XJ550 Seca tank on an XJ650...tank-0 - me-1 (thanks Fitz).

So thanks to Fitz I got my hands on the XJ550 SECA tank that I've been wanting to put on my XJ650 a few weeks ago.

I finally got round to trying to make it fit. I needed to widen the tunnel by about 1/2 inch at the front to get the horseshoes on the rubbers.

I had a few "interesting" suggestions from folks on how to go about doing this but I came up with an idea and thought I'd give it a shot so here goes:

I went and bought some good 1 1/4 inch rounded dowel - four feet for $5.



I took the stock tank off and measure between the front clamps (U's) to be 4.8" and cut a piece of dowel to this size... as you can see it didn't fit in the 550 tank..



So... I started with a rubber mallet from the wide end and hammered it in and down....after sanding a slight chamfer on it as you can see in the previous photo.



Now it was in pretty snug so I figured after taking it out the tank was going to give a little back so I made another 5" piece and hammered that in after it.



I took sometime to knock them both around the clamps back and forth a few times then I left it for a good 4 hours with the dowels in places and then after taking them out...... it worked...





It's not a 100% exact fit - I'm going to need to raise the bracket by the seat a tad but it'll work...

What does y'all think? I still have a lot of work to do with it - acid-wash, paint, petcock and blank for fuel gauge but now I know it fits I'm very happy and I must say - I love it when a plan comes together...

 

Does the tank fit into the REAR rubber mount and flange? I always thought the 550 tanks were a different length (front ot back) than the 650/750 tanks.

 

Not 100% - it's about 1/4 inch longer but I think I can address that...

 

I think it looks great - out of all the things to do to a bike trying to fit a different tank is the one thing I'm dreading the most! I might cheat and pay someone to do it for me.

 

I think it looks quite good,is that a Maxim?

I have fitted a 19 litre XJ650 Seca tank to my XJ550 Seca, it is a straight bolt on fit and the rubber mount and flange line up fine, the difference was on the 550 tank it extended out of the rear of the tank, on the 650 it sits just underneath the rear of it

The 550 tank is probably 50mm shorter overall

 

Thanks man. Here a direct comparison and yes - it's a 1981 maxim.





and

 

Wow. I never would have imagined...

 

Not sure if that's a good thing or not Fitz -- thanks again for giving me a really good deal on the tank - much appreciated. If i ever make it to Detroit I'll buy you a beer or two..