Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum
Royal Enfield Motorcycles => Bullet Electra & AVL => Topic started by: armando_chavez on September 16, 2014, 05:04:04 pm
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searching for a good cafe style tank anyone have an extra id like to save myself the 1000USD hitchcocks wants for one of theirs
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To save cash, I'd go to a salvage yard for a tank. Just figure how you want to bolt it up, measure your main tube, hieght , length and were you want your seat and tank to meet.you could even do a cardboard cut out of your height and length to match up to tanks till you find one you like.. I like the old BMW,Norton.and the Hodaka tanks.. If you want shiny , maybe a old Hodaka ( 60/ 70's) thank would be the way the go . The tank has a endent for the hodaka emblem, but you could always made a round R.E. Decal to fit in it. To bolt a tank up you have a few options the stock Nfield circle up front are thru holes on the frame, straight bolt thru the frame is a option, in the rear above carb are mounts , I made L brackets there for my tank and they are pretty well hidden still..you your imagiation for your design.. Another tank for shiny ness is a old husqvarna tank, just woould have to stripe the paint off, their all chrome under paint, a 1978 tank from a 390OR would be a good choice if it fits the tube length, their a bit longer and narrow. Remember you can always put rubber down on your tube to change the angle of the tank too.. Both the husqvarna and hodaka tanks have long tanks up front so you could do thru from bolt on the stock mounts.
I have the cafe kit on mine, and the tank gets warm( AZ Sun), and always have to polish it.. For 1300 I'm not doing a do over..I already replaced the solo seat and made the Airtech seat, set up for dual riders. I Had to add to the seat pan and do a bunch of glass work but it came out good..it's perfect set up for my wife and I .. Keeps her close and she can't slide off the back still.. LoL
Sorry for rambling.. Hope you find the tank you desire, there's plenty out there pretty cheap..
Jason
P.S. Here is a picture of my one L bracket at the back of the tank, the rubber him met I got at autozone and knocked the brass sleeve out of it to give the tank some padding..
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They need finish work but you can get Enfield cafe tanks off of Ebay for pretty cheap. probably not the best quality but the price is right. I've been looking at them myself.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/400636979690?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-ROYAL-ENFIELD-CAFE-RACER-4-GALLON-CHROME-GAS-FUEL-PETROL-TANK-READY-TO-PAINT/141409380457?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D24351%26meid%3De24ceec8785f46fa9305f1d337819c0d%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D10335%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D400636979690&rt=nc
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I like the knee cut out on those, mines a bit less and you're right on the price..
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Im scared theyre to sub par id hate to shell out 300 and ave the tank not be symmetrical but ive been looking at those same ones for a while
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I been looking as well at those tanks. I want to dress the bike up differently, and was thinking about keeping the tank raw initially (polished to a point) w/ a custom bench seat and see what i thought... 8)
if one of us do it, be sure to share!
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Honestly, if I had been paid out another $250 on my insurance claim I would have ordered the primered tank.
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Armando - Posted some stuff on your FB. Check when you have time.
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The mounting tabs look awfully thin to me.
Note to some. These tanks aren't suitable for EFI bikes!
Bare
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I did wonder about mentioning these tanks on ebay. While I have had a good chrome deluxe tank for one of mine from India, you would probably do best to get a cafe racer tank in raw steel, not so much for the look, rather so that you can get it tested for leaks and if needed repaired more easily, as well as any rectifying any small problems with (e.g.) mounting holes not quite lining up or other minor repairs. Remember if you get a cheaper one you can afford to spend a few $$$ making sure it is sound and fits easily, before letting your local custom paint shop loose on it. Obviously in case of anything majorly wrong, you can still send it back for a refund.
A.
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Although not a proper cafe tank, this alloy trials tank with the right cafe seat would do the job pretty good. Priced right too.
http://nfieldgear.com/enfield-store/trials-polished-alloy-tank.html
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Amazingly they do a good job on the Indian tanks as far as fit and looks go but everyone I've gotten leak. ERC
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Both Hitchcock and I have tried for years to get a decent alloy tank from India. It has never happened and it never will. It you do happen to find one somewhere line it would be a first.
I would steer away from chrome tanks from India unless...... you are OK with wavy chrome. It comes from the polishing process. Sometimes it is not too bad, other times....
The trials tank comes from the UK. They were about $300 when I first started selling them 16 years ago.
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where are the tanks on nfeild gear made? like the continental or cafe
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If you give me some links (feeling lazy this Saturday (want to get to my Ham Radio shack and make room for a new radio ;D) I will tell you where they are made. In general price will tell the story
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http://www.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/frames-petrol
the red cafe tank fiber top?
also the aluminum tanks on cmw and hitchcocks ?
someone told me they are made in india and taken to england and rebranded made in england?
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Someone told you wrong. Neither Alan or CMW would even consider doing something like that. Besides the ethics involved the moment you opened the package you would know the difference.