Monday, August 31, 2009

New Clarke Tank 4.3 gallon Install

I have decided that after having to get to a gas station every 80 miles or so, that a larger gas tank is in order. I ordered the Clarke 4.3 gallon tank and put it on yesterday. So far I like the looks of it, it fits very well, and it went on in about 30 minutes, very easy install.

The stock tank holds 2.1 gallons of fuel and at about 75 miles I need to switch to reserve, that is not a lot of miles of riding, before having to worry about gas. The Clarke holds 4.3 gallons and I figured at 55 MPG's I should be able to go for around 180 miles before looking gas, that is a big difference, believe me.

I got about 115 miles on a tank of gas with the stock tank, with the Clarke I should get about 236 miles to a tank. That makes those extended trips now more of a posibility.

The only think I don't like about after market tanks is the fact that theyare plastic and you cannot put a decal on the tank, the fumes escape through the tank and don't allow the decals to stay on. They start to bubble and eventually come off, with the stock tank, it is metal and the decals stay put. I like the stock decals so the fact that I will now have a plain white tank is not the most desireable thing, it sure beats the crappy mile range of the stocker tank. There are some alternatives out there that are supposed to work on the plastic tanks, but I have not really seen any that I like well enough to put on my bike, so I will just keep looking.

Here are some pics of the new tank:





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