I've wanted to add some capacity to my FJR for quite some time and finally think that I've found a good solution. I originally was going to build a fuel cell under a small Pelican case on the rear Givi rack, or a passenger seat tank. Since my wife rides quite a bit with me I've decided against 2nd option. Ever since I saw John Ryan's fuel tank tower, I wanted to get my hands on a spare tank to modify. I thought with a little imagination and time I could add 1.5-3 gallon and keep the lines of the tank looking decent.
My goal is to add around 1.5-3 gallons, just enough to keep up with the range of my brothers GS Adventure. His tank is almost 9 gallons but I get 5-10% better mileage.
I finally found a tank in decent shape from a fellow in CO that was selling his on Ebay. $80 and 2 days later it was on my front porch. I started on this project today, below are pictures of today’s progress.
Tank chemically stripped and carefully sanded (no abrasive sanders were used)
1st cut is to widen the tank about 2 inches total
2nd area for improvement is to raise the entire top about a ½”. This is not much of a change but should help out a fair amount. This is as high as possible and still have a fair amount of clearance for turning.
Next is welding up those first areas then cutting the top off where marked. I will then braise in some new fuel overflow lines and see how tall I can raise this section without really screwing up the looks. I’m estimating around 3”
After all is complete I will use all the proper primers and fill to smooth out edges and then send to Garauld for painting.
Feel free to suggest any changes or areas I need to consider when finishing this tank. I will not be able to work further until Tuesday/Wednesday afternoons. I’m working out of town for a bit.
By gosh If mam yama wanted us to have a bigger fuel tank they'd have built it...
