NORTON COMMANDO INTERSTATE New GAS TANK

OK, stupid question # 127 in a continuing series. How are the stock steel tanks made? Stamped steel then welded together? If this is the basic idea, who has the dies? Why doesn’t anyone make them today say in Merry Old England?

Two answers.

One for Swooshdave: believe it or not, Andover Norton's sheet metal parts are indeed made by dapper old craftsmen in England. But for two exceptions- steel petrol tanks, and the mudguards, which are made in the EU but not in England. And as far as I know the mudguards (fenders to the colonials!) weren't made in England in production times, either.

Now Hermann the German: In about 1985 we had a discussion in Shenstone (then the Norton factory) about re-making Commando Roadster petrol tanks. The press tools still existed- they since got lost- but the cost at the time for a raw tank was, at today's exchange rate, then 715,- US$ to the factory. This was raw cost, unpainted. Add to that a dealer margin and a margin for the factory, and it was simply not viable- not even at the raw cost figure. A secondhand Commando was about 4-6times that cost figure at the time. The project was shelved, never to be discussed again.

Today the tooling is lost. Even if it existed I doubt the exercise was any more viable. The Indian tanks I have bought- and my son Tim actually rides one on his Commando- are sort of o.k.. The shape is not quite what it was, they are not strictly speaking symetrical, and some of them leak from new, but given one checks them BEFORE painting they are normally useable. And certainly better than a gradually dissolving fibreglass tank.

The Indian tanks I have bought- are sort of o.k.. The shape is not quite what it was, they are not strictly speaking symetrical, and some of them leak from new, but given one checks them BEFORE painting they are normally useable. And certainly better than a gradually dissolving fibreglass tank.

Click to expand...

But other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?

Jesus I love this forum.... Who the hell is Mrs Lincoln and what bloody play ?... AC.

The Play would be "My American Cousin". Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln Did not see the end due to a small ball of Lead lodged in the back of his skull.

So it's nearly a year. Think a website might be up yet?

shrugger said:

The Play would be "My American Cousin". Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln Did not see the end due to a small ball of Lead lodged in the back of his skull.

So it's nearly a year. Think a website might be up yet?

Click to expand...

How very cultured of you all, you learn all sort of stuff here!
I've done a search for the website, nothing yet.

Webby

http://www.burtonbikebits.net/caferacerparts.htm

these look reasonable

No great mystery about the BBB tanks- these are the Indian ones. Hope they checked if it leaked before they got the one painted rather nicely.

I have heard they seal all the tanks before shipping............but as they dont have much of a clue about the effects of ethanol on either GRP or tank sealers, then leaks still seem distinctly possible!

Not really related to indian or pakistan tanks, but I do have an original steel interstate tank and side covers I'm willing to part with if a realistic offer is made.

Just picked up on this thread now, so hoping it's not too late. I'm looking for a replacement Interstate tank for my bike restoration since mine got damaged in an off-season storage accident that dented it beyond repair. If you still have this tank for sale, can you PM me what your reasonable offer would be?
TJ

Do you have pix of your tank? It's surprising how much damage can actually be repaired.

My guess is his wife ran it over with a large SUV.