Molding the Husaberg fuel tank

i have recently been moulding the fuel tank and it's turned out to be a good deal of fun! not the scary thing i thought at all.

i wanted a narrower tank at the front and a quick check of the layout shows that the tank arcs out at the front on both sides.

i bought a spare tank off of e-bay and then set about deciding how much i wanted the sides to come in. i then laid the tank on a thin surface with a thin edge and used huge G-clamps and other wood working parephenaliar.

i borrowed a heat gun (just the glowing type-bit like a hairdryer) and went to work pressing the sides in. the tank has flat faces underneath so it was easy to stabilise it.

the bigger the area you want to move in, the wider the area you need to heat up. conversely, if you need an area to miss a not or a bolt on the frame etc you need to heat it locally and then press in.

it takes 10 minutes to cool down and i would leave the pressure on for an hour if i could.

the biggest problem i've had is that the back end of the tank has flared out. it still fits but it has moved away from the frame and so the seat didn't sit fully. i have now corrected this but this time i heated it on the bike and used clamps into the airbox.

the plastic gets a shine to it and a slight smell comes off it so you know when the moment is coming. you can see the plastic gently moving as well. everything happens so slowly that you get plenty of time to think about what you're doing and what is happening etc.

as a precaution, beforehand, i pulled the taps and cap off and ran the car with the tank hard against the exhaust exit. 15 minutes of this inert gas going through the tank sees it perfectly safe to work with.

due to lowering the rear sub frame i neede to change the angle of the inner rear mudguard as well. a doddle!

the sidepanels are next for a bit of the taff treatment and what with fixing decals/backgrounds/race numbers etc i reckon a heat gun is a handy tool!

the capacity of the tank is down from 9 to 8 litres BTW. so 2-hour sessions are going to be touch-and-go from now on!

regards

Taffy

hi taffy

i would be concerned with changing the structure of the plastic and making it brittle and there fore more susceptible to cracking in offs just a thought

cheers doug

well. only one way to find out!

:twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

Taffy

the tank is fine, well worth doing! i actually found that you only need to come in a fraction before the main problem is the radiator. so TBH, you only want to bring in 1/2" each side.

would love a narrower radiator that did the job but the one i tried in the summer wrecked my engine!!!!

if i was to be the worrying kind i'd say that the tall seat needs shoving up further that's all.

total cost-free!

regards

Taffy

You can get away with a lot of heat to mold your tank and not have problems. It's a cross linked polymer that will take the heat of a torch if you wish. Just don't let it get molten or flame up is the key. Once it cools down, there are no ill effects unless you blow a hole through it with the torch.

RE: Re: moulding the fuel tank

scott

hope you read this. i will try and take some photos sometime of the tank. don't forget it's free and there are plenty of tanks around to try it on. i may even do more to it in the future.

regards

Taffy

RE: Re: moulding the fuel tank

Thanks Taffy! I might have to try this mod over the winter.

How old topic
Has anyone tried to do this?
How it looks - does anyone have any pictures....Taffy?