Tank Buyer's Accessory Guide...
Tank Buyer's Accessory Guide...
Greater Gas Capacities For Non-stop Cookin'
Fernando Belair
The large-capacity accessory tank business has been booming for the past few years. The reasons are simple. Manufacturers do not supply machines with large fuel tanks because such tanks are not as attractive as the standard ones, they are more costly to produce than smaller tanks, and they are not required by the majority of new-machine purchasers.
The capability of carrying more gas is appealing to some, though.
If you only have a range of 70 off-road miles with your present tank, that means you can never stray more than 35 miles from where you park your truck or van. Thus, there are many interesting trails, challenging hills and some unique terrain that you may never see on your motorcycle. Now, increase your tank’s capacity to yield 125 miles of off-road riding and you can wander a little more than 60 miles from camp. Those additional 25 miles can take an old, worn-out riding area and turn it into a new, adventuresome one.
Cross-country racers have also found these tanks to their liking since they allow them to forego a fillup at each gas stop. If you don’t have to stop for gas, and the guy next to you does, guess who goes out in front.
At first, there were only a few companies producing the largercapacity tanks, but recently several more have joined in. We decided to gather up all of the available 3-gal. or larger plastic tanks and present them to you with as much pertinent information as possible. Of particular interest is the method of mounting. Some tanks, like current Vesco models, require drilling a hole in the frame gusseting just behind the steering head. If you don’t have a half-inch drill, you’ll have to have this done. Others use center mounts hose clamped to the top tube of the frame. Often these tanks require removal of the original tank mounts for a proper fit. If you are looking for a larger tank, this information will be of help. If you already have one, keep the available information stored for the next machine you have to fit with one of these tanks. ®
Clarke Manufacturing Route 1, Box 576 Mulino, OR 97042 Don Vesco Products 7936-C Lester Ave. Lemon Grove, CA 92045 Hustler Products 2115 Colorado Ave. Santa Monica, CA 90404 Malcolm Smith Racing Products P.O. Box 1086 Riverside, CA 92502 Ocelot Engineering 950 Kendall Dr. San Bernardino, CA 92407 Pacifico Inc. P.O. Box 348 Gresham, OR 97030 Windsor Products Inc. 210 N. Crescent Way Anaheim, CA 92801 Yamaha Parts Distributing Inc. 6610 Orangethorpe Buena Park, CA 90620
