The size, position, and shape of the gas tank really can make the look of a bike. So it is vital you spend time thinking about it. So I have spent hours and hours stressing over what to do about the tank. First there is no standard tank I can buy that will fit on this bike.
I have cut the stock air filter box down and installed a customized K&N air filter to lower the overall profile. Than I needed to purchase a tank that was wide enough to fit over the frame. The tank is a Wide Bob Stretch tank form a Harley Davidson. I did buy a Harley split tank off Ebay hoping it would work. But when I looked into mounting the spit tank and finding a dash that would fit it got very complex. So I went to the local Harley dealer and spent three hours going through catalogs to try to meet my needs. I needed a tank that was a minimum 14 1/2 inches wide, maximum 19 inches long, 5 gallon capacity, fit a dash with mechanical speed-o and have an installed level sensor. Believe it or not this does not exist. So what will I have to compromise on was the question. There were no 5 gallon tanks that could take a mechanical Speed-o. Late models that were the larger tanks all went electrical speed-o, and if you wanted a level sensor you need a late model as well. So I settled on a 4 gallon stretch tank which is 21 inches long and 16 inches wide and no fuel level sensor.
The left photo shows a level tanks and the right is tapered. Subtle changes can make a huge difference in the look of the bike. So now I need to cut the belly out of the tank to fit the frame and lower it a minimum of 2 inches over the frame. This will get the tank to a starting position and allow me to see what else is necessary to find that optimum final tank position and look. I laid out the potential cut lines and took the tank to a local fab shop to see what they thought and to get an estimate.
