[hogtownhd]

For a high sitting Sporty tank, would you put a flat bottom on it, or make a smaller tunnel? I don't want this thing to look half-assed, so am just curious to everyone's opinions.

 

[hogtownhd]

How do you all recommend making the new tunnel/bottom? I've seen folks who do it all out of one piece - forming a tunnel and then bending the sides of the piece of metal up 90 deg. I don't have easy (i.e. free) access to a metal break, so I was going to make it out of three pieces - the tunnel, and two pieces to make the bottom. Is this a bad idea?

Also, would you form a new tunnel out of some sheet metal, or would you take the old tunnel, cut it up, and re-use it?

Thanks.

 

[hogtownhd]

I took a flat sheet of steel, drew three lines on it, a centerline, and one line
on either side of it spaced an equal distance to a quarter of the
circumference of the 1.5" backbone , took a piece of 1.5"OD pipe and marked a centerline down it. I mounted the pipe in a vice and matched up the centerlines and bent the sheet around the pipe. Then I opened up the bend a little bit to fit it into a sheetmetal brake, clamped it down and bent the flats. Once you've done that you just sit the new tunnel on the work table and sit the tank on top of it, trace out the shape and cut it out.
If you don't have a brake you could clamp the tunnelunder a piece of angle iron on the edge of the table and bend it that way.

Have you done this before with the angle iron? I initially tried to do it this way, and used a 2x4 instead of an angle iron, but couldn't get it to bend where i wanted it. I'd like to have a little of the tube showing beneath the tunnel, so that bend has to be real tight. I'll try it with an angle iron. Otherwise, I think I might do it in 3 pieces.

 

[hogtownhd]

A bit of both.....

You got any pics of the whole bike? I'd like to check it out.

 

[hogtownhd]

Nice work...and some good ideas...thanks.

 

[hogtownhd]

You don't need a brake to make a new tank bottom. A brake makes things go a little easier on you, and a little quicker, but...........

I made this one with an exhaust pipe for the tunnel shape, and a piece of angle iron clamped to my frame table for the two 90 degree bends....

Rich...how big of an angle iron did you use to make the bends? This is what I'd like to try and do. Thanks for the info.