Hey Jonk,
Here's an update:
After I got the tank and installed it I realized the badge holes were not placed in the right position. The front hole was about a half inch too low making the badges not look good when screwed in. I notified the seller and he offered to send me a new tank. Unfortunately, according to Ebay policy, I would have to pay for shipping which would have cost 0ver $200.00 (I started a thread a couple of months ago about this). I told the seller that wouldn't work for me. So he asked what I wanted to do. I asked for a credit of $100.00 and I would live with the improper holes and he agreed. He credited me immediately. We were both happy. I used the badge hole screws in the back and used silicone for the front. Total repair time 30 min. No problem. I have siliconed badges before and you can't tell the difference.
Story does not end however.
Within two weeks of installing the tank I get a pinhole leak at the front top left at a weld. I notify the seller again. He offers the same deal, new tank but I pay for shipping. At this point, I'm tired of dealing with emails back and forth and waiting for a reply days later for each correspondance. I tell him I'll fix the tank myself and he promises me a 25% discount on a future purchase. I think that is reasonable. I take the tank off, shove the exhaust hose of the vaccuum cleaner into the fill hole, open up the petcocks and dry the tank. Then I reverse the vaccuum hose to the suction side and solder the pinhole. Tank uninstall, repair and reinstall took a total of time of 1.5 hours. This was about 3 months ago. I have not had a leak or problem with the tank ever since. I ride my bike everyday and am currently still riding (until the snow starts coming down). I think the pinhole could have been caused by vibration because I originally did not install the tank properly and it may have been touching the frame instead of floating. Or it was a manufacture defect. Hard to tell. Regardless, pinholes are easy to fix with new metal. Not so simple with 40 year old tanks.
Anyway, to sum up. I am very pleased with this tank. I got it for very cheap with the $100.00 credit. Can't remeber the cost right now but I do know it totalled about half the price of a rusted out 40 year old tank from Ebay. I think the badge hole error was just bad luck that was easily rectified with a bit of silicone. The pinhole could have been my fault or manufacturer defect. All said, dealing with internet sellers offshore is tough due to the shipping aspect if you have any problems. This guy turned out to be okay because we could deal with whatever problem we had. It was a happy ending that easily could have been disastrous with a negative attitude on both ends however in this case everything worked out. Hope this helps.
