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Message started by DNLMusik on 04/16/12 at 11:32:28

Title: Custom tank
Post by DNLMusik on 04/16/12 at 11:32:28

I'm putting together a list of things I'm going to buy for my project with the savage.

Those of you who have swapped to a "drop shaped" custom tank, how deep is your tunnel? I've got an option of deep tunnel or not so deep tunnel. Will get more specific info on it before I place my big order though.

And also, what have you done with the electrics under the tank?

Title: Re: Custom tank
Post by DNLMusik on 04/18/12 at 01:00:32

No one?

Title: Re: Custom tank
Post by Finney138 on 04/18/12 at 05:51:37

The only part of the tunnel that is going to hit is in the front the it will rest on two rails in the back, it's not just going to tunnel up to your frame. Ya gotta do some mcgyverin'

Title: Re: Custom tank
Post by DNLMusik on 04/19/12 at 02:13:35

0B24232328347C7E754D0 wrote:

The only part of the tunnel that is going to hit is in the front the it will rest on two rails in the back, it's not just going to tunnel up to your frame. Ya gotta do some mcgyverin'

Well I wasn't expecting it to be a direct fit, all I wanted to know is if anyone who's put a custom tank on a savage would know if you need a deep tunnel or not and what to do with the electrics under the tank.

McGyverin' isn't a problem for me 8-)

Title: Re: Custom tank
Post by LANCER on 04/19/12 at 05:43:21

about all you can really do is take the measurements of the stock tanks tunnel and then compare that to the tanks you like and their tunnel shape. That will give you some idea of how they will sit on the frame backbone.
In years gone by there have been a couple of guys who used an older model Suzuki tank that had a similar shape to ours but was larger (almost 4 gal. I believe) and did not have a hole where the speedo is on ours. I remember seeing a photo of it mounted and it looked good.
I do not remember who or when but it was at least a few years back.
You could try searching for it in past posts and see what come up.

Title: Re: Custom tank
Post by EJID on 04/19/12 at 08:11:23

I think it was a Kawi Vulcan 750 tank that fit (and had a gas gauge) but I don't remember who has done it. I seem to recall 2 people who have done it though.

Title: Re: Custom tank
Post by aintright on 04/19/12 at 19:16:44

the way i was going to make a custom tank with out having to mess with the mounting points and tunnel was to cut off the bottom of a stock tank and use that as a base to build off.

you could always do that, then cut off the top of some other tank you like and weld the two together, then reseal the inside.

depending on the tank you chose it might not be much more work to cut a hole and make a mount for the stock speedo and wires, or just cut it out of the old tank and put it into the new one.

Title: Re: Custom tank
Post by teabowl13 on 04/19/12 at 19:16:58

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "deep" or "shallow" tunnel; how deep is deep?

But these guys are right, there's more to it than just that; there are the tank bumpers on the inside that hold the tank in place; those need to line up correctly, and they are different on all tanks. I'm not sure you'd really be able to know exactly what wil or won't work until you hold it up there on the frame.

For my roadster project, I found an old 1969 Suzuki tank to retro-fit. At first glance, it looked like it was going to slide on pretty easy, but in the end, my buddy Jay had to cut part of the backbone out of the frame and re-weld it to make room, and then he also had to cut off and re-position the tank bumpers underneath. Quite a pain-in-the-butt. That tank does leave room for the electronics though, including the de-comp solenoid, and that made me happy. If you're getting an older metal tank, you can also hammer in the sides to widen the tunnel if you need to, but even with the decomp stuff in there, there isn't a whole lot of stuff running up the middle of a Savage; it's pretty narrow...

What kind of tank are yo thinking about ordering?
Do you have pictures or specs you can post?

Title: Re: Custom tank
Post by Jack_650 on 04/19/12 at 22:06:35

I've got a 5 gallon Harley Nighttrain tank on mine. Had to cut the two pegs that hold the front of our stock tank completely off, move the starting assist solenoid and horn, drill through the triangle plates at the front of the frame for a bolt to pass through it and the two mounting pegs on the tank, relocate some wiring AND the back of the tank sits up higher on where the frame splits at the front of the seat. I'm sure there's some other stuff I did as well but it's been three or four years ago now and I'm too old to remember. It does get you to raise the front of the seat some which is good for comfort, but it also means you sit higher which raises your total center of gravity.

You can see the results here.

http://www.bikepics.com/members/jazzcarter/00savage/

Jack

Title: Re: Custom tank
Post by DNLMusik on 04/19/12 at 23:49:03

http://www.bikeparts.se/images/articles/U6-00-2731.jpg

This is the tank I'm going for. Still waiting for measurements from the seller. Thanks for the input everyone. Don't get me wrog, I very well understand that I will have some modifying to do. But since the whole bike is gonna be in pieces I guess I'll make the tank fit while I'm building. I'm looking for that clean old school look and I think this tank will sit just fine once adjusted and mounted!

How deep is deep? Good question, that's what I asked the seller. The description actually says "available with deep tunnel and with a not so deep tunnel" :-?

All I was wondering was if anyone else had done a similar build, but it doesn't seem that way. Feels good to be one of few with a real old school savage when done! 8-) I'd like it to be a just barely recognizable savage for the untrained eye!

I'll rip out all the electrics on the bike and do my own wiring with everything unneccesary excluded, hopefully I'll be able to hide some under the new tank.

Title: Re: Custom tank
Post by teabowl13 on 04/20/12 at 14:56:35

That looks like a Voodoo Vintage tank; if it's not theirs, they have ones a LOT like that, and they are very familiar with the Savage, and could probably tell you what would work best on a stock frame.

Similar to what this guy's has; but that's a Voodoo Vintage frame, definitely NOT stock!

http://suzukisavage.com/yabb2.2/Attachments/IMAG0141.jpg