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Petrol Tanks made in India

Hi, the petrol tank of my Norton 18 (1952) is in an disastrous condition and is leaking. It is not an original part. I think its not possible to remove all the paint and filler for chromium plating. So I noticed one of these Ebay adverts for Indian made Petrol Tanks, chromed and painted for about 250 Pounds. Does anybody has experience with these Petrol Tanks (Quality, dimensional accuracy, ...).

Many thanks.

Regards Johannes

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They vary, if you stick to one of the better ones you have a chance eg Royal Choppers or pummy8081 but they are still hand beaten in a street and subject to variations from tank to tank.  As they will need work on them even from the best of the sellers its best to get them in the raw steel as fixing them may damage the finish.

Thanks John, now I try to find out what the additional costs for chromium plating, painting and lining are. Ordering in India the surcharge for these additional work is nearly zero. It is unbelievable!

Kind regards, Johannes

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If it is zero then maybe its worth the risk, but the plating will not be to European standards and you may want to get it done properly anyway. I suspect the plating cost in Europe will be significantly more than the tank alone with plating and paint from India. As long as you are happy with a tank that looks good from 2 meters but not any closer then it may work out. They have a horrible lining inside the tank.

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I have bought three of these Indain tanks in the last two years. The first was a bit of a rip-off at £250 as I  then had to pay  extra for the fuel cap, taps and tank rubbers. The deal included priority posting and delivery promised within 7 days... Four weeks later the tank still had not arrived and the dealer had vanished. Then one day a delivery guy  turned up with the tank but demanded an extra £85 on the doorstep for import duties. My wife had answered the door, as I was at work, and told him where to go. The fuel cap was mounted the wrong way round but otherwise the finish was good. Attempts to get a refund proved a waste of time.

The second tank turned up within 7 days and with no duties to pay.  It was all correct apart from being too small for the bike frame and needed 25mm of packing disks on each mounting bolt.

The third tank was exactly right. This time I went for a dealer who bothered to post lots of photos plus the dimensions of the tank and had lots of positive feedback.  Attachment shows the first two tanks.  More photos and the whole story can be found in an archived 2019 Roadholder 376.

 

I read your article again and found it very interesting.  The last tank looks very good from the photo.  Could you please let us know who supplied the third tank that you were pleased with as I have been looking to buy one for some time and would welcome a recommendation.

Thanks

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hello yes I got one of these wideline tanks and its wobbley and is ill fitting  could of been made by a blind man  but at lest someone is trying  to make tin ware for our old Nortons   yours  anna j

In reply to by philip_hannam1

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Hi Philip, I also found your article very interesting. Since the tank of my Norton 18 is rotten I would be really grateful if you could let me know who the provider of this third tank was. Thank you!

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ORDER DATE  19 Sep, 2019

SOLD BY

2wheeler2012(1 item)

Order New 1940 Norton 16h Es2 Gas Petrol Fuel Tank Silver Painted & Chrome Plated @UKView order details

New 1940 Norton 16h Es2 Gas Petrol Fuel Tank Silver Painted & Chrome Plated @UK

New 1940 Norton 16h Es2 Gas Petrol Fuel Tank Silver Painted & Chrome Plated @UK

( 163826455330 )

ITEM PRICE:

£202.49

Attachments

Obviously 2wheeler2012 does not longer deliver this part. Nevertheless many thanks!

I found a british supplier who also delivers a reproduction of a Norton ES2 tank: https://www.classicbikeshop.co.uk/norton-es2-petrol-tank-with-2-side-holes-cap.html.  In the moment the tank seems to be out of stock. I think this part is also made in India, but it might be an advantage to buy such a part via a British supplier. So possibly it is easier to clarify the all the details. Does anybody has experience with this supplier?

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Obviously 2wheeler2012 does not longer deliver this part.

The ebay sellers are just distributors, message 2wheeler2012 and ask if they get get another tank, for a sale and if they are a good seller I am sure they would get one for you.

 

 

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I emailed ClassicBikeShop on two occasions to make enquiries about parts on their web site. They never replied to either email. To me that means they don’t want my business so I’ll never attempt to buy anything from them again.

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Hi Johannes. I bought a Commando Interstate tank from an Indian supplier a few years ago. It was utter garbage and even arrived with a dent in it, caused by rough handling and hopelessly insufficient packaging. The filler cap was hopelessly loose, it leaked like a sieve through pin holes in the steel and one side was a slightly different shape to the other. I had a nightmare trying to get my money back, but Ebay were good enough to pay up. I was stupid enough to send it back to the Indian supplier who told me to return it and then he refused to accept it. Customs in India contacted me to tell me they would either send it back to me and charge me postage, or destroy it. I hope they had fun kicking it around the warehouse! I ended up losing £40 for postage.

All I'm saying is be very careful. Do your homework.

All the best.

Kev

Oh yes! Also, when I put fuel in the tank the paint peeled off.

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This is just a guess but maybe there is not a mandate to use ethanol in India.

That could be why their paint is not ethanol proof???

Mike

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India

The government aims to achieve 10% blending percentage of ethanol in petrol by 2022 to cut dependence on energy import, promote the use of environment-friendly fuel and boost the agriculture sector. ... Ethanol blending was 0.67% in 2012-13, 1.53% in 2013-14, 2.33% in 2014-15, 3.51% in 2015-16, and 4.22% in 2017-18

 


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