Harley oil tank mounting rubbers

trident sam

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Is anyone using Harley oil tank mounting rubbers on their Commando oil tanks, I heard many years ago they were good , but have never tried them. Now I have an oil tank that needs work, I was thinking of using them , any thoughts ?
 
Yes I am, will take the seat off tomorrow and see want adjustments were needed but no failure yet. I do have a plate welded to the bottom of the tank covering the inevitable crack and it rests on a pad only with the 2 fixings on top as before but with bigger diameters.
 
kommando said:
Yes I am, will take the seat off tomorrow and see want adjustments were needed but no failure yet. I do have a plate welded to the bottom of the tank covering the inevitable crack and it rests on a pad only with the 2 fixings on top as before but with bigger diameters.
Click to expand...

Thanks , that's great, what thickness approx is your bottom pad ?
 
My oil tank is also flat on the bottom with a thin sheet brazed to the bottom. Here, I incorporate two pads, one on the underside of the tank, and one between the inner side of the tank that faces the Drive/left side, against the battery box/side. The left side pad is just under 1 centimeter and is dense foam with a sticky side for adhesion. The supporting, underside pad thickness is not known until you mount the oil tank and look at the amount of space the supporting lower pad will need to fill. Here, I was able to use the same pad as the side, but I have a collection of rubber and foam pads and could have used a thicker, but less dense, supporting pad, so your mileage may vary, There are probably opinions on how dense you want any pad given the vibration and further the tension a pad might add to the upper mounting rubbers.

When you fix the cover over the oil tank the lowermost rubber bung that fits through the panel's supporting eye pushes the oil tank in against the battery box. Its fit between the Z plate and frame ensure it's snug.

I am keen to hear what folks think about my method and any faults you might see.
 
trident sam said:
Thanks , that's great, what thickness approx is your bottom pad ?
Click to expand...
Could not get to the pad but I think it was about 1/2 to 3/4" thick, it will depend on the bike, you want the pad to support the full weight on the tank so the top rubbers are only stopping the tank moving in or out. I used the normal 5.5" long pad on the oil tank inner surface as a buffer between it and the battery.

andover-norton.co.uk

Motorcycle parts and spares for Norton motorbikes - Genuine Andover Norton Spare Parts - Andover Norton Motorcycles Parts - Original Andover Norton Parts

Motorcycle parts and spares for Andover Norton motorbikes: Andover Norton manufactures and supplies all Genuine Factory Spare Parts for Norton motorcycles built before 2002.
andover-norton.co.uk

Pics of the rubbers, front one is hidden by the tank and the bike is in storage but have an old pic.

Bottom of tank

Harley oil tank mounting rubbers


Old pic
Harley oil tank mounting rubbers



New pic

Harley oil tank mounting rubbers


The rubber mounting stud had to be shortened.
 
kommando said:
Could not get to the pad but I think it was about 1/2 to 3/4" thick, it will depend on the bike, you want the pad to support the full weight on the tank so the top rubbers are only stopping the tank moving in or out. I used the normal 5.5" long pad on the oil tank inner surface as a buffer between it and the battery.

andover-norton.co.uk

Motorcycle parts and spares for Norton motorbikes - Genuine Andover Norton Spare Parts - Andover Norton Motorcycles Parts - Original Andover Norton Parts

Motorcycle parts and spares for Andover Norton motorbikes: Andover Norton manufactures and supplies all Genuine Factory Spare Parts for Norton motorcycles built before 2002.
andover-norton.co.uk

Pics of the rubbers, front one is hidden by the tank and the bike is in storage but have an old pic.

Bottom of tank

Harley oil tank mounting rubbers


Old pic
Harley oil tank mounting rubbers



New pic

Harley oil tank mounting rubbers


The rubber mounting stud had to be shortened.
Click to expand...

Thanks John, can clearly see the difference with the Harley rubbers. This job is next on the list as well as adding a Yamaha reed valve. many thanks
 
Jdub said:
My oil tank is also flat on the bottom with a thin sheet brazed to the bottom. Here, I incorporate two pads, one on the underside of the tank, and one between the inner side of the tank that faces the Drive/left side, against the battery box/side. The left side pad is just under 1 centimeter and is dense foam with a sticky side for adhesion. The supporting, underside pad thickness is not known until you mount the oil tank and look at the amount of space the supporting lower pad will need to fill. Here, I was able to use the same pad as the side, but I have a collection of rubber and foam pads and could have used a thicker, but less dense, supporting pad, so your mileage may vary, There are probably opinions on how dense you want any pad given the vibration and further the tension a pad might add to the upper mounting rubbers.

When you fix the cover over the oil tank the lowermost rubber bung that fits through the panel's supporting eye pushes the oil tank in against the battery box. Its fit between the Z plate and frame ensure it's snug.

I am keen to hear what folks think about my method and any faults you might see.
Click to expand...
I used the same method you did for the oil tank. Seems to work well.
 
It's pretty much the same method as CNW uses with their reconditioned oil tanks. I just looked at my rear rubber mount and it is starting to separate. These are bigger than stock. It has lasted more years than I can remember.
Russ
 
I go to a shoe shop and buy the largest and cheapest pair of flip-flops they have and cut them up to suite. so far I have used them on the oil tank, battery and petrol tank on the Norton, and many other places on my other bikes.
 
If anyone knows the part number for the Harley rubber bobbins so that we buy the correct size and not some chinese copy
 
If someone has a copy of the INOA tech digest, I believe the part number is listed in it. I have misplaced mine.
 
This is good info. I sourced a rubber isolater from McMaster Carr and they are slightly smaller in diameter. They can also be used as a Dzus delete for the drive side panel
 
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