KL250 Super Sherpa Tank

[Turborob]

With sadness, I have to report my tank mount broke.

The thin bolt which goes through the frame sheared after a rough ride in the Flinders (rocky ground).

What I'm thinking of doing, is putting in a larger bolt and a spacer.

My thoughts are that all the weight is on the two little bits of the bolt where it goes through the frame. I want to spread the load, so I figure a spacer will do the trick.

Also, I think I'll drill out the frame central holes so they're the same size as the outer holes. That way, there will be 4 points of contact, and a larger bolt can be used.

Back to the standard tank for now.....

I'll update this thread with my progress, but it may be a while away - there's two other bikes which need more urgent attention!

Anyway, here's a pic.

[thetroll]

I have mounted the 5.8 gal Acerbis XR650L tank. These are heavy when full so the mounting structure needs to be very robust. I have documented the mount up on the "Super Sherpa Thread" here on ADV. I will post a few pictures here when I get some time. I feel pretty sure my mounting system is strong enough as I am not relying on any of the fasteners to carry the full load of the tank.

[eepeqez]

A couple more alternative tanks have surfaced recently.

"thetroll" has reported fitting an Acerbis 5.8 USGallon tank from an XR650L in the main SHerpa thread here.

(edit: Oh, yeah, that one right above this post in this very thread! Duh!)

In the Yahoo Sherpa group, Gary has fitted a Clarke 4.1 gal tank from the Yamaha XT225.

Gary's comments from Yahoo Sherpas:

(I wrote:) Gary, do you mind if I link to these pics in the ADVRider.com thread about Sherpa tanks? I try to keep it up to date so there is a single point of reference where you can find out everything that has been done with tanks and Sherpas. Graham, Not at all - by all means, I think its a good idea to contribute to the collective knowledge of super sherpa mods. The front puck mounts on the Clarke tank were the same diameter as the super sherpa, but about 5/8" narrower - so I used your idea with the threaded rod. I added some rubber chair leg tip guards found at a large home store (Lowe's) to make up the length required of the pucks. Due to the shape of the tank, the seat fitment was the big issue - I used longer tank bolts with stand up collars to mount a plate to serve as a new seat tab receiver. So it may raise the seat height in front a little. For the rear tank mount, I used a hose clamp around the frame w/rubber strips to prevent any direct contact to the frame and a 1" diameter PVC end piece w/slots near the base to accommodate the hose clamp. Because the PVC end piece is threaded to receive an end cap (although I did not use the end cap), it tapers, which allows for the right sized washer to hold a bolt to serve as the mounting post for rear of the tank. I think this will be strong enough, but I'll keep an eye on it. I can always go to a metal version. As mentioned - I see the advantages of the Clarke tanks as it has good clearance around the engine and petcock placement is ideal and away from the engine. The disadvantage involves seat fitment. Otherwise, it appears to be a quality built tank and we're looking forward to the extended range. Of course, we saved everything and this tank mod is entirely reversible back to stock. best, Gary As Gary says, the clearance around the motor with this tank is much better. To what extent that is because it is mounted higher than I chose to mount the IMS tank, I am not sure. Here are Gary's pics:

[eepeqez]

I've had a failure of the through bolt for the front mount on my XR650L tank. The tank just sags slightly and sits on the foam tube on the frame spine, but obviously it needs fixing.