Alloy Fuel Tanks

[Warwick Biggs]

Nearly all CBX owners will sooner or later be confronted with rust in their steel petrol tanks. Many will already have been re-lined. But what do you do when the re-seal starts to 'lift'? A new old stock tank is over USD $3,000 and to clean out the old lining properly you need to cut open the base and then have it welded and pressure tested - not really a DIY job and not inexpensive, either.

Fibreglass is an option but you need to make sure the composites will withstand the ethanol in many pump fuels. The longer term solution is alloy which does not rust and polishes up nicely for that 'Manx' look. I have posted elsewhere about converting a CB1100R tank for the CBX. But they are also becoming rarer than hen's teeth.

You could have an aluminium tank fabricated of course. if you can find a willing specialist. They are out there but will probably be unwilling to do one offs'. Which leads me to ask how many owners might be interested in spending what will probably be around $800-$1,000 for an aluminium replica tank for their CBX?

If we can get a dozen owners expressing an interest then I am aware of a specialist in the UK that may add the CBX tank to their catalog.

[steve murdoch icoa #5322]

Rick i would contact CBX-tras about new tanks.
He recently mentioned that his company was developing new, lined steel tanks. He might be able to give you some info/timeline.

[CBX-tras]

The first stamping company we approached to make the early model tank for us came back with a quote of over $100,000 USD, in tooling alone for the 15+ dies.
That wasn't to mention piece price, scanning, design, assembly fixtures or the labor to do so, e-coat, carton or dunnage, etc.

We're working on the premise that IF (and that's a big IF) we sold 1% of the total 2 year production, that would be about 350 tanks.

We're actively looking for quotations from other companies that are willing to take on this seemingly small project.

I'll be happy to include any investors interested in participating in this endeavor.

BTW, as I mentioned in another post, there is only one way to reproduce something and that's to make it EXACTLY like it was when first made.
So, for the CBX fuel tank, it's not stainless steel, carbon fiber, aluminum or fiberglass. It's steel, better steel (coated to never rust internally) but, steel.

Timeline - TBD.

[Jeff Bennetts]

Thanks for taking this on JR, regardless of the outcome.

[EMS]

Rick:
There is an outfit in India who is selling custom aluminum fuel tanks on ebay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/264326441198?_ ... %7Ciid%3A1

I am not posting this as a solution for your quest, just as info. I have tried different tanks on a custom project and the issue with the CBX is the rather wide backbone with the three frame rails. there are virtually no tanks that fit over that. If you try to find other owners to join you in a "group" sourcing, the problem may be that the vast majority will look for a restoration piece exactly like - or similar to - the original, while you will be better off with a unit that fits your need for racing. For example, you could do with a shape of a "Manx" tank like shown in the ebay link or a CB11R shape.
For a restoration piece, there are plenty of tanks out there which can be refurbished and redone to "like new" condition for significantly less than a new unit priced at piece cost plus amortization for tooling. Most aluminum tanks are two-piece consisting of a formed upper shell and a bottom welded together. There is a CB1100R tank on ebay from Japan for $1,500+ It is overpriced, IMO

https://www.ebay.com/itm/265443339189?h ... R9yvpL3AYQ

[Warwick Biggs]

Thanks guys and yes, I've seen the 11R and Indian tanks. I have posted a pic below that shows the unusually wide and rather complicated form of the CBX tank.

In the interim I am going to try soldering mine but another possibility for my purposes is cutting out the base and installing a plastic tank underneath the existing tank shell. I only need a capacity of 7-8 litres for most races and I'm not particularly interested in the level of original exactitude that many collectors look for.

The tricky bit seems to be the base that has to follow the shape of the frame. Most alloy tanks are made in 2 mm sheet and it should not be hard to beat the base into the correct shape. It could be slab sided with a fourth panel over the top and bent down to the seat. In other words it would be shaped something like a typical Harris tank

If anybody else is interested in an alloy tank please contact me. I will post details of any fabricator willing to take on the task.

[Warwick Biggs]

Thanks guys and yes, I've seen the 11R and Indian tanks. I have posted a pic below that shows the unusually wide and rather complicated form of the CBX tank.

In the interim I am going to try soldering mine but another possibility for my purposes is cutting out the base and installing a plastic tank underneath the existing tank shell. I only need a capacity of 7-8 litres for most races and I'm not particularly interested in the level of original exactitude that many collectors look for.

The tricky bit seems to be the base that has to follow the shape of the frame. Most alloy tanks are made in 2 mm sheet and it should not be hard to beat the base into the correct shape. It could be slab sided with a fourth panel over the top and bent down to the seat. In other words it would be shaped something like a typical Harris tank

If anybody else is interested in an alloy tank please contact me. I will post details of any fabricator willing to take on the task.

[Warwick Biggs]

Here is a pic of a typical Harris race tank. This on a Harris Kwacka with unusual twin choke side draft webers, currently for sale in Italy.

The CBX frame rails are more horizontal and unlike the Harris it has the central spine so the exact shape would be somewhat different but the form could be similar for my purposes.

[Holtworks]

Hello

We have been invited to this forum as Warwick has approached us to see if we can help with making an aluminium tank.

We manufacture Aluminium tanks and have replicated over 50 tanks from original tanks, solving the problem of the rising ethanol content for fibreglass, plastic & steel tanks and send all over the world.

Please don’t think we are touting for business as we are extremely busy and we know taking on a new tank/tooling can be a headache and a costly affair but we also know looking for a solution to your problem can be difficult.

Reading some of the posts we feel, the lined steel tanks in our opinion will always be a problem, it is a temporary fix. In over 20 years we have not known of a liner that actually works. Fibre glass tanks the bottom ends up falling out and the plastic tanks seep the fuel through the tank, changing the shape and pushing off the paintwork.

Buying an Indian tank is a costly mistake. You will be replacing it soon after. We have replaced so many Indian tanks. It is also unlikely you will ever see 2 the same.

We have made new tanks for communities such as the Buell community who approached us & with their help we have produced 2 tanks that are interchangeable and work well. No further problems with ethanol.

To put your tank into production you are looking at approx £1600-£1800 per tank, we do not charge for tooling and setting up, but would need at least 20 tanks each giving a deposit of £200 for us to begin the tooling.

You can see our work on our website www.holtworks.co.uk, we also have a Facebook page Holtworks. Tony’s background is prototype and aerospace engineering and we have been replicating tanks for over 25 years.

We work in aluminium though not steel.

Please email us with any questions or if we can be of further help. If we can’t, then good luck with your search. I hope this information has been useful.
Michelle & Tony
holtworks.co.uk

[Larry Zimmer]

Thanks much for your post and information. Whether anything comes, maybe!! However, this might be a good thing for a group of resto folks to put together.

[Warwick Biggs]

My tank has been repaired by a local sheet metal worker who did a good job considering how thin the stock tank steel is. I asked him his opinion on making a simple race tank like the Harris.

He opined that in 6 planes with the base a shallow 'V', narrowing from the front back to the seat and working initially in steel for ease and cheaper wastage, it would take around a week to measure off the frame, choose the correct dies and set up and then fold, cut and shut. So, around AUD$3,000 b4 materials. Thereafter however, he thought a run of tanks in alloy would be much cheaper on a unit price basis. He is a generalist and does not have Holtworks specific fuel tank expertise.

I am aware of a racer in the UK who punts a CBX in their historics who is also interested in a race tank however, Holtworks can no doubt fabricate a closer CBX replica tank that might appeal more to collectors. Albeit only if 20 or more are willing to place a 100 pound deposit and can afford 1,600-1,800 pounds each. No doubt there are other options like cbxtra's search and this might take a bit of time and somebody willing to kick it off. So, I guess we will have to wait and see if it develops any further......???

[Warwick Biggs]

Michelle and Tony at Holtworks are currently reluctant to tool up to make CBX tanks because after visiting this site and the Oz CBX Owner's site they have perceived that CBX owners are, a) not sufficiently interested in Alloy tanks and b) prefer to pay fabricators in India.

No doubt this will change as the supply of NOS tanks is exhausted (take note Louis) and it becomes obvious that contrary to advertisements and inducements on the net, there are no reliable fabricators or manufacturers of CBX tanks in India.

[Warwick Biggs]

James Fisher who races a CBX in the UK has modified some Phil Read replica tanks to fit his racer so I looked at the Indian CB750 alloy tanks and it looks like they are reasonable candidates in that they have a fairly wide tunnel at 220mm and should clear the flat bracing on the CBX top backbone. Still a bit (by 100 mm) narrow across the frame rails but then nothing else comes close to the 380mm width of the CBX.

I have a couple of good leads to investigate regarding old school alloy tank fabricators here in Oz.

[Warwick Biggs]

No sooner had I found a tradesman willing to make me an alloy tank for the Lump at a relatively ($1,000) cheap fixed price than Roly tipped me off about a baffled CB1100R race tank that has been modified here in Oz specifically to fit a Prolink. As such, it is no longer collectable by the more numerous CB1100R racers and because I am one of a very select group of nutters racing a CBX, it just fell into my lap like a ripe peach at an affordable price too.

The candy apple paint job is a bit rich but we can always strip it back.

[Larry Zimmer]

Great!! Now to the worldwide market! (A guy can always wish)