Café Commando build thread
- Thread starter Jeandr
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prmurat said:
Aren't they to locate the baffles and to provide some support to the sides of the tank?
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Looking good Jean, more, more.
swooshdave said:
They are to hold the baffle in place since it is not welded to the sides. I could weld it to one side. but not the other so I made it able to stand by itself. There is no telling what will happen on a vibrating twin after a few years, so might as well make it strong enough to hold up for a while.
Jean
lynxnsu said:
No it is TIG and I have an idea on why you know, when you did your frame you had a MIG welder and you bought a TIG welder for your other projects. The thing I find most difficult about welding is being steady and seeing well, for both of these, I am not heading in the right direction age wise. I will test the welds on the tank by pumping it with a low air pressure and using soapy water to find leaks.
Jean
lcrken
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Jeandr said:
Jean, have you tried low power reading glasses under your welding helmet? I have the same age-related problems with near vision, and I found using the 1.0 or 1.5 diopter reading glasses, available cheap from the local department stores, to be a huge improvement for my TIG welding. You can also get low diopter inserts for welding helmets, but I couldn't find them in the right size for my helmet.
Ken
Today I welded up the oil tank on both sides, next is making sure there are no leaks and then add the feed pipe and the vents.
I ordered some rose joints on e-bay so when those come in I will make the required modifications to the three attachment points.
Jean
I ordered some rose joints on e-bay so when those come in I will make the required modifications to the three attachment points.
Jean
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grandpaul said:
He'll get more capacity the way he did it.
Jeander:
I am really enjoying this thread and I'm sure that the bike will be super cool when finished.
My question is:
Why did you decide to do this OIF mod. It seems to me like and awful lot of work for not really any benefit.
Wouldn't adding so much weight up high be counterproductive to the whole center of gravity thing?
Logic would dictate that getting the mass as low as possible would be ideal.
Like maybe an oil tank / belly pan type of thing.
I am really enjoying this thread and I'm sure that the bike will be super cool when finished.
My question is:
Why did you decide to do this OIF mod. It seems to me like and awful lot of work for not really any benefit.
Wouldn't adding so much weight up high be counterproductive to the whole center of gravity thing?
Logic would dictate that getting the mass as low as possible would be ideal.
Like maybe an oil tank / belly pan type of thing.
Mark said:
I want the oil tank hidden to get an open area behind the engine. This is not a real racer so looks are somewhat important. Maybe my next build will have the oil tank below the engine like this real racer built by Jim Comstock (AKA Commoz)
réservoir d'huile = oil tank and bac = belly pan
Since that is a real race bike, the oil tank must be protected by a belly pan which is also used to catch any fluids escaping from a blown motor, on a street bike, only the oil tank would be there, but built sturdy enough to avoid being damaged by running over a dog.
Building any custom looks like a lot of work when is is shown on a regular basis, even putting together an old bike to look like a new one is a lot of work, but that is what I like doing, glad you enjoy watching.
Jean
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Off topic a bit, but what is that hole or welded concave area in the gas tank in the picture?
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Jeandr said:
I think you mean "goat". :mrgreen:
grandpaul
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bwolfie said:
Basically, it's a 2-part flattish tank with a bolted up flange around the perimiter to separate it for installation and removal.
The top has a hole where the sump plug holds it in place on the crankcase with a modified / extended bolt. That's as much as I'll share, but it would be subject to extreme vibration due to the isolastics, so not worth persuing.
Spent the day hunting and fixing leaks. A few big ones fixed rapidly, then the little pinholes which gave me a hard time. I think this may be the reason Kenny Dreer is putting regular oil tanks back in his old bikes, cleaning the tank is nothing compared to trying to find little leaks, it is especially bad the way I did it because there are so many welds. While I know I am not a good welder, even done by a pro, there would have been little holes needing to be plugged up. Maybe I was anal about the pinholes, maybe not, at any rase, I put in a tire valve and plugged up the filler, pumped in about 20 to 30 PSI then used a soapy solution (a bit of dishwashing liquid and water) to find the little bubbles. In an oil tank there is no pressure so I don't think there would have been any leaks, especially after painting the frame.
Jean
Jean
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