Hi,
Has anyone found a way of fitting a tap on the left of the tank without having to braze anything on?
Dave.
Could you drill a hole in the tank, poke a wire in so that you can fish it out of the filler cap hole, and use the wire to guide an inside and outside threaded bush down into the hole? You'd need a way of holding the bush from the outside while you fix it with a nut, and a way of sealing the join.
I considered this for a second tap on my own machine (an M33) but the tank is not flat underneath and I think it's impractical.
It can be done. But why? Its just another place to leak.
There are 2 ways:
Drill a hole to fit a tap, clean up and use a Dowty washer and put a nut on inside the tank. This is fiddly and you will struggle to get the tap facing the way you want.
or
Drill a hole to fit a 1/4 BSP boss. You can silver solder or soft solder this in. Having had one come off and had to re-attach it I think they are soft soldered from the factory. Soldering to stell is tricky, you need an acid flus and you have get all the flux off once its done or it keeps eating at the steel.
At the moment you have a reliable reserve, tip the bike to one side. With 2 taps sooner or later you will run with both on and run out (unless you have a tap with a stand pipe). A C15 is doing 80 mpg so its hardly working its single tap.
Or fit a tap with a reserve position. I used one of these on my Norton Electra which has an unusual 1/8" BSP fitting. It works very well.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/226835532991 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/226835532991)
Hi,
The idea is to get access to the fuel tapped on the left hand side of the tank without having to resort to lying the bike on its side to get it flow across the centre. Many years ago when fuel was 33p a gallon I did this on a regular basis. Today, however, This is bit of a pain and once over it has to be stood up again.
I found a great fitting that has a fixed head, a nut and a hex on the end so that it could be tightened up without trying to get a spanner/socket in to the tank, but made of s/s and from the USA it was crazy money plus post so coming to over £100.
I found this to play with instead. One fixed hex and a lock nut. I will have to grip the thread to tighten it but the will enough to perhaps fit a right angle tail and have a tap in the fuel line.
Dave.
Could you get a couple more nuts and lock them together on the thread until the first nut is done up?
That should work. You can make up a seal by using a think larger washer and slipping an o ring inside it. The flange then pulls down on the washer and compresses the o ring without crushing it.
I never used to lie the bike down, just jiggle it side to side so it splashed over.
Hi,
The washer and 'O' ring is a good idea and use the same inside and out. I will probably use some ptfe tape on the threads so. no fuel can seep through.
Dave.