Tag-Along Aux Fuel Tank (joe2lmaker)

[dcarver]

Hopefully, some other FJR peep, at a later time, will enjoy/appreciate these moments I had today, for today was 'drill the tank' day. And I'm nervous. I *really* don't want to phook this up.

Disclaimer - I ain't no machinist (although I would love to apprentice for a summer, just to learn) and I have only basic tools, and basic knowledge, but lots of FJR folks on this forum who I could (and DID) call, I decided to forge forward.

Worst case scenario? I put this tank in the rafters for use to run CrZy8 when doing maintenance. I've have several such tanks for various bike breeds, and it works well.

Best case scenario? All turns out well and I'm off and running like a true CBA prezident, and only having to gas up once every 3 weeks or so..

After removing the tank, I marked the retaining ring - even though Yamaha provided marks too - see the dimple?

Try and try again, I could NOT get the fuel pump out of the tank. Joe2lMaker, being a machinist, said he can. I tried for over 20 minutes. Called KaitsDad, since he had posted up a wonderful how-to, asked him. What a great guy. But he couldn't recall how the sending unit 'popped' off the main fuel pump. We talked for about 5 minutes, and gave me the needed clue. Here's the problem - the plastic tang that limits float travel won't clear. Unless of course, you're Joe2lMaker or Brodie.

Ok, here's the tip. The sending unit attachés to the fuel main with one 'tang'. Pry the tang downward, (see black horizontal mark) gently, with a small flat blade screwdriver, then push the sending assembly downward about 1/8". You will need good close up vision (not me) and nimble fingers (again, not me), but you *can do this*.

I then drained the rest of the gas from the tank.

Blew the tank free of gas vapors using a leaf blower. Best use of this POS since it was given to me 15 years ago, just sayin'.. I let this pup run for about 20 minutes, didn't want to wait 24 hours like most peeps. Called my bud Guppie, who said it wouldn't be a problem.. See his solution soon..

I also used compressor air to remove all gas liquid from the cap area.

After this, I couldn't smell any gas vapors at all. Then again, I can't smell ****, literally.

So then, per Guppies, advice, ran some good fashioned carbon-monoxide through the tank. No oxygen = no blast, and I had alot fun rigging this contraption up.. Let it run for about 10 minutes..

Getting close to drilling time, and I'm avoiding it..

Measured the bulkhead OD at 18 mm. Found the equivalent 'step' on the UniBit and marked the next higher step.. do NOT cross the mark, dcarver!

Practiced first - the entry point looks clean.

Not so much the exit -

There's a 'rubber' o-ring that has to seal and this is not going well...

Thinking that the tank steel will be thinner, and 'harder material' I forge on .

Call Hal again, get some good advice.. Jeesh, the moment of truth looms.

Better be sure my location is OK. Make a block of wood scraps the same height as the fitting and test the tank. All is good.

Placed towel in tank to catch shavings.

Block off the main tank fuel pump hole with tape for a "Foreign Material Exclusion Zone"..

After drilling, used old paint brush to remove metal shavings from around fuel pump hole. Removed tape then rag from tank inside. Used magnetic probe to pick up remaining metal shavings. Also used balled-up masking tape and tamped around tank inside to pick up pieces.

The inside of the tank had a ledge from the drilling. Unacceptable. Place the UniBit inside tank, posting out wards, then chucked it to my Makita. Ran the Makita back-wards to 'chamfer' the inside hole area. Be careful doing this - don't go crazy, just enough to remove the burr material.

Getting closer! Like others, used a 90 degree ratchet to secure the bulkhead fitting.

Bulkhead installed!

Time to start assembling stuff.

When stuffing the fuel pp back in, first connect the sender unit. It will go in much easier than coming out. It's damn hard to align then pop the tab into place once halfway stuffed into the tank.

Hey hay - the bike runs, and the fuel gage is working too!

I had to ****-can the one way valve. It was waay to restrictive for a gravity feed system.

Also decided to run the Sampson tank QD fittings - they appear to flow much better, with less restriction, than the MacMaster-Carr ones.

Final routing of lines..

Ready for GAS this time!

Aux tank full, main tank real low (just enough to check for leaks and make sure everything worked)

Opened the aux tank valve, no flow. :angry:

Remove the one-way valve - some flow..

Replace the McMaster-Carr QD with Sampson, and hey, hey, look at dat! Fuel be flowin'.. :clapping:

More later, I'm tired.

 

[RadioHowie]

CANDY ***!!!

GET BACK TO WORK!!!

 

[eeksnake]

Great idea using CO2 (hafta remember that next time.)

That "lip"/burr the UniBit left behind I simply trimmed with a utility blade and smoothed out with emery cloth. (Simple minds call for simple solutions.)

Now get busy riding. Really wanna know how the flow rate is gonna be.

 

[dcarver]

Great idea using CO2 (hafta remember that next time.)
That "lip"/burr the UniBit left behind I simply trimmed with a utility blade and smoothed out with emery cloth. (Simple minds call for simple solutions.)

Now get busy riding. Really wanna know how the flow rate is gonna be.

It's a bit slow. I'm guessing it took over an hour to dump the aux tank volume to main tank. I got bored watching it, and let it sit overnight. The main tank was nearly empty, so no worries of overflow. The aux tank this AM still had about 1" of fuel remaining in the bottom. That's with the bike on center stand. Rode to work the aux tank open, and it drained a bit more, but still the aux tank isn't empty. I'll test more thoroughly later. I still need to take measurements of tank too for Linda.

 

[daddyman]

You are going to be listing your part numbers and merchants for your fittings and the sweet looking fuel line, right?



Please.

 

[Hello Kitty]

Excellent post! I sooo know the "I really don't wanna screw THIS up!" feeling! My supervisor is very competent, but even he feels that way. At least on my GS, you can get into the tank thru a flange and so if you screw it up, you can buy a new flange instead of a new TANK! The best was when my buddy Don and I were putting a cell on another guy's GS, neither of us wanted to drill the flange. Bad enough to screw up your own bike, let alone someone else's! You done good!

The cell on my GS never drained completely either. I never really looked inside, but about an inch sounds right.

It really looks nice! I think all of us with the inaugural cells should have Hello Kitty patches added to our covers from Linda

 

[eeksnake]

It really looks nice! I think all of us with the inaugural cells should have Hello Kitty patches added to our covers from Linda

Great idea Kitty! Put me down for this one...

:lol:

Speaking of covers, how many are we talking? It sounds like three for sure (Kitty, dcarver & myself). Hey daddyman and 01VFR, are you guys interested in a custom cover?

 

[daddyman]

Why, yes! A cover is a wonderful idea. In fact, I harassed Hello Kitty about this earlier in the week. (Sorry.)

Just let me know when and I'll get myself together for Linda's skills.

What kind of Hello Kitty patch are we talking about?

 

[daddyman]

Ooh! Ooh!

Kitty

(End hijack.)

 

[dcarver]

Ok then, let's talk this cover for a bit.. Things I'd like to see -

1. I want the fuel cap opening (remember I have no filler neck) covered, sewn around about 1/2 way or so, with velcroe to keep it in place. Or something similar, the idea being I don't want the cap exposed as a dead give-away to gas thieves or idiots with sugar...
2. Some kind of rain 'skirt' that would velcroe to the tank side, then the 'outer' or 'main' cover would go over the top of the 'inner skirt'. Reason = keep rain intrusion under tank minimal. Not in place during summer months.
3. Pockets on the outside, although I haven't thougt what I'd like to carry there. You LD guyz probably will have better input than me.

... any other ideas out there?

 

[eeksnake]

Linda T's "Standard" aux tank cover has the following standard features (from www.customtankbags.com):

• Water Resistant Exterior Zippers
• 3 exterior 3D 'Basic' pockets (horizontally mounted pockets have a flat pocket on the inner lid)
• Vertically mounted pockets with outward facing side have reflective material on the outer side.

She list many, many options and I'm sure she's receptive to options that aren't listed too.

 

[Hello Kitty]

oh Daddy, no worries, darlin'! We gotta get these bad boys on the bikes and stuff all measured up before we start pestering Linda. She's quite busy! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the patch! GREAT find! I will buy them for anyone man enough to have them on their bikes. Linda will get a kick out of it too! I also have a 'in memorium' patch that I will get sewn on mine. I bought a few extras when they came out so I could get one on each new cell cover as time went on.

hijack - I'm in the elevator biz here in DC and my mechanics and coworkers often have Hello Kitty 'stuff' on things and I think they like it. Rarely does someone take the pink sparkly sticker off their computer or job folder or whatever else I put them on. Oh! And then there was the time at the "Bean Run" with those crazy Dead Horse guys out of Jersey! I was sneaking around putting pink sparkly hello kitty stickers on motorcycles. One guy saw me fiddling around behind his GS and screamd "HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I cringed... "YOU BETTER NOT BE CLEANING MUD OFF OF THERE YOUNG LADY!" He loved his sticker! Then there were the ones whose feelings were hurt because I DIDN'T put a sticker on their bike. Oy, men. Anyway, I think it would be fun! My last cover had pink piping which I also thought was fun. I'm not much of a 'pink' girl, but I do it just so people stop asking where my husband is end hijack

I had never thought about a velcro 'cover' for the intake. I used to think about thieves and vandals too, but I've had the cell on my GS a looonnnggg time with never any issue. Honestly, people don't know what it is most of the time. But, I'm certain it could be done. Maybe not so much for the filler neck crowd... I think each cover can be 'custom' still. But Linda will have the base template for the cover itself.

The cover on my GS has large pockets (basically that cover the entire side) on the left, right and front sides (directly behind me) the one behind me can double as a back rest, you just need to be mindful about what you put in there.

As for contents, depends on what I'm doing. During the IBR I had my first aid kit in the right pocket, extra dorags, sunglasses, rags to clean my visor, hand sanitizer and a few little misc odds and ends in the pocket directly behind me and then on the left side I had snackbars, gum, single dose packet of tylenol - things I might want while I was standing at a gas pump.

In 'regular' riding, if I leave the cell on, which I do more often than not anymore, I keep tire repair kit on one side and a few tools, first aid on the other and whatever other crap I have in the 'front' pocket. I like to think of the cover as a place for stuff that I hope I don't need, but want to be able to get very quickly when I do (exception of course food during the IBR - that's just neccessity)

I'm toying with the idea of a pocket on top, or maybe some kind of D-rings so I can secure a small pelican box or something up there. I like having a lot of nooks and crannies. I don't worry too much about leaving stuff on the bike. I think people are afraid that 'the biker' might be in eye shot and come kick their *** if they screw with the bike.

I like the skirt idea and was thinking about it as well. But then my girlfriend with a K1300GT asked if I knew anything about how to pull a cell on her bike. Of course I don't and also of course thought of Ken Meese. I did a little GIS and found a thread that Ken posted about his cell. Someone asked about the water getting under it and he had gotten a piece of vinyl from a fabric store and made a little shield for it. I'd need to see some photos, but he said it worked very well! Definitely worth looking into for the FJRs!

I'm very excited. I'm glad Joe talked me into it!

 

[Hello Kitty]

Oh, daddy, I see you're in Rockville. You can come over here and let us practice on your bike before touching mine. Kay? :lol:

 

[eeksnake]

What d'ya think about this Hello Kitty patch? Linky

I have two (now grown) daughters and plenty of Hello Kitty memorabilia still attached to desks, chairs, etc. (I wouldn't THINK to remove any of it either.)

Whatever the choice, I'm game.

 

[dcarver]

OK, I give.. What's with the Hello Kitty theme? What's the history?

as Paul Harvey would say, (what is) "the rest of the story?"

Intrigued but confused.. (as always)

 

[RadioHowie]

Someone help this old fart outta his confusion, wouldja?

[SIZE=8pt](It's like watching someone tease a cat with a laser pointer)[/SIZE]

 

[01VFR]

It really looks nice! I think all of us with the inaugural cells should have Hello Kitty patches added to our covers from Linda

Great idea Kitty! Put me down for this one...

:lol:

Speaking of covers, how many are we talking? It sounds like three for sure (Kitty, dcarver & myself). Hey daddyman and 01VFR, are you guys interested in a custom cover?

Kitty,

I shot my wad on 2 tanks...(and saving for a GXM-30, some new riding pants, givi SR357 and V46n) so I will have to pass right now on a tank bag. This way I get to hear what you like/dislike before I spend my $.

I do have the purr-fect cover for my filler neck. You'll just have to wait and see.

Dcarver, I have never been away from my bike long enough to even think someone would steal gas or tamper with my bike. Granted I live in Iowa and anytime I am out of the state I am usually on the clock (rally clock, that is).

Corey

 

[dcarver]

It IS Friday, yes? :devil:

 

[Hello Kitty]

Nothing major, really. My nickname is kitty, so hello kitty is a normal evolution of that. So I have the little sanrio character all over the place.

I like the skull n crossbones one. I have a scarf with that on it and I think something else. I think I want that one, but will buy another (non violent) one for anyone else who wants one! If you're man enough! It's just fun and people will think you're even quirkier than they already do. Who in their right mind puts an extra gas tank on a motorcycle?!?!?!?!?!?!

 

[eeksnake]

Alrighty then... Looks like it's four covers from Linda T.

Joe has trusted us1 with the exact dimensions of both the prototype and production tanks. Should we start talking to Linda T now or wait until we have the completed tank in hand?

1[SIZE=8pt]It was more a promise of grave bodily harm and certain death should they be divulged to anyone.[/SIZE]