Tag Along Tank - Production Test

[01VFR]

Instead of spending $ to have Joe2lmaker ship my tank to me, I elected to ride up to MLPS and pick the tank up and test it out on the way home. I arrived at Joe's right at 3pm Sunday and he was ready for me. We had a few previous conversations on what parts/supplies we were each going to have. I already had the main line in from a previous aux tank so we thought it was a matter of finding the happy spot for the fuel line and quick connectors, bolt it on and off to the gas station I would go....not so fast.

I have a Corbin seat and Mr. Corbin didn't think about aux fuel lines when making the pan for his seat. We preliminarily determined the best route and mounted the tank to test fit and mark where to cut the fuel lines. Then we tried to put the Corbin on the bike....WTF... it won't go on the bike.

Ok, lets take the tank off and put the seat on first. Then we will go ahead and mount the tank.

Seat is on and tank is sitting in place...now to line up the bolts...

Bolt holes do not line up and tank will not budge...Corbin seat is too big. I need about 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch more room for the tank to work. I would need even more to be able to get the seat off without taking the tank off first. :angry2: Image little kid at Christmas just gets super toy but no batteries to play with it...

Now what??? We started testing all the seats we had there and determined that no seat will work in the lower position with the current production Tag Along Tank. Joe had his original seat and a Russel that we tried in both positions. The Corbin requires you to remove the plastic seat adjustment thingy so it sits basically at a low position all the time (no adjustment available). The stock and Russel seats work fine in the high position but not so in the lower position. This will be a problem for our height challanged individuals. So Joe and I discussed options of modifying the tank but it is too pretty to cut apart. I am thinking my next step is to modify the Corbin seat pan or spend some $ and get a Russel and use at the high seat position.

So we mount the tank in true IBR fashion and off I ride home with a long ride to think about my options...

Corey

 

[dcarver]

Oh noo. I'll test my Bill Mayer saddle in the low position tonight.

 

[Joe2Lmaker]

I felt sick.

The whole thing could have been avoided if only I listened to Brother Brodie:

Will it accommodate the stock seat in both the upper and lower position? Good question. I don't see why it would have any effect on the front seat position, but I always ride in the taller position. I'll need to verify that one for you.

It is sooo freaking close too! It would have been easy to correct if I'd caught it sooner.

I've notified everyone in the group buy and asked them if they ride with the seat in the high position or the low position. So far the consensus seems to be low seat position.

You can use pretty much whatever seat you like in the high position and everything is beautiful, but if you have a Corbin, or ride with your seat in the low position, the current tank is not a direct bolt on.

 

[Joe2Lmaker]

D'you know what has me puzzled?

Where the hell does the rider seat go? What I mean is the pillion seat doesn't have two positions. Right?

When the rider seat is in the lower position, it must go under the pillion seat. Right?

 

[Gramps]

D'you know what has me puzzled?Where the hell does the rider seat go? What I mean is the pillion seat doesn't have two positions. Right?

When the rider seat is in the lower position, it must go under the pillion seat. Right?

Sorry to read about the glitch Joe...guess you won't have your life back for just a little bit longer.

 

[RadioHowie]

Jes don't sell 'em to "Little People". :rofl:

[SIZE=8pt][/SIZE]

Joe, Joseph, JoJo, even Joey, but please for the love of all things holy... Don't call me Joel

ps: Can we call you "Tool"?

 

[Joe2Lmaker]

Sorry to read about the glitch Joe...guess you won't have your life back for just a little bit longer.

We should have made that video we were talking about yesterday.

The one showing the one minute install and then grabbing the auxiliary tank and shaking the shit out of the bike on the center stand!

That was a great moment... and then the low seat position surprise came right after that. <_<

 

[01VFR]

Oh noo. I'll test my Bill Mayer saddle in the low position tonight.

Any word yet???? I think I am going to pull the trigger on a new seat...The higher position will be fine for me. The question now is which one. I think I can sell my and either kick in $200 for a Sargent or $400 for a Mayer or Russell.

Looks like the Linda's custom bag is back on hold!

 

[road runner]

Joe

Sorry to hear about the glitch. The tank looks great, and I know you put a lot of time and money into this, and are offering it to other as a way to give to the community. I'm sure you'll figure out a fix.

Keep up the good work.

Art

 

[doug5551]

Corey,

I am sorry to see you ran into this little snag, but sounds like you have a good solution on the way.

It is great you are getting these problems resolved well before August.

 

[dcarver]

I feel extremely guilty for not testing the proto tank in the low position. It never occurred to me, my bad. The Bill Mayer seat also did not fit in the low position. It's been so long since I put the seat in 'low' I almost forgot how. Joe, my sincerest, heartfelt apologies. I feel sick too.

 

[dcarver]

Double post.

 

[Joe2Lmaker]

I feel extremely guilty for not testing the proto tank in the low position. It never occurred to me, my bad. The Bill Mayer seat also did not fit in the low position. It's been so long since I put the seat in 'low' I almost forgot how. Joe, my sincerest, heartfelt apologies. I feel sick too.

It's not your fault.

Here's how my train of thought went:

After Brodie posted in the cell design thread asking if the tank worked with the seat in the lower position, I assumed he rode with the seat in the lower postilion (assumption #1)

I also assumed the seat height would make no difference, technically that would be assumption #1, but who's counting?

Then, I read Brodie was going to be at the Hondarosa. "Cool", I think to myself. "Brodie will get to check out the seat and tank with the seat in the lower position (assumption #2)

Then, I see the photos of Brodie. "Damn!" I say to myself "He's a big boy" and I wonder to myself why someone my size would be riding around with the seat in the low position (assumption #3)

At that point, no amount of evidence or reason could dislodge those assumptions from my brain. This photo clearly shows a tall, smiling Brodie with his seat in the high position:

Joe2LMaker has been designing and building an aux tank for the FJR.The dude has some seriously long legs.

I should have checked it myself.

I still don't have a solution when the rider seat is in the low position. I was looking at it last night and the rider seat actually tucks under the pillion seat when the rider seat is in the low position. Even if the tank could be mounted with the seat in the low position, the seat would not be removable unless the tank tank came off first.

This is another reason to finish the tank that would work for the GenI owners.

 

[01VFR]

Enough about the lower seat position...I found the box I put the stock seat in and got it on this morning and rode to work with the tank mounted...no problems. I did realize that the V-stream is an inch or 2 too short now that I am in the high position....damn it, now I have to add a Rifle windshield to the want list. I plan to do the final plumbing at lunch today and hopefully add fuel this evening. Tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day here...maybe I can sneak out for a ride. Pictures of plumbing will come after lunch.

Oh yeah, I called Russel and they are currently at a mid June build date with expected delivery eary July. I better make up my mind soon.

Corey

 

[01VFR]

Sorry for the delay in posting...

So, Wed at noon I spent an hour or so and thought about the fuel line layout one last time and cut and plumbed the quick connects. I used Parker quick connectors that I believe are typically for hydraulic hose. I've used them for the last 5 years and 25k miles without problems. Here is the layout of the main line to the tank with the QC right behind the seat lock.

Here is the side views of the tank just before filling for the first time. Take note of this picture, we will come back to a similar shot.

Don't laugh at my large vent line... that is all I could source in my lunch hour for 5/16"...I've even added a ground wire. I also added two small pieces of 1/16" thick rubber that I placed under the front feet on the tank to make it fit snug. I have plenty that I will share if you need a couple inches fellow purchasers.

All looks good. Time to put fuel in the tank and go for a ride. I have been running on basically fumes in the main tank to be able to quickly test the flow. I stop the pump after putting in 1 gallon just to double check all my fittings, etc. What the hell?? See the fuel ring in the photo below...

I quickly flip the valve to drain as much as possible into my main tank as I ride back to work and disassemble the tank. After draining the tank, I call Joe to let him know of my issue and to warn the others of this potential. It turned out be a spot weld on the inside of the tank that must have been a little too hot and caused a pin head sized hole. The solution is to clean the tank as best as possible and have the dimple filled with a weld bead. It looks like I have secured a welder at my work...it's just not going to be done until Monday...

Patience, patience, patience....

Corey

 

[Joe2Lmaker]

After Cory sent me photos, I contacted the fab shop and returned the other tanks for inspection and testing.

They are going to test the tanks for leaks and Monday I will pick them up and repackage them for shipping.

 

[Good2Go]

Will teflon tape or loctite (what number loctite??) suffice to seal the threads on the fittings? Are either of these ok to use with gasoline?

 

[Joe2Lmaker]

I sealed mine up with Yellow Gas Line PTFE Thread Seal Tape

You can also use thread lubricant and sealant paste

I'm sure there is other stuff that would work as well, but this stuff is readily available at hardware stores, is cheap and seems to do the job just fine.

 

[01VFR]

Before:

After:

After filling with gas on sidestand:

My main tank was down to 1 bar and just started to use the "F" odometer and count upwards. I filled up the Tag Along Tank and flipped the valve on my way out of the gas station. In 3 minutes I was back to 2 bars and in 12 minutes I was at 3 bars.

:yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

What else can I say???...At noon I checked the tank and in 3.5 hrs on side stand it now reads 5 bars. I rode for about 70 miles over lunch and was down to 4 bars. It looks like about 1-2 inches of fuel left in TAT. I will see where it is at 3 bars/2 bars/etc but my initial test is that gravity feed will work fine and I am very happy! Thanks Joe! I guess the 3rd time's the charm!

My next multi day trip is planned for May 15/16 and will continue to post/monitor the tank's functionality after that test run.

Corey