank, that's the way to go.

Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: Craig McClure on July 16, 2015, 08:12:50 pm
I remember seeing these racks that came stock on the more sedate of the older Triumphs. Us youngsters thought they looked to utilitarian & not sporty enough, & didn't like them.
Then there's this: For years I saved the gas tank from the 305 Scrambler I center punched a car with in 1966. It had a perfect impression of my "boys" right where the accessory rack is located. Surely glad there were no RACK RODS involved to make a bad day worse.
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: suitcasejefferson on July 16, 2015, 09:15:17 pm
I have used magnetic tank bags on several bikes. I have a really nice fairly new Cortech 14L tank bag I use on my Vulcan 750, but my experience with tank bags is that they will always damage the the paint. Not a problem with the Vulcan, as it is a daily rider and touring bike. But I want to keep the Enfield nice. That rack looks great, but it seems to be more for looks than use. Has anyone actually carried anything on one?
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: heloego on July 16, 2015, 10:24:10 pm
I ordered the black rack from our host specifically because my tank bag is always mounted. The rack suction cups keep the rack from damaging the tank, and the bag mounted properly prevents the rack from moving around while the straps hold it in place on the rack.
  I have noted no damage to the tank from the bag straps.
Title: Re: top tank rack photo's
Post by: mattsz on July 17, 2015, 02:27:54 am
Then there's this: For years I saved the gas tank from the 305 Scrambler I center punched a car with in 1966. It had a perfect impression of my "boys" right where the accessory rack is located. Surely glad there were no RACK RODS involved to make a bad day worse.

(http://advrider.com/styles/advrider_smilies/yikes.gif)