fuel tank swap

[tommystinson]

Will a tank from a standard fit a special? If someone has done it, care to e-mail me a picture? Thanks in advance!

[John]

Tommy, I have seen lots of pics of Specials with Standard tanks on them. The petcocks are different though, and they will not swap out. You'll need to run a seperate vacuum line to them, and eliminate the Octopus (damn).

[newmaac]

I recently make that swap.
I always liked the sleek lines of the Special over the Standard, but changed the tanks for a camping trip. My intent was to switch back as soon as I was home. Well..... that has not happened and might not ever.
Riding 150 miles plus, and THEN switching over to reserve is SO nice, I think that I will keep it for a while.
What you have to do:
Swap-out the sender from the Special tank to the Standard tank. The mounting holes are the same. The wires for the sender were a little too short,(sender is on the other side of the tank), but I was able to pull a little extra from the harness.

Eliminate the Octipus, it's one vacuum line and all of it's fuel lines.
Route new vacuum lines from the plugged vacuum nipples on the intake boots to the vacuum port on each petcock.
Run new fuel lines from the to the bank of carbs. I think that there is a diagram in the tech tips area, if not I can draw you one.
This is a good time to mount two new inline filters.

You will need to remove the side markers from the front of the frame.
You will also need to shave down the overflow nipple on the back of the tank. It will hit the front of the seat, unless the seat foam is altered.

The fuel light will still work, (I think), but unless you bend the arm on the float, I think that it only will light-up when you are well into the reserve area. I tend to no wait that long, but it should be easy enough to bend it to the point where it registers whenever you want it to.

Good luck.

[tommystinson]

Thanks for the tip. It seems a worthwhile swap. I've never really loved the special tank, anyway. Looks like there are others looking for tanks as well right now!

[John]

Tommy, that tank is worth is weight in....GASOLINE I hope you find a good home for it. I personally prefer the look of the Special tank, but that's why they make more than one flavor of ice cream, right? I once tried to swap the tank from a XS750 Special onto my bike but it wouldn't fit. Bummer, as it was a larger tank. Same style, but the front pockets that mount to the rubbers on the front of the frame were in a different spot, and the 750 tank didn't have the indentations in the bottom to clear the valve cover.

[tommystinson]

I'd swap somebody even for the standard tank, but mine's got a dent in it. I don't need badges or anything, because I'm planning on going with late model decals.