New ES2 Indian-made take knee grip screw holes

Hey,

Those are normally welded in so be careful. Are the holes not already threaded for the knee grip screws?

B

I hope you haven't started drilling or anything as that looks correct. The hole should be threaded, it's not a plug. Here's my original 16H tank with a similar tube welded in for the knee rubber fixing.

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You might find you need a different sized screw than your original ES2, they may have done the holes for the same size as the 16H. I would contact the seller and asked them what size and thread screw they've done it for.

Hard to judge scale from a pix but it looks to me that the hole is too big for standasrd sized screws. I think Dave has the best idea. Contact the seller and ask WTF?

Cheers,

B

HelloI've acquired an Indian-made tank for my 51 ES2 and it seems to be working fine ...all the fuel is staying on the inside where it belongs.the knee grip screw holes appear to have metal plugs in them and are chromed over during the manufacturing processQuestion: do these simply thread out ?do I need to thread a small diameter bolt with a jam nut into the hole to get enough grip to rotate them or do they come out easily without damaging the knee-grip screw threads ?any advise would be appreciated before I attack this with a 5 pound hammerthanksGrant MacNeill, Toronto

Hello I would Not go down the 5 pound hammer route has your tank will then leak , the original threds were BA. now its what the Indian makers have used that counts here, they could well be Metric size its finding the right thred size and pitch , you counld email the makers and try find out this, Yours Anna J

here is a better photo to show the hole in my new tank...it appears to be a smooth hole and not threaded on the inside

Grant

Hole with No threads well you need the right tap to thread it up with like a BA size tap and screws to match but when using a tape you only need to take some two or three turns at a time then screw back to let the chippings out, and be very careful to has go to far can lead to a leak in the hole , so now it all up to you, yours anna j

I have just gone out to the garage and measured both the 16H and ES2 tank rubber screws, they are both cycle thread BSC the 16H is 9/32" x 26 tpi and the ES2 is 5/16" x 26 tpi, not BA. These replica tanks are made for the 16H and ES2 and I can't see these people changing the thread size to suit each model. I would double check there isn't a thread deeper inside the hole, in case there's a smaller hole inside like 6mm. Otherwise you'll have to cut a thread as already suggested, but it sounds like the tube isn't wide enough for your 5/16ths screws. You'll then be able to cut whatever thread you can get suitable screws for. I had my 16H ones made out of stainless as I couldn't find any.

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The WD16H and Big 4 spares lists are quite useful as they include fastener sizes. Both these bikes used the single fixing knee grips and both are quoted as 5/16" x 26tpi.

This ties in with the tanks that I have. As original, the bosses were threaded all the way.

Previously richard_payne wrote:

The WD16H and Big 4 spares lists are quite useful as they include fastener sizes. Both these bikes used the single fixing knee grips and both are quoted as 5/16" x 26tpi.

This ties in with the tanks that I have. As original, the bosses were threaded all the way.

Hi Rik, your 16H has 5/16" screws? That's interesting to know. Mine is definitely 9/32" as the 5/16" is too big. I'll check my other WD tank but I'm sure it's the same, I wonder what year they changed?

Looks like they have forgotten to tap the holes! Your pads look new! Reminds me of my experiance with new rubber pads (probably Indian manufacture) where, unlike the originals,they did not have the large metal washer moulded in underneath where thetwo screwsgo through. Once mounted on to my tank, the screwheads would simply pull through the hole in pad. I ended up running a bead of black Silastic all around under the rubber edge, and glued them on in position. Tying some string around them to pull around the curve of the tank till the Silastic set. The screws are now only ornamental. Any excess Silastic can be wiped off with a petrol rag.

I personally would be very carefull tapping a thread into those blank nuts, you just don't know howstrongly they are fixed in the tank side dimples.

Dave, Mine are definitely 5/16" x 26tpi.

It occurs to me that after the WD bikes lost their knee grips due to the rubber shortage, the bosses were used for mounting the tank-top air cleaner. Just possibly they might have had smaller screws....and many of those late-war bikes with air cleaners went to India and the Far East. Could they have copied one of those ?

You've got me investigating all my rigid/plunger tanks now. Both my WD16H tanks are 9/32" screws and 1 OHV tank is also 9/32". This tank only has a 1 1/2" cuttaway for the rockerbox and has 45 stamped underneath. This came to me with my 45 dated Model 18 engine (stamped A3). My other 2 OHV tanks are 5/16" screws with a 2" cuttaway. Odd that one of these tanks has pump fixings.

It looks like they changed to 9/32" late war and early post war, then back to 5/16ths.

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Both of mine (numbered 12723 and 53899) are threaded 5/16"

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Tyre inflator moved from fuel tank to chain guard for 1939 on civilian models.

What are your tanks numbered, Dave ?

....Sorry to have aided and abetted this thread in drifting off topic;...

I thought there might be a 6mm thread in there, it was unlikely they'd cut a cycle thread these days. Job done and looking good

Rik, we'll carry on about tank thread sizes via e-mail to save people from out rivet counting