Tank shelter substitutions

[sphen]

In planning a conversion of an 86 Aspy to naked, I was intending to fiberglass a custom tank shelter, but before i go down that path I thought I'd ask -

Can I interchange an older 'naked' tank shelter (from a 1000 or 1100) onto this frame without major mods?

OR, modify the Aspencade shelter via fiberglass to have a more classic look? (it slopes way down and has huge openings where the front bodywork connects...)

OR, has anyone tried a vintage style gas tank (from a bike, or the eBay reproductions) and modified it to fit (i.e. hollowed it out underneath to cover the air and fuse box and water bottle)? There are some nice looking tanks out there, but the dimensions are likely a crap-shoot.

As an aside, has anyone ever tried a shorter tank (front to back) and extended the seat over the filler cap to make the reach to street bars a little closer?

[ericheath]

The 1100 has been done quite often. The 1000 on some. Others have hollowed out Magna tanks and others as a different style shelter. Some have used Valkyrie tanks and others Meanstreak tanks which allow usable as fuel.

None are bolt-on and require minor modifications to work.

Moving seat position also changes how you are moved around on the bike—-how you’re tossed going over bumps. I moved mine rearward a little and find that a sudden harsh bump throws me forward. Most don’t want to go forward as it brings your shins closer to the cylinder jugs. (Hot)

You can change reaching for the bars with different handlebars or setbacks. Two negatives I find (opinion)to longer bars are cornering is different, you can’t push the turn as easily, and the second is moving the bike around when off the bike. Leverage is different as soon as you start turning the wheel, the farther bar becomes hard to reach.

[sphen]

good info thanks.

when you say "longer bars" i assume you mean straighter => longer reach..?

are there any good threads on here you can point me to with fuel tank conversions (for ideas)?

[ericheath]

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=40973&hilit=Down+under+build



Valkyrie tank, Meanstreak tank, are the two I remember as being wide enough to go over the current frame. Others have gotten rid of the side supports and made a solid support in the muddle to utilize a variety of tanks. Check your locations laws on altering the frame first.

I can’t recall which one HOTT used on his last build but he reshaped the tank on the underside as I recall. I think his build was called Lucky 13.

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=63616&hilit=Lucky+13

The last Valkyrie tank was in Florida. I forget his name — John??

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=66859&p=742696&hilit=Valkyrie+tank#p742696

Then I copied Chartoo’s build , Downunder build.

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=40973

[sphen]

Awesome thanks!