English French German Italian Spanish

Indian fuel tanks, a different view

Submitted by john_shorter on Wed, 21/12/2016
Forums
Nortons - General

?£

Having recently received a fuel tank, direct from India, I feel I must respond to John Scarborogh?s recent letter, in Roadholder348.

Firstly, I would question why anyone would buy from an UK dealer, who is obviously going to mark up the price. I bought my tank direct, from Royal Enfield King, with free delivery to Spain.

The tank was chromed, painted (with the Norton logo on each side), and is an almost perfect replica of a ?53/?54 original Dominator item.

Before ordering, I exchanged emails, with photos of the old tank, with the manager Arpit Gupta. The tank came with filler cap (which fits) new fuel tap, with reserve, and rubber knee pads supplied loose.

I have weighed both tanks, and they are identical, within a few grams, so they must have used the correct grade metal.

If you want to "Nit pick" the fuel connector is 3/8", instead of 7/16", but, since a new tap was supplied, this is of no importance.

In the unlikely event of having to buy another tank, I would certainly use the same company.

In hindsight, the only thing I would have done differently would be to have the tank chromed, but, not painted. The paint finish is excellent, but not an exact colour match. Except on the Dominator, this would not matter as most machines do not have the same colour, on frame and mudguards. However, with a little grime this will hardly be notice.

"Buy British" may be a noble sentiment, but, if no one can, or is willing, to make parts at a reasonable price, there is little choice.

John Shorter.

Submitted by les_howard on Thu, 22/12/2016

Permalink

What a fantastic range they have, thanks for the pointer and recommendation. I am aware that many of these Indian motorcycle spares can be purchased from Indian suppliers via Ebay but it's nice to see them all together in one shop with a good report on their quality. I note that early mudguards are also available from them and they look the correct shape too....BTW....surprisingly a Vincent tank is priced about the same as a BSA tank ....now that IS something special!

Les

Submitted by john_shorter on Thu, 22/12/2016

Permalink

I never buy through EBay. If an item is of interest I try to check out the vendor, and then contact them directly. Quite often the price can be cheaper. Many businesses seem to use the site to dump inferior stock.

Submitted by michael_jobson on Thu, 22/12/2016

Permalink

Like John Shorter I have also bought a steel tank from India. it was to replace my ethanol ravaged Fastback fibre glass tank. I actually made an offer rather than pay the Buy It Now price and it cost me £125 plus postage which was a further £50. So a grand total of £175. I reasoned that I could actually afford to buy 3 or 4 of these if necessary, and get my local welding genius to make one good one, and still save money over the UK sourced tanks.

It arrived in less than 10 days. I checked it for size and fit, and then checked the tapped hole positions and threads. Everything was perfect. I fitted it and was very pleased. I then sent it off to Faircharm Restorations in Leicester to get it painted, logo'd and lacquered. It is now on the bike and you cannot tell it from the original. Pleased? You bet.

Submitted by barry_robinson1 on Fri, 23/12/2016

Permalink

I'm very interested in what experience owners have had with these petrol tanks, there has been very little feedback so far that I have been able to find. The comments are encouraging since my Dommie's tank was returned by the painters last week shot full of holes on the top of all things.

Can I ask were you charged UK Customs import duties on the tanks?

Thanks

Barry

Submitted by terence_rafter on Fri, 23/12/2016

Permalink

I bought a tank for my Velo from RSvintage. Best price I could see on Ebay,[ though even they had 2 prices for the same item!] Absolutely no complaints, well made, no leaks, good fit and [for me] no custom charges.

Submitted by john_shorter on Fri, 23/12/2016

Permalink

Hi Barry, I don't know what the procedure would be in the U.K., but, in Spain I was not charged import duty, or V.A.T. Possibly this was because it was delivered by a courier, not post. Tracking showed it went via the U.K., Germany, then to Spain. In the U.K., and in Spain, I have been charged, by the postal service, for gifts from NZ (in fact, on two occasions, more than the value of the goods).

Submitted by per_elvedal on Fri, 23/12/2016

Permalink

I bought a slimline tank from India last summer. It did not fit at all! It`s too short and the front has a wrong shape. When I sent the seller the pictures of the tank, he told me that he had sold these tanks a couple of years and that he never have had any complants. I will try to find someone to modify the tank. He said he was willing to pay for that, before I asked him. We will see. It took only 3 days to ship the tank from India to Norway, and the tank itself is very well made, ready to be painted.

Per

Norway

Attachments dscn2189-jpg

Submitted by john_shorter on Fri, 23/12/2016

Permalink

Obviously there are many back street metal workers knocking out "so called" replica fuel tanks, and other parts. Instead of blaming a whole country, for inferior products, it would be more helpful to name those responsible, so others can avoid them. A three day delivery, from India to Norway, is quite remarkable, but, the tank must have been sitting on a shelf. Mine was made to order, after photos, and dimensions, had first been supplied.

 


Norton Owners Club Website by 2Toucans