Gutted

The tank, that is. Got up on Easter and started the running around for stuff. I picked up some 1/4 20 stainless nuts and cap screws for the fender, sissy bar and oil bag. Then I went looking for tools I could convert to metalworking use. My first stop was Harbor Freight. Closed... What, you would think today was important or something. Oh well, I guess not everyone can be a godless heathen. So I cruised my way over to Lowes. They are a corporation, so God doesn't matter when there is a profit to be made.

And after browsing around, I got this....

The house brand tack hammer and a piece of baseboard. The tack hammer has nice lightly contoured edges and a small footprint. And the baseboard chunk is a handy dolly. And for less than $10 dollars it was the perfect addition to my tool bag.



You can see the bondo repairs from before on the left of the tank. One was pretty deep. Almost like a chunk of metal or something whacked it. So the filler was thicker than I like. Plus I want to avoid bondo, if I can.



Right now almost the entire dent is out. I have a small low spot to attend to, but that shouldn't be too bad. I still need to get a flap disk for my grinder and get the scrapes out of the steel. When I used the body file, I wound up gouging the metal. I get a bit overzealous when it consists of tearing shit apart.



But there is hardly any rust in the tank. It is very nice shape for a tank that obviously has been around a few days. So a bit of scotchbrite to the innards and that will be as good as new.

I do have some plans for the tank. I want to lower the tunnel, not to the point of being "Frisco" like but just nudge it up a bit in the front and also make the tunnel itself a bit slimmer also. It will also give me a bit more capacity which is always good.



I began to fit the seat and fender last night also and found this little issue. Nothing wants to line up right. I only did a quick assesment but am stuck with just a couple of options.

1. Replace the fender and sissy bar to better fit the arc of the seat. I don't like this one, because I really like the way the twisted sissy bar looks and am a cheap bastard so I don't feel like replacing the fender if I can help it.

2. Replace the seat. Maybe I trade the king/queen set-up for a solo seat and then make a p-pad. Which could be a workable route also.

Tonight, if I have the time, I think I am going to take a real careful look at all of my options. Part of me is thinking I might be able to make some adjustments to the sissy bar to change the angle of the fender, but I am not sure if I have enough room to cut it down.