Slow Monster rebuild

350TSS · 13-08-2019, 06:26 PM

Early on today I decided that I had to do something about the fork/tank clash, whilst I could undoubtedly have adjusted the lock stops and still had a rideable bike, Monsters are not best known for their tight turning circles and I would have regretted not doing it ever after. Rather than carving lumps out of the tank top in the affected area (I do not know what effect the attachment of clip-ons to the fork legs would have) I decided to see if I could move the tank base rearwards. The tank is located on 4 male/female rubber iisolation mounts which sit in recesses in the tank base above the central cross brace and above the frame bridge at the back. The tank needs to move rearward by about 10mm. This is achievable without compromising the lower line of the tank vis-a-vis the frame rails. The vertical cylinder spark plug cut out will end up being slightly off centre but raising the tank by about 6mm makes this barely noticeable. With regard to the tank mounts themselves the current indents can be filled with resin and the indents re-made 10mm further forward on the base.
There were however 2 significant problems with moving the tank backwards.
1. Because the rear top rails are initially angled inwards towards the back of the bike, what was a potential clash with the petrol tap became an insurmountable clash:
2. Just in front of the rear bridge I had moulded in a full width “low point” which would enable petrol to flow between both halves of the tank and on I could mount the petrol tap Moving the base backwards caused this low point to clash with the bridge.
So the rest of the day involved cutting out the existing petrol tap boss and modifying the “low point” to (hopefully) give clearance for the tank re-location.

After cutting the holes I trimmed up some 1mm polypropylene and hot glue gunned it in place to provide something to lay the resin and CF on.

I will have to wait until tomorrow when the resin will have cured and then I can see whether it has worked.

13-08-2019, 06:26 PM	#11
350TSS Too much time on my hands member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Shipbourne Bike: M900 Posts: 1,419	Early on today I decided that I had to do something about the fork/tank clash, whilst I could undoubtedly have adjusted the lock stops and still had a rideable bike, Monsters are not best known for their tight turning circles and I would have regretted not doing it ever after. Rather than carving lumps out of the tank top in the affected area (I do not know what effect the attachment of clip-ons to the fork legs would have) I decided to see if I could move the tank base rearwards. The tank is located on 4 male/female rubber iisolation mounts which sit in recesses in the tank base above the central cross brace and above the frame bridge at the back. The tank needs to move rearward by about 10mm. This is achievable without compromising the lower line of the tank vis-a-vis the frame rails. The vertical cylinder spark plug cut out will end up being slightly off centre but raising the tank by about 6mm makes this barely noticeable. With regard to the tank mounts themselves the current indents can be filled with resin and the indents re-made 10mm further forward on the base. There were however 2 significant problems with moving the tank backwards. 1. Because the rear top rails are initially angled inwards towards the back of the bike, what was a potential clash with the petrol tap became an insurmountable clash: 2. Just in front of the rear bridge I had moulded in a full width “low point” which would enable petrol to flow between both halves of the tank and on I could mount the petrol tap Moving the base backwards caused this low point to clash with the bridge. So the rest of the day involved cutting out the existing petrol tap boss and modifying the “low point” to (hopefully) give clearance for the tank re-location. After cutting the holes I trimmed up some 1mm polypropylene and hot glue gunned it in place to provide something to lay the resin and CF on. I will have to wait until tomorrow when the resin will have cured and then I can see whether it has worked.