Gas tank Swap

[lisk]

I have purchased the larger tank(not sure of the year) in order to swap it with my existing 1980 XS1100 Special tank. The petcock config. seems to be different. Any advice? Will it work the same? Also,there is a fitting at the seat end of the tank for a line. What is it for? Anything else I need to be aware of? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[rover]

The fitting you are refering to is to vent any fuel or water condensation away from the top of the tank. The area around the fuel cap is recessed, and can hold liquid. Attach a hose and run it down behind the tank and to the bottom of the frame. Your present octopus will have to be removed, and a vacuum hose run to each petcock, as these are vacuum operated. Connect them to the nipples on the rubber carb manifolds. Also, the new tank has a sending unit for a gas guage, which the special does not have. You can use the unit from the old tank to connect to your low fuel warning light. Everything else should line up, but the front of your seat will fit a little more snugly. Maybe you will have to remove some of the foam from the front of the seat. Good luck, and RIDE SAFE!!!!!

[Do Lee]

I have also installed a standard tank on my 79 SF. The specials' petcocks will not fit on the standards' tank, and I had to modify my seat pan for the vent line nipple (notched out the seat pan) so the seat will set properly in place. If you have a frame mount fairing the bottom of the tank will be sitting on the four bolt that hold the fairing in place. But the additional 40-50 mile range is great. I was getting around 105 miles per tank with the specials' tank and with the standards' tank I get around 150-155 miles to a tank of gas when I hit reserve.