Replacement sub frame fuel tank is in the works!!!!

Congrats Dale! Good work. I know you've put a lot of time into this project, and everything'll work out great. :cheers:

04-14-10:

Here's the three piece mold ready for finishing. Won't have the Ptype this weekend, but, we are on track for next Friday for the first test fit, and locating the hard points, and screw holes.

Awesome work Dale & Co!
I just ordered mine, can't wait- :-D

and thanks for sharing in such detail the casting process - very interesting.
Gabriele

04-20-10:

Here are some pics of the mold in finishing in progress. The first two pics below are of clean up grinding on two of the three parts of the mold:





The third picture here is of the mold tack welded together to get things lined up, parting lines etc...



This last picture is of the assembled mold with the rotary fixture attached. Hopefully we will have a ptype mold for test fit of hard points and screw holes ready on Friday.

:mrgreen: I can't believe it! How cool is that?!!! Dale, you must be going crazy with anticipation by now, I hope the prototype works well the first time. But, if it doesn't, I'm sure we're all willing to wait for it to be "right"
THANK YOU!!!

04-24-10:

All right! Was out at the molders yesterday to test fit the first prototype of our Sub Frame gas tank. I arrived at 1045hrs, and the tanks had arrived just before me after being overnight shipped from the rotary molding company back to the company that actually produces the mold.

This first picture is of the two prototypes that were produced for our test fitting:



After taking the rear clip off of my bike and holding one of them up to my bike, it seemed like the fit was pretty darn close. And FYI, we are not planning on producing these tanks in this color, we are planning on producing them in a shade of gray very similar to the stock sub frame color, but, should still be translucent enough to see fuel level. This will give all of you 2010 and newer FE owners a good way to check how much fuel you have left since the two tanks will be even in fuel level since they are connected at the bottom via our adapter plate.

The next four pictures are different views of the Prototype:









The next two images are of the sub frame tank in place on my bike for test fitting. What we found was that ptype was too high in the area at the back of the sub frame truss, and Tom and I set to work gradually working away the excess xlpe to get the same exacting fit that is found on the stock sub frame. This is a very time consuming practice with the use of ditto paper placed under the sub frame truss to show the high spots.

One thing this whole experience has really imparted to me is how much work had to go into the original design of this bike. To get this sub frame correct, involves a lot of work to say the least. One of the main reasons it has been so time consuming for our project is that the xlpe shrinks as it cools in the mold. While this shrink rate is constant over a given area of material, one needs to keep in mind that this is a three dimensional piece with varying angles and surface area's. So when making this sub frame tank, one might think just making a copy would be easy but I can tell you it is not. And all the hard work put in by the molding company's model makers and their years of experience really has paid off with the production of the first ptype's. Even though we are having to remove some material from one area, and will have to add a slight bit of material to a couple of other small area's, the initial fit is pretty darn good. All of the hard mounting points are very close. It's just a matter of getting the right spacing from the main tank, and the frame, marking and drilling the holes for precise placement of the inserts in the mold, and of course modifying the mold to reflect the changes that we have made to the first ptype. And that's why we have two ptype's, one to make changes to, and one to keep for a reference so that mold can be modified to reflect the changes we have made accurately.





The two pictures above were taken before we placed the spacers between the tank and the subframe to replicate the same clearance that I have on my bike. But you can see that the fit is pretty good.

I'll be returning to the shop tomorrow and finish off the modifications to the ptype with Tom, and get my bike back! I'll have a better estimate after tomorrow, but, I'm GUESSING at this point it will be about two weeks before we see a ptype with all the inserts and holes in it ready to bolt up to my bike. "IF" that next ptype fits correctly we will produce a few beta units for our testers to use and check for flaws. We really want to be sure that we don't put out a product that has any problems. If those beta units don't have any flaws then we will start production of the tanks, and those who prepaid will get the first ones.

So, we're getting pretty close!!!!

Thanks for the update!!

The unit looks very good indeed. Well done.

So super slick!

DaleEO said:

This will give all of you 2010 and newer FE owners a good way to check how much fuel you have left since the two tanks will be even in fuel level since they are connected at the bottom via our adapter plate.

Click to expand...

Without going back and searching through previous posts (sorry if you already mentioned this - maybe have a FAQ? If you do have a FAQ then maybe a link to it in your sig?) - will there be a way, besides disconnecting the line, to disconnect the subframe tank from the fuel system? I.E., a petcock?

The reason I ask is because it occurs to me that this may be useful in the case where a tank is punctured and you want to cut it out of the loop, or you want to use it as a reserve, or for whatever reason.

Thanks.

Okay, one more question - what was decided about the filler?

I remember some talk about where it was going to be and what size/shape it was, but then it sounded like that was up in the air.

If the subframe has a filler, what does it look like and where is it? One of the reasons I ask is because if there is a filler on the subframe tank I would want to use a pre-filter like that which you are selling for the main tank. If the subframe tank is filled by adding fuel to the main tank and letting it flow into the sub-tank (probably not a good idea as the line would not flow as fast I think making filling a time consuming process?) then the pre-filter is not needed, otherwise I would want one (filter).

Thanks for your work on this and for being persistent and paying attention to detail and quality - it makes a difference to us and lets those that have no clue know how much is involved and what they are paying for. Most people have no clue, and don't know about the amount of work that goes into R&D for products.

Maybe we can get some rider review when the tank is tested during race conditions.
As also with the new Aqualine Husaberg fuel tank.
The weight of the fuel will be in different areas with these 2 different tanks so about 7 pounds
will be added to the rear with the 70 degree tank and I believe 14 up front with the Aqualine.
This is by going with the average weight of gas being with usually no more that 6.5 pound per gallon.
I have heard of the rear feeling heavy already when picking it up . Don't know for sure cause I don't have
a new model Husaberg. But if so, then pick it up again with 7 more pounds. Think about that one :roll: .
And the added 2 gallons with the Aqualine up front on top of the existing tank. Will that area of extra weight
positively influence the Husaberg more so that the rear weighted.
Surely there must be some advantage with one the other.
I do like the idea of keeping the good looks of the bike and lack of obstruction from a large tank mounted up front.
But I would like to hear some thoughts on this.

Pollo

Personally I generally prefer weight to be low and closer to the footpegs - so the subframe tank has that advantage over both Aqualine tanks.

That said, I think I will be getting all three tanks. None of them is very heavy empty and pushing a bike that has no gas makes it seem very heavy. The two Aqualine tanks would not be very hard to take off (I think) for local or short rides where fuel is not that big of a concern, and I could put them on for a ride where I think I will need the fuel.

As for weight in different places. Right now I only have a tank bag to carry tools, water, camera and such. That tank bag weighs at least five to ten pounds and it sits up high on the tank. I haven't noticed too much difference in handling but then I suck at riding so maybe someone with more skill and experience *would* notice the difference.

04-27-10:

Okay, got the ptype all mounted up to my bike, as well as mounting the battery box, and mud flap. The only thing that is not in the ptype are the inserts for the muffler hangers, and the hard mounting points to the frame. Again, the color of the tank will be gray in color, hopefully the exact same color as the stock sub frame.

There were modifications that we had to make to the ptype as far as fitment and shape goes, so the mold will have to be modified to reflect those changes. I know that the mold was en route back to the molders from the rotary molding company on Friday. I don't have a time estimate as to when the mold work will be done. And as I said before, I will have to go back again and do a final fit test. If that all works out then we will make a few test units and make sure everything works as intended.

So here's a few photo's of the ptype mounted up to my bike with the battery box installed. I believe we are about 95-98% finished.

"MASTER .... MASTER! .... COME QUICK!"

"I THINK .... I THINK .... IT MIGHT JUST LIVE!!"

:^)

Looks GREAT Dale! I might be missing the obvious here... But, where's the filler neck?

The filler neck will be added with the rest of the insert tooling in the mold. I didn't have a cap handy to put on there for show. It will be in the same location as depicted in the earlier posts.

It will fill from the OEM fill also, just slowly correct? I assume if you didn't run it completely dry, the remaining fuel would be at the bottom of the subframe. As you filled the main tank, the fuel should migrate to the subframe in a reasonable amount of time, due to gravity etc...

pollo said:

Maybe we can get some rider review when the tank is tested during race conditions.
As also with the new Aqualine Husaberg fuel tank.

I do like the idea of keeping the good looks of the bike and lack of obstruction from a large tank mounted up front.
But I would like to hear some thoughts on this.

Pollo

Click to expand...

@ Pollo you can see/find info on this here ,

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=10312&start=60 ( scroll down)

and an image of the tank fully mounted here


Combine this with Dale's subframe and you have the perfect rally bike!
For enduro trail use I would use Dale's tank.

Serpexc said:

It will fill from the OEM fill also, just slowly correct? I assume if you didn't run it completely dry, the remaining fuel would be at the bottom of the subframe. As you filled the main tank, the fuel should migrate to the subframe in a reasonable amount of time, due to gravity etc...

Click to expand...

Correct, the subframe tank will gravity fill, and it should do so relatively quickly, as we are using 1/4" line. The main tank fuel cap is higher than the sub tanks fill will be, so the sub tank should fill all the way when the main tank is full.

Once I get the working ptype I am going to fill the main tank and sub tank together to check total capacity from bone dry. I will also give a fill time from bone dry with gravity feed only.

The sub tank fuel fill is for the guy who is in a bit more of a hurry, and he can top up the sub tank first, replace the cap, and then fill the main tank. This will cut down on the total gravity fill only time. Just remember you have to have the sub tank cap on before you top off the main tank!!

Just had a thought ... will there be enough room to install an in-line petcock if you only want to use the main tank?

As in, some trails rides, I *know* will be under 60 miles, and only filling the main tank would be a nice option.

Thanks. E-Ticket