IMS 8.0Gal Rally Tank

[dietDrThunder]

I am in the process of making a bigger tank as we speak. I'm shooting for 8 gallons but we'll see, the more the merrier! I'll post pics when its done. I made a 7.3 gallon tank for my DL1000 and it has worked out really well over the years. The S10 tank shape and handle bar access is what is the challenge on this build.

KB! Keep us posted. I'm all about a bigger tank, and would pay handsomely to have one done. I can't wait to hear about how your project turned out.

 

[EricV]

I picked this up today from my welder.

I need to fill it and verify no leaks, then it will go off to the LineX shop. The welder might do another, but it will cost a lot more than he charged me. Labor intensive project!

 

[Don in Lodi]

Wound up a little boxy, didn't it. ::26::

 

[Dogdaze]

Wound up a little boxy, didn't it. ::26::

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that ::008:: But for now I think I'll stick to a jerry can strapped precariously to the back. I do know that EricV does a lot of LD riding in remote places, so probably the best option for him.

 

[EricV]

Wound up a little boxy, didn't it. ::26::

Yep! I admit, I'm totally a function over form guy.

I have 10.9 gallons on board now with the fuel cell set up, but the wife rides a GSA with 8 gallons and I need more camp gear space on the back for our homeless stage of life, so I'm pulling the 4.8 gal fuel cell off and moving to this supertank on the new bike. This should be 8-9 gallons. These things are a huge time suck to make and thin sheet metal is not something every welder will take on. Especially something you can only get to one side on. I went with a local guy who was willing to take it on and I'm happy with the results, even if it's not the prettiest piece of work. Tabasco makes them much better looking, but that wasn't in my budget.

I've backed off LD riding, so this is mostly so I can match the range of my wife's bike and have more space for gear. The 4.8gal fuel cell is for sale on the forum in Little Pimping section.

 

[snakebitten]

I think it's simply OUTSTANDING!!!

Stuff like that hits my "tenacity" button, which tickles my fancy.
I love the stuff that comes out of extraordinary effort.

Looking forward to seeing the bike in EricV-road-ready fashion.

 

[EricV]

I just wanted to give perspective on what the IMS tank should not look like.

I've got to call D&H and see what they can find for me. Clock is ticking!

 

[Berg_Donk]

I'd like more range am am interested for sure. Normally filling once a day with 600+ kms range on my DR is something I miss on the S10. Fuel is not always available where I want to be.

 

[doc187]

I would buy one today

 

[helipilotxtz12]

I contacted the owner of IMS last night! They are still looking to see if making a big tank for the S10 makes sense for them. I am working close with the owner to get us an 8 gallon tank for the S10! Let's get This ball rolling again and see if we can make it happen!

 

[bimota]

i would be interested to but live in the UK would love one

 

[brianhen]

I would be in for one as well.....

 

[EricV]

Good luck. IMS has been saying the same thing for as long as the Super Tenere has been out on the market. It will be a nice surprise if they actually bring one to market, but don't hold your breath.

 

[ballisticexchris]

I picked this up today from my welder.

I need to fill it and verify no leaks, then it will go off to the LineX shop. The welder might do another, but it will cost a lot more than he charged me. Labor intensive project!

That's a very nice fab job. I personally would be very nervous of the welds splitting. I have fabricated a bunch of generator fuel cells over the years. It's very common for corner welds to split and leak over time. I see you have been using yours over a year now. Is it still holding up well?

I see no reason whatsoever to make this already heavy beast any heavier with a oversized tank. Very few guys can stay planted in the saddle for over 4 hours with no break and not be tortured. Even when getting my Iron Butt, the aux fuel cell was only needed once when I did a 290 mile stretch. Otherwise I just stopped every 200-250 miles for fuel and short rest.

I am of the opinion that 6.5 gallons and a 200+ mile range is more than enough. On the rare occasion you need more range, simply carry a MSR dromedary bag, fill up as needed, and stop to fuel.

OTOH if you love to torture your body to the limit, do the 10,000 miles in 10 days or the 3000 mile in 2 days. Then you have my blessing.

 

[helipilotxtz12]

You have a very good point. What I would like is a 6.5 gallon Plastic tank to take some of the weight off the bike! Plastic is much lighter then the steel tank?

 

[EricV]

Jaxon at Ride On ADV does a better job on his expanded tanks than mine. His are more oem looking with smoother transitions and angles. But I couldn't afford his pricing, so found a local welder that was willing to take on the job. No issues at all with the tank. No leaks, no changes, zero problems. It's very well done, if not esthetically pleasing to some eyes.

FWIW, generators run under a unique set of parameters, long periods of steady state rpms with the same harmonic vibration level the entire time they run under load. Motorcycles vary rpm much more and the vibrations change rather than humming at the same frequency. I think this is why I've never seen an expanded tank split at a weld, (or a fuel cell), and I know of hundreds in use.

For riders that do endurance rallies and long distance riding on a regular basis, or enjoy traveling in far off the beaten path locations, a larger tank or fuel cell plumbed into the system is very useful. Sometimes it's not about where you can get gas, but when. Lots of tiny towns don't have 24 hour pumps. Oregon still only allows self serve gas pumping in rural counties under 40,000 residents. This is good for Eastern Oregon where most areas qualify. New Jersey apparently still doesn't allow self serve either, though I thought they changed that a few years back.

Endurance riding or Long Distance riding on a regular basis means learning and changing the ergonomics of your bike so it's not torture. My Super Ten is a barkolounger on wheels. Far more comfortable than my truck for long distances. That is a process. You fix the things that bother you until there are no things that bother you as you ride longer periods of time and miles.

As far as your opinion, you are very welcome to enjoy riding like you do. But others enjoy different riding, and they aren't torturing themselves. I actually do have a 10/10ths cert. And 5k in 5 days, and have done a 10 day rally where I rode over 12k miles and a 11 day rally where I rode just under 10k miles. I've ridden many more endurance rallies of 8 to 36 hours and other multi day rallies as well. The actual rally mileage doesn't really paint the full picture though. Often the rally was thousands of miles from my home. I rode from Portland, OR to Hot Springs, AR to ride in a 24 hour rally that I only ride 500 miles during the rally, (3rd place!). So I rode over 5k miles in about 7 days just getting there, doing the rally and getting home. On the 10 day rally I wore out a brand new set of tires in 14 days. You should have seen the dealers face when I walked in needing a new set of tires mounted. He asked what was wrong with the set I just had mounted. "nothing, just wore them out" says I. Into the cords with 14k+ on that set of Avons.

The point is that some riders are set up to enjoy doing lots of long days, back to back to back. What may have been torture for you is nothing for me. I have often ridden tank to tank over and over w/o putting a foot down. Rally riding isn't like that, you cover lots of miles but are stopped and/or off the bike to get bonuses, thought briefly. Just touring I used to commonly ride 500 miles w/o putting a foot down. That's less than 8 hours sometimes. I've ridden 20 hours a day, off the bike for 4 hours, slept for a solid 3 hours, (I sleep in 3 hour cycles, from rem to D state and back thru rem), then back on the road for another 20 hour day. And I did that for over a week strait w/o issues.

Sorry for the highjack. Bigger tanks meet a need. It's not always constant riding, it's about having gas in the middle of no-where or not having to worry about having enough gas to get back out of some place you want to explore where there are no services. Or riding thru the night in a large Western state that doesn't have 24 hour gas. Or simply stopping when you WANT to stop, instead of when you HAVE to stop.

In my case, the expanded tank is actually less fuel than I was carrying before I installed it. It's about matching the range of my favorite riding partner. Just a convenience thing. Now I have a solid 300 mile range with reserve for another 40-50 miles if I need it. Before I had 450 miles + reserve on the Super Ten. (I guess I'm getting old and slowing down )

 

[EricV]

You have a very good point. What I would like is a 6.5 gallon Plastic tank to take some of the weight off the bike! Plastic is much lighter then the steel tank?

Err, no. A plastic tank won't be significantly lighter. This is no dirt bike. The plastic tank will be thicker than the steel one and probably weigh about the same. There is really no chance anyone will make a plastic tank the same size as the OEM one.

What you would like, but haven't yet fully understood, is the hoped for XT700, a lighter bike to do the riding you enjoy. Nothing you can do to the Super Tenere will make it significantly lighter w/o serious compromises. And the difference in weight for 2 gallons of fuel is only about 14 lbs. I don't notice any difference in how the bike handles. Pulling it off the side stand with a full tank, sure, I notice the extra weight sometimes. Riding the bike? Nope.

 

[helipilotxtz12]

Modified my stock tank got 6.4 Gallons! Way easier to fill the tank!

 

[helipilotxtz12]

The steel tank on my XR650L is 2.8 Gallons and weight 7lbs more then the 4.7 gallon Clarke tank that I installed for more range! So yes a plastic tank will be significantly less weight!

 

[EricV]

Nicely done. Just remember that what you cut out was to allow expansion space. If you fill completely now, don't go park in the sun and have a sit down meal or park the full bike in your garage. Only fill completely and take off riding or you will come back to find fuel puking out on the ground. And warn the buyer of your bike when you sell it that you modified it.

A plastic tank can be lighter, but isn't necessarily lighter. The large plastic tanks for the BMW R1200GS bikes were not lighter than the stock tanks. Bigger bikes will have thicker plastic simply because of the weight of the bike falling on the tank if it gets dropped. Last thing any manufacturer would want is for the plastic tank to detonate and spray fuel everywhere if the bike was dropped.