XJ tank picture request

[Ivan]

Hmmm..... Maybe it would be better to just keep the special tank. I am hesitant about cutting bits off the bike, after all it is nearly an antiquity. I will look into this more in the near future.

As to a Standard tank, I really like the Max tank looks more. But that's just me.

[Ivan]

Well, I just had a nice analytical look at the situation, and it appears that the stud that has the threads for the XS tank will come loose from the bottom side, by grinding away tie welds with a dremel. Minimal damage and restorable in the case that the XS tank needs to go back on.

I see where the cuts are necessary for the front hook of the seat, which should hold the tank in place nicely.

I will either need some LTD bars or some risers, since the bars do get into the tank. They just barely cleared on the special tank.

Since the plug is identical on the sender, I am thinking all I will have to do is move the wiring from the light bulb to a fuel gauge with the right resistance values and mount it up to have a real honest to goodness gauge.

Now I need to get some warm weather so I can finish the thank. I have already secured the paint booth at work for a weekend and the talent to paint it via a 30 pack of beer. So its just stripping the remainder of the old paint, filling in a few dents and slathering it with nice red paint.

[trbig]

Go with the powder coat.. inside and out! lol.

[Ivan]

Not a bad idea, but I have to fill some dents, and I suck at body solder. Not to mention matching the powdercoat to the side covers. I am pretty sure the side covers would melt before the powdercoating.

[trbig]

Hee hee... So make some Mr. Machinist! Oops.. sorry. Mr. Button Pusher. Think how cool some titanium sidecovers would be! lol.

And for the tank, they make a Bondo type filler that is metalic based and powder coat will stick to.


Tod

[Ivan]

That would actually be fairly easy. We have a Faro arm here at work that would generate a solid model no problem. Then the titanium is fairly cheap as well, but its a bitch to machine and eats through all but the highest quality coated carbide cutters. Just the tooling alone would be probably $2000 a set. Generating all those compound curves would take hours and hours. Probably a couple days straight for each side. So, if anyone wants to front me about $15 grand, I will get to work on that, and they can have the first set at cost, I am guessing about $3500. Subsiquent pairs would be probably $5000 and $6500 if you want them triple chrome plated like the Screaming eagle stuff.

Still havent figured out why some enterprising individual hasn't made a mold of them and started making fiberglass and/or carbon fiber replicas. If someone doesn't do it soon, I will employ my skills from making fiberglass rcheli cabins and get-r-dun

[BigDick]

Still havent figured out why some enterprising individual hasn't made a mold of them and started making fiberglass and/or carbon fiber replicas. If someone doesn't do it soon, I will employ my skills from making fiberglass rcheli cabins and get-r-dun

Carbon fiber would be slick, need a go-fer to help with that project?

[Ivan]

Carbon fiber would be slick, need a go-fer to help with that project?

Actually, for carbon fiber, I need a bag of money. That and some time along with a good measure of patience. I can make a mold of my side covers pretty easy, but that pre preg carbon fiber is kinda pricey. That and I have never made a mold that can be cooked. I usually just start laying up bondo fiberglass until it has about 15 layers and is heavy as a cinder block, then spray it with mold release and lay in a layer of low weight cloth, followed by some heavy weight cloth. Since weight isn't too big a deal on motorcycles like on Helis, I could build it up a little more, for durability. Probably lay in some carbon fiber ribbon for strength.

I will have to work on how to mold the lug that goes into the lock though, and then the peg on the other side.

Given the number of projects already at hand, it will be a while.

BTW, you going to have any time to ride with us this year? Maybe Cassoday or AR for a weekend?

[BigDick]

I have nothing but time, just as long as I get about a weeks notice it should be no problem. Just bought my son a new full face helmet (the wind bothers him, makes it difficult for him to breathe) so he'll probably be with me a time or two.

[fredintoon]

It's a swine to press-form, too.

- - - the titanium is fairly cheap as well, but its a bitch to machine and eats through all but the highest quality coated carbide cutters. Just the tooling alone would be probably $2000 a set. Generating all those compound curves would take hours and hours. Probably a couple days straight for each side. So, if anyone wants to front me about $15 grand, I will get to work on that, and they can have the first set at cost, I am guessing about $3500. Subsequent pairs would be probably $5000 and $6500 if you want them triple chrome plated like the Screaming eagle stuff.

Still haven't figured out why some enterprising individual hasn't made a mold of them and started making fiberglass and/or carbon fiber replicas. If someone doesn't do it soon, I will employ my skills from making fiberglass rcheli cabins and get-r-dun

Hi Ivan,
"billet-machined", eh? You been associatin' with those Harley guys again?
During my apprenticeship I spent 4 weeks in the experimental sheet metal shop helping the journeyman assemble a 4-layer jet engine cowling from stainless instead of aluminum. Learned a lot of bad language fighting that recalcitrant material into a shape the form gauge would accept. On my last day the journeyman pushed the completed project away, all smiles. Came back snarling with rage and I learned even more bad language.
Seems he'd done such a great job on the stainless cowl they'd given him a set of Titanium pressings to try.
"This sh1t has so much springback there's no working with it!"
Moulding the covers from FRP or carbon fiber would be easy enough except for the lower attachments. If it were mine to do I'd make metal ones and rivet them to the shell.
BTW, "fiberglass" and "cabins" I understand but what's an "rcheli"?

[trbig]

Fiberglass cabins for remote controlled helicopters.

Some people like to fly them.. Ivan likes to crash them.


Tod

[fredintoon]

Fiberglass cabins for remote controlled helicopters.
Some people like to fly them.. Ivan likes to crash them.
Tod

Hi Tod,
ah! Not rcheli but R.C. Heli. Back to choppers again, eh?

[Ivan]

Hi Tod,
ah! Not rcheli but R.C. Heli. Back to choppers again, eh?

Yeah, but these choppers are expensive. I calculated the total cost per minute for air time and it was around $22. And I flew the cheap used stuff. There are turbine powered scale replicas that go for prices even Harley would be embarrassed to charge. I have a friend that made his money painting lines in parkinglots for Walmart and had a 1/4 "scale" Airwolf. Retractable gear, missile bay and machine guns. Used a 23 static horsepower centrifugal kerosene fired turbine. I put scale in quotes, since Airwolf was mostly a fantasy machine. Price on that, well over the $30,000 mark. Beautiful craftsmanship though. Harley wishes they could make scoots look as good as that thing did. Even had propane that would belch flame out the "jet nozzles" just like in the movie.

I just stuck with the el cheapo stuff I coudl pick up used, then refurbish them. Never did scale. Got into a lot of 3D though, last heli I flew went in upside down and backward at about 100 mph. Not much left.

Oh, and Ti isn't meant to be formed. Kinda like selling your soul to the devil for a sack of stale chips. It just isn't going to work out right. Our shop has a 8x10 hydroform press that will make short work of stainless though. I guess that's the benefit of a gazillion tons per square inch.

Personally, I wouldn't put Ti side plates on. If you ever laid it over at speed, the sparks would be a fuel air bomb ignition point. Now maybe some Ti rub blocks on the pegs and engine guards would be cool, if you weren't the guy riding behind me....

[BigDick]

hey Ivan, read up on THIS using the non pre-impregnated carbon fiber doesn't seem to bad of a process. Also I found sources for a carbon fiber/kevlar weave that is colored, you can get black/red, black/orange, black/blue, black/yellow, and a couple others IIRC. I'll put the link for that site up later tonight, it's on my work computer (save me from searching for it again ) btw for a sheet of 50" by 1 yard of either straight carbon fiber or the fiber/kevlar weave it runs just under $40 should be plenty of material to do both side covers on 1 bike. I'm gonna get in touch and ask about military discounts also

[Ivan]

Due to my involvement of rchelis, I think I can get carbon fiber in about any color you want with a few phone calls. The problem is that laying it up by hand, is terribly difficult to get a nice finish with the weave all straight and looking good. Plus you almost have to vacuum bag it to get the mold tight with no surface blemishes. If I were considering a production run, I might consult a mold maker and have a setup done where I could use the pre-preg to make them very strong, and light.

But if its going to be a one off thing, laying up some fiberglass would be the easiest and most economical. Certainly carbon fiber would be a tad stiffer, but if you paint it anyway, there really isn't much need for it.

Fred, I would think that making a mold of the post and then adhering it with some cyano-acrylate glue afterward would be good enough. Until I could figure out a way to make it at once.