This is the top plate resting in the tank. It is normally held in place by a locking ring that engages in the tabs around the rim of the hole. I have yet to buy the seal and locking rings. It is normally hidden from view by the console, as you can see in the centre pic.

To complete my installation (if the tank fits my bike!) will require a drain pipe from the vent on the top plate. There is a further drain pipe from the console, for the area around the filler neck, which you can see next to the tank in the console pics.

 

I half hoped the lock from my old filler flap will fit in place of the ‘new’ one, so I can use my existing keys, but the old lock is much larger in diameter and won't go near the new flap. However it does seem that any of the modern cylindrical keys opens the later filler flap locks, as my 03 Dyna key works in this 08 lock.

 

Just so you know, we will ship whatever you want to England in the cheapest way possible for you, and help you avoid taxes if at all possible. Contact us for more info.

Drew

 

Ken,

The new list price of one of these tanks, in primer, from what I can make out (I haven't bothered to check closely) is around 700 dollars, over a thousand in a recent colour scheme. Mine has minor marks and a tiny dent, so it is a matter of what you are prepared to put up with, plus a little patience! A scratched tank can be repaired by a scratch repairer for relatively little.

I studied US ebay tanks over a few months before I decided to move and the price range for undented but scratched ones varied from $50 to $183, when sold in auction. If they had a starting price above $200 they didn't get any bids. I didn't look at pristine ones, partly because of shipping costs, but also UK taxes when they get over here, which are a proportion of the value plus shipping.

I initially only intended buying the tank, but kept an eye on the other things. The console came complete with filler cap, rubber trim, hose etc and was too good to pass over, for $90. List price new is way over $300. The top plate assembly was sold as new but incomplete, the missing EFI parts being of no consequence to me, at $30 (new bare top plate around $135).

That other guy was fitting his tank to a much later bike than ours. Where our frame tubes all come together, under the nose of the seat, there is a flat plate on his bike. He also has a far thicker main harness than our bikes (at least my basic old FLHS!) to work around, so he cut his frame to get the harness under the tail of the new tank. Like you, I will not do that, but try and find another way round it if necessary. As I get my bike apart I will take further pics.

I am not sure what you are referring to when you ask about the 'basket'?

 

Thanks Drew. The only significant thing I can think of at present is a Pingel fuel tap. If this tank fits my bike and I have a workable solution, I'll get in touch by PM.

 

All that's good to know, Graham. Hopefully if I end up following the trail you're blazing here - I can find a tank, top plate, and console as cheaply as you have... This is a most interesting project!

Bertha's top frame "spine" is relatively narrow - probably identical to yours since the frame didn't change until '97 - so hopefully it won't be a hindrance in fitting the tank. Or did it also change when they moved the oil tank under the tranny "Dyna style" in '93? Anyway, his pics looked nothing like Bertha's top frame member, so I guess that could be a good thing. I can reroute wires to fit all day long. I wonder if the top motor mount may pose a problem though, as his did... keep us posted!

The "basket" I referred to was in your second pic in the first picture post you did - the one below. The pic looks straight up at the top plate from the bottom. There's something in there that appears to have 13 spokes that looks like a little plastic basket. Did that stay when you removed the wired-on fitting, or did that does as well? Or was that an optical illusion? Or am I crazy? (latter question purely rhetorical...)

 

Now I understand! I hadn't paid them any real attention. What we have here is a single large plastic moulding. The white bits you can see are added to it, also the smaller black tube on the right. The ribs are an integral part of the underside of the filler spout and appear to be there to support an integral disc that limits the diameter of gas-pump filler nozzle that can be put in (ie to unleaded fuel only). You can see the top side of the disc in the lefthand view of the top of the tank, with three small breather holes. They come out between the ribs on the underside, which you can see in the pic you copied. They are not going anywhere! Hope that helps.

It will only be an interesting project if it works! But I am with you on that one.

 

Yeah, pictures are not always worth 1000 words! Thanks for putting some "perspective" on that little part, Graham!

My tank has a long tang at the rear that bolts into three bolt holes in the frame under the seat - but they are configured very differently from your new tank.

 

My stock tank and rear mounting is the same as yours. The new one is supposed to be held down by the two slotted holes just visible at the rear of the tank. They are 5" between centres. The centre mounting appears to be just for the rear fixing of the console.

 

Hmmm... that WILL be an issue - though perhaps not an insurmountable one. The frame tubes at the rear of the tank are slightly more than 5" apart and get wider as they go back, with a steel plate between them - so it would be possible to drill bolt holes into them at the right points, I suppose.

The lack of a seat tang on the new tank to hold down the nose of the seat is a problem that will need to be addressed as well, huh? I wonder if the easiest solution might be to weld a seat mounting tang like the one on our current tanks onto the new tank (perhaps cut from an old wrecked Evo tank?), to be able to use the existing mounting holes and seat nose tang, rather than messing with the tang that's on the new tank. Just a thought...

If it's not too much trouble, would you mind measuring your new tank and letting me know how long it is from front to rear, not including the front nor rear tangs? I'd like to be able to compare the tanks' lengths and do some figuring. You have me really going now! Thanks, Graham.