Triumphrat

Orpheus · 11-16-2008, 05:18 AM

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm happy to show the fruits of my quest for a bigger, better gas tank. I started out with the stock tank, found it didn't hold enough for my purposes, and moved up to the Norman Hyde SS tank. That also had a number of problems which I won't go through again here. But... I finally have what I've been looking for.

This is a one-off tank custom made by Evan Wilcox in Ukiah, California. It's made of aluminum, has a centrally-mounted sealed cap, a breather tube running to the charcoal cannister, and it holds 7.5 gallons of fuel. Given the weight of my bike with full touring gear, I get about 35 mpg, which puts my range above 250 miles.

Evan calls it the Triumph GS Clubman tank, based off of an old BSA Gold Star tank design.

propforward · 11-16-2008, 07:50 AM

I think that is really cool! It looks excellent, and very well made. Totally changes the bike!

Good one! That's a serious touring machine!

rotaryracer · 11-16-2008, 09:12 AM

Beautiful...any more side pics of the bike with tank mounted?

You've built the ADV Bonnie I've always dreamed about...nicely done!

Orpheus · 11-16-2008, 11:37 AM

Thanks! I'll try to take some more pics on the way home. I'm still on the road.

rodburner · 11-16-2008, 12:03 PM

Orpheus,that tank is ummm BIG! A couple days ago,I was thinking about widening my stock tank,just for the hellovit.But now,I think I`m gonna build a small,prism style,drag tank,just so the Earths orbit isn`t thrown into a wobble.

sweatmachine · 11-16-2008, 03:21 PM

that's a big stonking tank!

I dig it. I don't even want to THINK what it cost...but maybe I'm a little curious.

I'd like something like that, or one of the aux. tour tanks mounted on a luggage rack, for longer rides. Or maybe just a jerry can.

Any progress on your longer-travel front end?

Your bike is coming along very nicely.

(who's the lovely lady in the background?)

BornAgain · 11-16-2008, 11:22 PM

That's a ride all day tank. You could cross a couple of states without having to stop to fillup. Does he make something in the five to six gallon range? Bike looks great Orpheus.

Orpheus · 11-17-2008, 12:18 AM

The cost of the tank was $2000. I haven't done anything with suspension recently, but that will probably be addressed in the spring. The lady in the background is my girlfriend. She followed me up to Ukiah in her Rav4 and we went camping in Yosemite for the week while Evan had my bike.

BornAgain, Evan based this tank design on an old BSA Gold Star design, which was about 5.5-6 gallons. He grew the overall dimensions 10% all around for this project. I think he'd be quite comfortable making 5-6 gallon versions.

Other notes: the tank overlaps the front of the seat by a few inches and does not connect to the frame in the usual place. Instead, Evan made a custom brace near the front of the frame with rubber bushings to prevent contact between the tank and the frame. There's also padding along the spine of the bike and in a few other places. It's a dual petcock setup, using the petcocks from my Norman Hyde tank, one being the reserve. The cap (I'll provide pics when it's light out) is totally sealed. No fuel gets through, even with the tank inverted. It's centrally located and flush-mounted, with the breather right to the top of the tank. It allows me to fill up with the bike on the center stand, all the way to the top with no fear of sputtering or leaking after I ride off.

Today I went 197 and 177 miles between fill-ups with plenty of fuel left in the tank. Good times.

edit: Evan's website is http://www.wilcoxmetal.com/

He's a tremendously nice, friendly guy. Very knowledgeable, and he's been making tanks professionally since 1990. If you want him to make a custom tank, you'll probably have to bring your bike (or at least the frame) to him. He said he wouldn't have been able to build my tank without the bike, since there were so many special considerations. That said, he has about a dozen frames hanging outside his shop, which he uses for reference on common bikes he does work for.

BornAgain · 11-17-2008, 08:36 AM

I took a look at his site last night. I think you got a good bargain for all he had to do to get it to fit that good. I've started setting up my T100 for touring just got Hepco Becker bags mounted and now I'm wanting more compy seating arrangments for two up. No king and queen seats sorry but they are just plan ugly on a Bonne. Didn't like them in the 60's and 70's don't like them now. I was thinking about scuplting a piece of mini cell foam to replace the stock padding. Also got a Dunstall cafe fairing on my Santa list for Christmas. Keep us posted on how the tank works out maybe when I get the kids out of collage I can pay Mr Wilcox a vist.

Orpheus · 11-17-2008, 04:57 PM

BornAgain, there's a British company that makes some nice stepped seats for the Bonnie, but I'm pulling my hair out trying to remember who they are! Anyway, they were sort of similar to the /6-era BMW stepped-seats:

http://www.kliktronic.co.uk/BMW-R75.jpg

But without the little "flare" up at the back end.