Evan Wilcox tanks

uncoated/just polished - they have this stuff here in America called "elbow grease" :lol:
that - combined with a little polish and she peerks right up - but your right they do scratch easily and require a little care, we'll see what it looks like in a yr or so...

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I had the privilege of taking a seminar from Evan. What a great and humble guy.

When the tank is done, Evan finishes the surface down to 600 grit paper and then polishes with Simichrome. Evan brought in a tank he made for a Moto Guzzi. It lives in San Francisco and is ridden often. The sparkley shine came back with very little effort. You couldn't find the spots Evan repaired.

Nice looking tank, Mike! For what it's worth, I have a tank that I had made by Don Woodward in England a couple of years back that is still sitting on my shelf, never been used. Don is the man who built the fuel tanks for the Norton and Triumph racers of the 70's and was commissioned to build new tanks for the bikes damaged by the fire at the National Motorcycle Museum a few years back. He also built the tanks for Les Williams and his Trident-based Legend and Bonneville-based Buccaneer. I asked him to build me a tank for the Buccaneer model for a Bonneville project I was intending to build. I suspect mine was about the last one he built before embarking on the Museum project. Anyway, it is a beautiful handmade aluminium tank, and although intended for a bonneville, can be made to fit a Commando if the coil package is repositioned or modified. I know this site is not intended to be a space for classified ads, but I thought I would mention it here as the topic came up and I would like to have my Commando friends have first notice just in case someone would be interested. I am not looking to make any money on it, just what i paid for it 5 years ago. I already have an Interstate tank I want to use. If interested, just send me a PM and we can discuss.

It seems I cannot yet send PMs, so I will instead resurrect this thread! LOL

Cheesehead Commando, do you still have that Les Williams tank?

Shiny Side Up!
Bill

Hi, Bill -

It's been quite a while, but I just saw your post regarding the tank I have that was made by Don Woodward for the Les Williams Buccaneer. I still have it, still on the shelf. I was just lookig at it tonight, and I am probably going to post it on ebay motors US or UK. I just don't think i will get around to using it, and it's a shame such a lovely piece made by such a famous motorcycle craftsman just sits on the shelf of my shop. Let me know if you still have interest. Or anyone else for that matter. I must admit, however, I am just not sure it will fit on a Commando frame, as it was meant for a Triumph T140 Bonnie.

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ludwig said:

same question as Kber : how do you keep it shiny ? Is it coated ? .
The problem with polished alu tanks is that you have to be very carefull with them .the slightest scratch or dent will show and is hard to repair .
( and they scratch or dent easily )

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just as a added note to Ludwig's comment back in 2008 - i did end up getting my wilcox tank painted (thx Brent!) - after a year r so i got a bit burnt out on what seemed like continually polishing the bare tank - and zippers etc from jackets would leave a bit deeper scratch and were difficult to remove -

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mikegray660 said:

just as a added note to Ludwig's comment back in 2008 - i did end up getting my wilcox tank painted (thx Brent!) - after a year r so i got a bit burnt out on what seemed like continually polishing the bare tank - and zippers etc from jackets would leave a bit deeper scratch and were difficult to remove -

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Nice paint scheme! I'm kind of in the same boat with you. My Velo tank is a T.A. Baker (very nice, worth the year wait). I bought it with the idea of painting it the "official" Velo black with gold lining. Polished up so nicely, I decided to leave it natural. Until I dent it or scratch it, which is bound to happen sooner or later. I bought my tank through Chicago area Velo guru Dave Smith, part of a package deal of six tanks at once from Baker. Part of the delay was that Terry Baker was in a terrible car accident about four months after the order went in, and was battling cancer, of which he later succumbed. It's my understanding that there are now two TA Baker tank shops. One is run by Terry's widow and main assistant, and the other by his son. At least that's the last I heard. Very nice workmanship, and I bought it on the advice of Dave Smith.

Mike Gray- Your bike is stunning! Nice job, Sir!

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Brithit said:

mikegray660 said:

just as a added note to Ludwig's comment back in 2008 - i did end up getting my wilcox tank painted (thx Brent!) - after a year r so i got a bit burnt out on what seemed like continually polishing the bare tank - and zippers etc from jackets would leave a bit deeper scratch and were difficult to remove -

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Nice paint scheme! I'm kind of in the same boat with you. My Velo tank is a T.A. Baker (very nice, worth the year wait). I bought it with the idea of painting it the "official" Velo black with gold lining. Polished up so nicely, I decided to leave it natural. Until I dent it or scratch it, which is bound to happen sooner or later. I bought my tank through Chicago area Velo guru Dave Smith, part of a package deal of six tanks at once from Baker. Part of the delay was that Terry Baker was in a terrible car accident about four months after the order went in, and was battling cancer, of which he later succumbed. It's my understanding that there are now two TA Baker tank shops. One is run by Terry's widow and main assistant, and the other by his son. At least that's the last I heard. Very nice workmanship, and I bought it on the advice of Dave Smith.

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They are now trading under the name TAB II Classics which is run by Terry Bakers widow, daughter and son in law Richard. http://www.tabclassics.com/
I just bought my wideline featherbed tank from him, the service was great, I was told a lead time of 5 - 6 weeks and the tank was ready after less than 5.

Terry's son (also called Terry) runs TVB crafts, which looking at the web site specializes in seat units. http://www.tvbcraft.com/

Webby

Mike that really is a great looking bike, I've been wanting a seat like that too. Who made your front fender? Is it a CNW one? Or maybe a nodded Harley? It looks great and almost like it came from the factory.

gorgeous!

thx men
the front fender is a CNW

the seat in the previost pic is an interstate cut down a bit - following that i took a roadster seat and cut down the front enough to fit with the interstate tank and reduced the height a few inches and use this all the time now (its a bit slimmer so thighs fit tighter too) - hers a pic of it (not the best pic)


the tank itself is a bit slimmer as mentioned with - which this pic highlights well (now if i get rid of that huge assed taillight!)

That is a great idea to cut down the height of the Roadster seat, it looks great. Are those Goodridge oil lines with the single "Y" fitting? I know they sell a Y fitting so you don't have the stacked lines and double bolt like others. I've been trying to find the part # for it but haven't found it in the on line catolog.

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dave M said:

John Williams at 'The Tank Shop' in Scotland does beautiful work and will build any style of tank onto any base. His price is less than 400 pounds, although he has a pretty full order book and about a 4 month wait. I have one of his tanks on my cafe racer. It is a Manx three and a half gallon, short circuit model and is even polished underneath. Given the price of the pound at the moment, this could be an opportune moment to think about this source. He has a web site that will come up if you do a google search under 'thetankshop'

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I checked out his web site and saw lots of tanks for featherbeds, as well as other bikes, but no mention of Commandos. Lovely tanks, though.

Ken