choppn

my buddy and i are choppin out a xs 650. i was starting to chop up the gas tank. (keep in mind this is my 1st chop.) the gas tank is two parts it seems can n-e one tell me the best way to split the tank into 2 parts. bottom and top is 2 pieces, i believe . well n-e info would be much appercieated. 8)

 

Pneumatic die grinder with a cut-off wheel, band saw, plasma cutter, jig saw...
What exactly are you trying to accomplish? trying to narrow, shorten, lengthen?

 

You mean like this???



It does beg the question as to what you are trying to achieve.

I did mine simply to clean out half an inch of muck that nothing else would remove and to knock out a dent across a difficult ridge in the tank.

Basically all I did was grind away the seam all the way around the tank to be left with this.


The end result of the shaved tank looks good but I will give you some warnings before you attempt it.

Do not get carried away with the grinder.Only take away enough to get them apart. Gaps are hard to fill.

If there is ANY rust visible in the tank the don't do it. Down in the bottom near the seams is where the water stays and rusts. this make the walls of the tank VERY thin.

You will need a VERY GOOD welder to join them back together. These tanks may be heavy and "look" thick but when you apply heat they just melt away in big holes.

I was lucky and had a mate with a tig welder who really knows how to use it. When he was finished I didn't even have to grind the welds back.

Pressure test it BEFORE you put any liquid in it. No more than 10 PSI for testing. Mine had three pinhole leaks that needed fixing after the first pressure test.

Hope I haven't scared you away, but I would not recommend doing it without the right tools. Last thing you want is 15 litres of gas leaking out a crack in a bad weld.

Cheers
HG

 

yes, thats what im talking about. im a pretty good welder if i say so myself so thats not the scary part. i want to shorten the hieght and narrow it. that is most excellent info . my hat is off to you, i was going to cut the seam but i wanted to make sure first. nice pics also. thank you again. ride safe 8)

 

well i cut the tank with the plasma cutter , then i had to go back over it with a cutting whell it came apart pretty nice. wish i could post pics. i took some with my sell phone but i dont know how to get them on the net.well now its down to taking out some height and some width.thanks hired goon for the info, it really helped out.now i just have to figure out how to get my centers and ill be on my way to welding it back together.

 

When I do something like that I use either pin stripe tape or masking tap as a guide for cutting lines. I use only my 4" cutting wheel to minimize damage.

 

he did a great job, seen it last week...gonna be a sweet lookin tank! ridz,ill bring my cam in and post the pics for ya...call me and we'll gettem on here. frames goin to get the chopp 2 day .......u in?