Cafe tank mod progress

[TajMan]

First I needed to repair long deep dent on lefthand side. After trying a couple things, I ended up cutting out that whole section to hammer out on the ground and re-weld back on.



Layer of JB Weld applied with bondo spreader, sealed any remaining pinholes and smoothed dents out a little--but I got the metal pretty straight and holes welded well beforehand.

side holes I cut...




just wait till I'm done

[Ken Talbot]

just wait till I'm done

Say what, you've taken a Special tank, cut a couple of windows in it, and it looks like you're going to put the pieces back in, only reversed from one side to the other so the pieces curve in instead of curve out. That means reducing the tank volume. Like, from 100 miles down to 80 miles? This I gotta see!

Plasma cutter?

[81xsproject]

Layer of JB Weld applied with bondo spreader, sealed any remaining pinholes...

STOP!!! JB Weld will NOT hold up to fuel. Grind it off and WELD up those pin holes or all that work will be flushed down the drain. I like the project, though.

[TajMan]

I don't know if I reduced the mileage that much with reducing tank size, but I fixed the big dent first and THAT was reducing size a bit.

I'll investigate JB weld and fuel now.

[TajMan]

Serious, just a couple super small pinholes maybe exposing JB weld to gas area. I'm not worried, because I will be recoating the entire inside of tank before any gas goes back in.
Recoat tank = no worries.

[TajMan]

I was doing demolition in the garage ceiling, cutting down a long 2X8 board attached to a 2' section of plywood. Cutting it down with sawzall. Nothing was underneath what I was cutting, I thought I was fine. When boards came loose, they swung over in a strange way and came down right on my gas tank.

Pushed down the filler neck, other long dent, the entire top of the tank if F'd up now.
I can always rebuild, just might take me a day or two longer.

[81xsproject]

That sucks, dude! As far as the JBW, I think it will be a ticking time bomb. If it did hold up to gasoline, nobody would worry about broken float posts. Might be worth looking into lead/tin body filler to deal with the pinholes. What you could do as an alternative, is use gas tank epoxy. It comes in a tube that you kneed together. However, when doing paint prep/body work with all body non-metal body fillers, one needs to beware shrinking of the filler. Hope your luck gets better.

[TajMan]

I feel slightly better about dents on top, I can fix ok.


Pinholes and JB weld is no problem dudes!
I'm using an epoxy gas tank sealer on the inside. I could have a 1/8" hole in tank wide open I just put a piece of tape on the outside, and after epoxy sealer is used tank will be 100% sealed for many many years on the inside.

[DiverRay]

When you start again on this or another tank, DO NOT USE JB WELD!!! The "professional" way would be a propane torch and flux/solder used for plumbing. Brush the flux on the tank and coat it with the solder. That will give you an airtight seal that will NOT EVER leak because of gasoline contact.

[TajMan]

no problem, I solder and braze, hell I'll do it that way for the remaining pieces after I weld/grind, thanks

[TajMan]

Recent top dents fixed (besides bondo).
The 2 sides welded on (besides front sections I need to fabricate/weld).
The side indents are sweet

[Cobia]

Kewl!!

Instead of a large tank cut down.... It looks like a narrow tank that got expanded in the front.
Good idea, nice work.

[TajMan]

Instead of a large tank cut down.... It looks like a narrow tank that got expanded in the front.
Good idea, nice work.

Thanks a lot man I appreciate that, I think these pics show it better

[T99Ford]

I like what you are doing with the tank! It is always good to see someone doing something unique with an XS. Oh, and for what its worth, the float towers carbs 2&3 in my bike have been JB'd for years

[T99Ford]

Just to clarify, so I don't start an argument, I didn't do it, a PO did. But it has been working, so I am not going to fix it. Maybe some day I will have to, but not now!