SXR tank and tail mounting instructions

Transcription

1 SXR tank and tail mounting instructions Revised 11/23/16 Print this out for later reference Customer inputs The minute I hear of installation problems customers are having I share it quickly here on my site. A fella named Cort with a 1995 Sporty discovered an electrical module attached to the cross rail where my tail mounts. It kicked the tail up and made mounting impossible. If you have a late model like his, you ll have to find a creative new mount place to lower the electrical stuff under the level of the seat rails and the cross bar Warning How to tear off your license plate, taillight and break your tail section [ ] Easy, use stock length shocks (15 is best) [ ] Use spring weights not suited for your weight [ ] Hit huge pot holes This happened to a customer and I m passing it along to you (naturally I made good on his dilemma and fixed it free because I am a push over and my customers are my friends) Will my kit fit on a pre-evo frame I m not worried about the tank. The two holes in the backbone seem to be consistent over the years. I suspect they were used in the production conveyor system and stock tank mounting. The real issue is tail mounting.

2 My tail is designed to slip under this front tab and......it bolts to this tab on the cross tube between the seat rails. My tail is designed to fit the seat rails which are 9 ¾ wide outside to outside and the cross tube is 8 ¼ from front tab to center of cross tube. If your frame has these characteristics my stuff will fit. If not some craftsmanship will be needed to change your seat rails to Evo specs-or

3 change the tail. I know on early frames the tail has to widened by ¾. Hope this answers that question.

4 SXR Tank mounting Notice four gold colored threaded1/4-20 inserts in tank bottom. The clear bottom is an old flat track racer s trick so guys could hold a flash light under their tanks in a dark pit area and see how much fuel was left. The blue cast is our anti-ethanol coating inside the tank but don t use ethanol fuel (read below) These tank mount straps bolt through the backbone. The frame holes exist in all pre-rubber frames. The center-to-center of these holes is 14 5/8. ¼-20

5 screws go through slotted tabs into the tank. The straps on the frame are also slotted. The tail gets mounted in a fixed place and the tank floats around to butt up with the tail due to the slotted tabs SXR tail mounting The tail mounts simply. The front tab (with blue painters tape) secures the tail front. Often you ll have to bend this tab up (for more clearance) or down to tighten the clamping power on the tail front. Notice the dropped area with the frame poking through. That is for a ¼-20 screw-the only fastener that holds the tail in place Ideally a floating tank and a locked down tail will result in a kiss fit between tank and tail.

6 Here s the front tab and rear frame bracket on a Sporty Close up of rear mounting tab. This is stock on Sportsters from 1982ish to See my little ¼-20 screw resting in the tab. I have this frame and another pre-1993 frame in my shop. Each body kit I sell gets mounted on one of the frames so I know the bodies will fit on your bike Mounting procedure The tail is in a fixed in position and the tank adjusts around the tail for a kiss fit. I have fitted your tank and tail on a frame to make sure of the tank/tail junction. Your thankless task is to fiddle with the mounting to replicate my work-it s not a fun job. I have noticed slight differences in Harley frames. It could be the height of a weld or other small variance. To achieve the fit as designed you may have to use washers as slims but I assure you ll get there. If the front of tail moves around take a rubber mallet and depress the forward tab down-the one just behind the tank-i ve called it out in the drawing...

7 1. Check the center-to-center span of the two holes in the backbone-they should be 14 9/16. For years this has been a constant with all Sportsterspre 1993 and 1994 to 2003 frames. In 2014 one customer reported his span was a ¼ longer. He did what you ll have to do in this case-drill or elongate the bracket-to-frame holes. I can t tell you which way to go on this because his example still stupefies me. 2. Mount the tank brackets along both sides of the back bone as they were sent to you. I suspect you ll have to demount the wiring cables so nothing gets between the bracket and back bone. Reconnect the wiring later. Use the long bolt in front and the shorter bolt in the rear. (I reduced the head of the short bolt and the head sits in a small pocket I ground into the tank bottom.) Now attach the brackets to the frame semi snugly-you don t want the tank to move involuntarily but only when you nudge it. Both brackets-to-frame and brackets-to-tank holes are slotted. 3. Mount the tank with four ¼-20 bolts/lock washers/flat washers. Again just snugly so you can move tank forward/aft and up/down with a nudge. 4. Mount the tail fender and tighten the one mounting bolt (it will come off again so you can do the wiring). At this point move the tank around until it lines up with the tail. You may have to use flat washers as a shims if the tank is low or cocked.

8 5. If the tail front has a tendency to move side-to-side I suggest dropping the forward tab (with a soft hammer) to put pressure on the front of the tail to trap it (drawing.) 6. Once you have kiss fit, tighten brackets on frame (with Loctite) and remove tank to hook up fuel lines. Run the fuel line down the left of the back bone. Cross the lines on a line with the carb (which is between the cylinders) under the backbone. This way you can keep the lines and filter away from the hot valve covers. Don t forget a fuel filter. 7. Re-secure your wiring. 8. Position the tank over the frame and connect your fuel lines 9. Reinstall tank with Loctite on the four bolts. That s it. You should have a seamless tank-tail joint and you are ready to go. When removing the body pieces-it s easier if you remove the tail first. Fine tuning the fit I have pre-fit what must be over 100 sets of SXR tanks and tails on the Sportster frames in my shop. I do this so I know they will fit your frame with minimal hassle. Getting a perfect fit between the two in terms of levelness, square and kiss-fit is often imprecise. There are two sources of variables. One is my fiberglass parts-they vary in thickness. And two, the welds on the frame-your frame may not be exactly like my frame. Once you ve gone through the basic fitting instructions above you may have to tweak things. If the tail is cocked to one side you might have to force it level by banging one side of the forward tab to correct. You might have to shim the tail off the frame or that cross bar where the screw mount is. Be clever and you should be able position the tail just so to line up with the tank.

9 Attaching the seat cushion This is the easy part after you ve installed the body parts. You can create your own Velcro pattern. Just all the available flat spaces you can. Deploy Velcro at the four corners of your seat for max holding power. Start with either seat or tail and layout your pattern. Cut and apply a corresponding pattern on the other part. You will find your scissors all gummed up with adhesive when you are done. Lacquer thinner cleans scissors jiffy quick. You will be surprised at the holding power of 2 wide Velcro. Sometimes you will make unrepeatable sounds attempting to lift off the seat-it really sticks! Ethanol fuel Prior to 2017 our tanks were coated with blue stuff that withstood the damaging effects of standard pump gas (E-10). Standard ethanol (E-10) can range in alcohol content from 4% to 12%. BUT not in California. They used Jerry Brown gasoline which caused us fits. No other state in the nation was as bad as the left coast. We had to do something to solve the California problem and in so doing have a solution for the rest of the country In December of 2016 we repeated a test of coatings we had done about five years earlier. We found one that withstood E-30 (really bad stuff) in an

10 emersion test for sixteen days. When we pulled out the coated fiberglass sample no, as in zero, negative effects were noted. We now use this new coating and it is reported to handle any ethanol with no damage to the tank. I think for the first time we can say go use any gas. I m not going to use any ethanol in my tanks. It is shit gas and will crud up carburetors in no time at all. If you are going to use blended fuel you d be wise to run your carbs dry before storage of the bike for longer than a month. Most stations in most states have pumps with premium non-ethanol fuel. Be smart and use it. Costs more but how big is your bike tank. To find stations in your area with ethanol free fuel go to Warning filters ALWAYS USE AN INLINE FUEL FILTER to trap particulates. Keep an eye on the filter and change it out until no particles appear. Position plastic fuel filter(s) (and fuel lines) away from hot valve covers or it can melt closed or turn you into a crispy critter WARNING PETCOCK The petcocks in your tank are series B from Dapco (the maker)-they are gold in color. (Series A were silver). Dapco had a seal problem with the silver petcocks some years ago and used updated seals in their newer gold petcocks. Even the gold petcocks are not immune to problems. The petcock internals use fuel for lubrication. When a bike is stored for a length of time (month or more) the seals have a tendency to dry and stick when lever is turned. This may be caused by the drying effects of ethanol (alcohol). If your bike is going into a rest period pull the tank and drop 3-in-1 oil into outlet tube and gently move the lever a couple of times. This will lub the seals. You gotta remember to do this because I can t keep sending warranty petcocks out. If there was an alternative petcock I d be using it. If you have hard-to-turn petcock levers. This is a sign of bad seals. Order two more the cost is 25 bucks. THE DANGER OF BAD PETCOCKS

11 Before storing the bike for an extended time, remove the tank, turn it over and drop oil into petcocks spigots. This lubes the internal valve seal so they don t dry out and can live a long life. Normally fuel lubricates these seals. If you don t lube them, the seals can stick and curl up and will allow fuel into the carburetor. If your needle and seat are bad, fuel can leak out the overflow tubes and soon your garage become a lake of fuel. Can you say crispy critter again! (Mom why is dad running from the garage on fire?) Petcock Note Red levers down is ON. Levers to side is OFF. If you want a reserve just turn on one lever that way gas will drain from top and one side. The reserve will be what is left on the other side. Tank cap warning The cap seals fuel two ways. Cork gasket presses on filler neck and there is a spring loaded check-valve under the cap. The check valve closes when a fuel surge is detected by the floating ball valve. If you fill your tank completely the cap can weep fuel onto your stickers and paint because the ball doesn t close when fuel sloshes latterly (side-to-side). The upshot is, One) don t fill your tank to the very top or, Two) epoxy a ½ length of aluminum pipe over the valve surround. Drill two tiny 1/16 holes in the sides of this short pipe. This remedy stops fuel weeping from sloshing even with a full tank. I had a customer who parked his bike with a full tank and it leaked and lifted his stickers. I don t know whether the valve extension will cure this but a less than full tank will. Use 2 ton epoxy-that stuff is strong but requires curing over night.

12 Thanks Phil Little Phil Little Racing.com Cell Taillight wiring code Black=Ground Yellow or brown=taillight Red=Brake light