gas tank

[firecat]

hi all. what gas tanks will fit my 81 xs 11? i have the big one and want to put a smaller teardrop tank on. also if i find a smaller tank, will the petcock from my big tank fit? thanks

[John]

You can use the tank from a older Standard, and those petcocks will work, or you can use the smaller Special tank. The petcocks will not interchange from Special to Standard, so you will need Special petcocks.

[firecat]

sorry, i should of mentioned that mine is a special, so will the petcocks from mine fit a standard tank?

[mro]

Looks like you have a standard tank on your bike now. 5.2 gallon, w/rectangular fill cap center front???.

petcocks on standard have 3 posistions.
down = on, forward = reseve, rear = pri

What petcocks are on your tank?

The special tank (about 4 gal.) will limit your range to around 100 before going to reserve.



mro

[firecat]

yes 3 position petcocks, and it is the rectangle fill and its huge and so could be a standard, and the smaller tank would do me fine for the distances i travel. [IMG][/IMG] so maybe mine aint a special, im just going by the rite side panel it has 11 special on it, is there a tag or letter in serial # that tells if it a special or standard?

[John]

From what I see the bike is a Standard. It has square turn signals, and gauges, as well a Standard tank. Is the axle located on the very bottom of the fork, or is it up a few inches on the front of the forks? The petcocks from a Special tank will not fit on a Standard tank and vice versa.

[mro]

All XS's are special

Looks like you have a standard model.
Reqtangular gauges, large tank etc..
rear tire 17" or 16"? (17 on standard)

Although your exhaust is short like a special.

Over on the left and click on "specifications"
Second line has info on serial #'s

Also you can click on "pictures" and see several of the different years/models.

will get a side by side pic of special/standard tank sometime today. need to run down to my shop first thou




mro

[GNEPIG]

.. firecats bike is an 81 Standard. those came with the 16 inch rear wheel, the passenger foot peg mounts that look the same as the Specials and apparently the Special side covers fit.
..nice bike

[John]

The 81 Standard or H model, also had Special pipes on it. I don't remember which fork/axle setup it had though.

[GNEPIG]

I don't remember which fork/axle setup it had though.

.. the not leading axle forks[axle on the end]

[firecat]

the front axle is on the bottom of the forks,

[firecat]

the serial # says its a 81H, thanks for all your replys and help, now i need to find a smaller tank.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Firecat,

Special tanks are fairly easy to come by. Standards are a bit harder. There is an Xsive on the FORUM that is in dire need of a Standard Tank, his handle is "robywan_kenobi", and it would be great if you could sell your tank to him. I don't think he has any spare tanks to trade?

It wouldn't surprise me to find several members that would have a Special tank they would be willing to sell fairly cheaply!
T.C.

[mro]

Tanks a lot

Both of these need a little work
Black tank only has one dent that should not be a problem.
The standard tank has several and I plan to pratice on it first before I repair the special.






Petcocks



mro

[firecat]

i will sell this tank i have if i can find another, ill check local salvage yard first, and it looks like you have a few spare parts there mro. would be nice to find a parts bike.