Nothing you haven't seen before
 

I got my Big Red about 2 months ago, but just finally remembered to take some pics today after a little ride. Nothing that special about it, but it's mine :mrgreen: . I also have a KW Carbon tank, that I haven't put on yet. I'm concerned that it may compromise my comfort, but we'll see after I install it. One of these days I'll take some pics with my Shawk, my car & my Duc all together.

good grief. aren't those things expensive as shit?

Yes, but it's very light, holds 6 Gal, & it's purty :twisted: .

[In best Homer Simpson voice] Mmmmmmm, carbon fiber.....

That IS purty! Careful with the petcock and level sensor installation. Some have had problems with sealing those to CF tanks.

if that's the case that's when you use jb weld :mrgreen:

I didn't use anything special when I mounted my petcock and fuel sensor on my kiyo carbon tank. It came with my bike as a spare when I bought it in '00. I used it occasionally but was usually too paranoid about crunching the beautiful piece of carbon, so it sat on the shelf. Maybe from sitting w/o fuel in it, but I started to have a problem with some pin-hole sized weaps of gas on the underside of the tank.

I repaired them with some epoxy and glass cloth a couple times, but had a hard time trusting the tank for extended trips. I contacted Kiyo Watanabe and he said he could re-coat the interior of the tank for me for around $100 to solve the problem. Instead I sold it, with full disclosure to the new owner of course of what the tank needed.

Fit-wise it is obviously wider on top, and the curve of the cf tank widens sooner as you move from bottom-->top, something you notice when squeezing your knees against the tank. I'm only 5'9" so it wasn't a big issue, but it might be for longer legged riders. Either way, even with the c/f tank it is still narrower than most IL4 cylinder bikes or an rc51.

The range was just fantastic... but my wallet was too thin to stomache the event of damaging it. I have some pics at home with the tank mounted if anyone would like me to post them. Old pics.

Enjoy.

I want a six gallon carbon tank!!!!

aye

how much is 'a lot'??

this is the first ive heard of this...very interested

Welcome to the board! What part of LA are you in?

$1800 according to this web site...http://www.kiyowatanabe.com/ Man, that's gone up, I recall when they were around 1200 and I thought that was crazy.

Others in the past have used harris aluminum tanks but have had fitment issues that were a pain to remedy. A 3rd option is a company I've seen on e-bay, Fuel Cell or something like that, using fiberglass.

Eti-fuelcel, no?

http://www.eti-fuelcel.com/

That's the one! and with a carbon side panel option too!

Hey, I live in Reseda.

Hawkrider, thanks for the advice, but Kiyo already told me about that. This tank came with my bike(part of the package deal), but it needed some minor repairs. I took it to Kiyo & after he made the repairs, he wanted to leak test it, so he fitted the petcock & sender to test it. Rather than switch things around with my stock tank or whatever, I told him I would buy those parts & he could just leave them installed, so it's good to go.

That looks like a nice option also, & local to me too. Anyone compare the dimensions of the eti to the KW? I'm guessing the eti is a little smaller because the capacity is a little less.

Right on. I'm over in the San Gabriel valley....but I no longer have a streetbike. :( If I ever get back on two, we'll go hit up some twisties.

Hmm, I'm not any good at complicated solutions. I have a tank off a wrecked '03, and am putting a fillet of shaped sheet steel all around it after cutting off the top. Just a bit of night school panelbeating, that will give me a 6 gallon tank looking like a slightly taller standard tank. Lifts the c of g a bit, but so too does my fat gut.

Kiyo is the man...I've not ponied up for his carbon bits, but he's done wonders with my 'Hawk.:)