GRP tanks for road machines?

Sometimes I think the general consensus is that original fiberglass tanks were / are too fragile. I read all the time about tanks rupturing, splitting open, etc. when impacts have occured, but I wonder sometimes how well documented that statement is. FWIW, I did a complete ENDO (end over end) crash on my Dunstall outfitted Combat back in 1986. The bike was trashed, original Dunstall fairing crushed beyond repair, handlebars mangled, my recovery was 2 months +, etc., but my present post-restoration incarnation still sports the orignal tank purchased in 1976. Maybe it was just a fluke that my tank survived, I'm not sure...but I ride every weekend w/o worry.

All very interesting, but why not contact the 2 manufacturers mentioned in this thread, and ask whether or not they would be prepared to absorb tooling costs for a initial advance order of 10 tanks say?

I can verify also that the Norton fg tanks are all very robust to take impacts from crashes having crashed/crushed bars into outside of IS tank to expose/shatter the fiber layers and inside tunnel of Roadster tank that caused wear leak later but both tanks repaired by JBWeld and Caswell's still being used with ethanol gas so farie so goodie. Endo crash, oh ugh, I may lose a bit of sleep flashing back on those horrors.
Even w/o tank damage fuel will spill out a Norton cap sideways tank for fire hazard.

Carbonfibre said:

All very interesting, but why not contact the 2 manufacturers mentioned in this thread, and ask whether or not they would be prepared to absorb tooling costs for a initial advance order of 10 tanks say?

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Who will order 10 tanks? Not me. I suppose a club purchase could be arranged, but I didn't find much interest with the little I did.

Dave
69S

If there is not enough interest in replacement OE type tanks which are ok to use with Efuels to make an initial order of 10 feasible, then its simply not going to happen as no producer is likely to want to spend time and money making tooling for something thats not likely to sell.

Carbonfibre said:

If there is not enough interest in replacement OE type tanks which are ok to use with Efuels to make an initial order of 10 feasible, then its simply not going to happen as no producer is likely to want to spend time and money making tooling for something thats not likely to sell.

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Yeah, I don't get it, with all the whining going on. If the guy in MT would sell them for under $400, I'd buy one in a heartbeat.

Dave
69S

I'm sure they would sell OK over here and N.Z.
AC.

Yes an awful lot of BS about tanks, but when it seems that there are 2 producers in the US who would be able to provide quality products at around about the same price as very poor steel tanks from India, no one much seems interested!