belly tanks

[nugz]

 I seen on here people talk about belly tanks for more gas cap. was wondering were and how much one cost and were they are mounted on the bike. i have a 98 tourer. Thanks and any info would be great.

thanks
nugz
Sturgis SD

[Black Dog]

This be da place...

http://www.rmworksinc.com/

I don't use one, but a buddy (98T) does, and he seems to like it.

Black Dog

[X Ring]

I like mine too, that is until I have to pay for a fill up.  Then again I can go roughly 250 miles before hitting reserve.  If you get about 35 mpg, the belly tank will give about 100 miles more range.

Marty

[ptgb]

Here's where they mount:





Here is my write up about one I installed on my 97 Standard:


http://www.valkyrieguy.com/bellytank.htm

[bentwrench]

Love mine ,The best thing about the belly tank is now I stop for fuel when I feel like it.Not because
I have to.
bw

[98 T]

Like my bud, Blackdog says, I love my tank.  Although I don't run it to reserve, it's nice to know I COULD go 225 or maybe 235 miles if I had to.  Also, there is no chance of hydro-lock.  It's a well built, well engineered device.


I love it... just for the peace of mind.

98 T

[nugz]

So with the belly tank you plumb it into the petcock and then were do u wire it to

[tank_post142]

to the petcock and an additional fitting you have to braze into the tank. wired to the accessory plug under the rt cover

[98 T]

So with the belly tank you plumb it into the petcock and then were do u wire it to

Basically, there's a whole new line that drains straight down into the belly tank and all the gas your bike runs on goes through the lower tank.  The petcock for normal running is useless...only there still  to let the last .7 or .8 gallon of reserve gas to drop down into the lower tank. 

Brazing in that whole new line is over my pay grade so I had Roger install mine at InZane 6.  If you go to his site, I think somewhere there are step by step photos of a full install and lots of pictures...

[Sigrún]

Here's where they mount:




Here is my write up about one I installed on my 97 Standard:

http://www.valkyrieguy.com/bellytank.htm

OK this has all the potential of a stupid question.... .but what about lifting the bike with the tank? Is the tank strong enough for liftig, or is lifting simply a no no? Get a proper bike working table and make yourself happy with it?

[X Ring]

Yes it is strong enough to handle being a lifting point.  You put a couple of rubber door stops under each side of the tank between it and the lift.

Marty

[Sigrún]

Yes it is strong enough to handle being a lifting point.  You put a couple of rubber door stops under each side of the tank between it and the lift.

Marty

Thanks Marty.... just what I was looking for 

[John Schmidt]

I had thought about getting a belly tank in the past but figured with the I/S tank on my Tourer it might be overkill on the butt. FWIW, on my last fill up the odometer read 189 miles and it took 5.1 gallons to fill it up. That's 37 mpg that included at least 30% city driving, and with nearly 2 gallons left in the tank I'm well over 200 miles before reserve. I have an Autometer C-2 programmable fuel gauge which, when I installed it, I set it to read a bit lower than actual. By that I mean....when I'm bouncing down near the empty mark, I still have slightly over a gallon left and usually not yet on reserve. On trips where I spend most of the time off the interstates, I've often run 230 before hitting reserve. If I want/need to make good time, obviously that figure goes down somewhat. Prior to my last fill-up, I was sitting at a light in Daytona during Bike Week, headed home to the Orlando area. I noticed the fuel was well below half and the odometer just over 120 miles, so figured I'd stop before leaving town and gas up. Problem was, I was in such heavy traffic I didn't have a chance to get over to an outside lane....so just kep rolling. The fuel was just below 1/4 when I got home, I ended up refueling later in the week....adding a few more miles of city riding in the process.

Granted, if I felt the need to run 80+ mph, I wouldn't do nearly as well. But, since there is seldom, if ever, a NEED to run that hard I do quite well in the lower 70's. And...neither I or the bike gets worn out quite as fast.

[CajunRider]

I recently installed the belly tank on my Standard. 

The instructions that come with the tank are pretty good.  It takes a little time to do the install, but if you work slowly and carefully, a wanna-be mechanic can get through it...  I did!!!    

I went from 120 or so miles per tank to 220 or so miles per tank. 

Note that my factory tank is down about 1/4 to 1/2 gallon due to damaged incurred by the previous owner... so an undamaged factory tank would get you a few more miles.