Building RT Glove Box Fuel Tanks

Barry Dwyer IBA 8686 (TransCanadian Gold May 2003) bddwyer@cirrusconsulting.net

Description
Instead of buying expensive (and rare) Luftmeister auxiliary fuel tanks for my R80RT, I made a pair that slip into the glove boxes. They are light, simple and unobtrusive and hold approximately 0.85 US gal. each. With the high compression pistons fitted, my R80RT will now run 320 miles to reserve and 360 miles to dry tanks. Because the epoxy resin used takes 24 hours to set, this project takes several days to complete. You might be able to save some time by glassing the fillers and outlets into place, which might eliminate the need to cut the tanks in half (to clean out leftover dissolved foam goop) and reassemble them. These instructions assume you know how to work safely with fiberglass cloth and resins, acetone and sharp, pokey tools.

Materials List
2x4 sheet of 1 thick rigid pink foam insulation 2 yds of 6 ounce bi-directional fiberglass cloth 1 quart epoxy resin (with appropriate amount of hardener) Note: Dont use polyester resin as it will dissolve your foam plugs! JB Weld 2 quarts acetone Hand protection (latex gloves or good barrier cream) Hot glue gun 1 x 24 thin sheet aluminum 50 - 1/8 x 1/8 aluminum pop rivets 100 grit sandpaper Wax water cups (for mixing resin) Wax paper (for protecting work surfaces, laying out tanks to cure, etc.) Tongue depressors 6 - 1 paint brushes 2 plastic inline automotive fuel filters (for outlet and vent/overflow fittings) 1 Briggs and Stratton inline fuel shutoff valve 1 small (motorcycle sized) inline fuel filter 2 plastic fuel filter inserts (for in-tank fuel strainers) 2 fuel line T fittings 6 feet of ID fuel line 8 feet of ID hose for venting Electric drill and bits Dremel tool with wire brush, cutoff wheels, sanding drums (nice to have but not necessary)

12 1/8 Clecos and Cleco pliers (also nice to have)

Making the plugs

Paper patterns
Using stiff paper (file folders work well) make paper patterns for the front, rear and middle of the glove boxes. The patterns are cross-sections of the narrow dimension of the glove boxes. Try to get as close a match to the curve of the fairing as possible: the more accurate your paper patterns, the closer your finished tanks will conform to the shape of the glove boxes and the more fuel you can carry. Make them tall enough so they are 2-3 above the outboard (higher) edge of the glove box openings.

Foam slices
From the paper patterns, make up 7-8 foam slices. Typically, 3 middle and 2 each of the end pieces will be enough Starting from the front, shape the foam pieces for an easy fit into the glove box. Each piece, with the possible exception of the first, last and middle ones, will require some trimming to fit the compound curve of the fairing. Fit the foam slices starting with the front one, then trim and fit the second piece. When it fits OK, hot glue it to the first piece, using a few drops of hot glue down the center of the piece. Press the pieces tightly together. Continue working your way back until you have the glove box filled with foam slices. The rear sides of the glove boxes are cut at an angle; to maximize the fuel capacity you should add an extra foam slice and then trim it at an angle.

Top piece
Once all the pieces have been glued together, decide how tall you want your tank and mark around the circumference of the foam so you can cut the height to size. You should top the slices with a piece of foam glued to the top, like a roof. This will provide a flat, true surface for the top of your tank. Tank capacity depends on the finished height and is up to you. My .85 gallon tanks sit just slightly proud of the outboard edge of the glove box openings. For a full gallon, add about 1 to this.

Shaping
Once the plug is done, shape it with coarse sandpaper (80 grit works well) to get a smooth profile. You should use a sharp knife to cut all the right-angle edges at an angle before sanding. The vent line runs down the inside rear edge of the tank. To make room for this, you will have to cut away that corner of the tank slightly. The plugs are done when you have an even 1/8 (minimum) clearance all around and they slip in and out of the glove boxes without binding.

Note that you may have to shorten the 8mm bolt that protrudes into the glove box from the outboard side of the fairing. This can be done easily with a Dremel tool and cutoff wheel.

Making the fittings

Outlet & Vent
The outlet and vent fittings are cut from an inexpensive plastic automotive inline fuel filter. I used one that had a straight fitting at one end (for the outlet) and a right-angle fitting at the other (for the vent) Once youve got the outlet end cut off the fuel filter, you will JB Weld the plastic fuel filter inserts in place to act as in-tank strainers. If you want, you can skip this step and rely on the inline filter.

Filler
The filler necks and caps are the cut off tops of the two quarts of acetone. If you cut carefully, youll have enough metal all around to allow pop riveting the can top to the fiberglass top of your fuel tank. (You can probably use any decent quality screw-on can top, provided it wont rust, seals well and is big enough for a gas pump nozzle.) You may want to replace the (typically) paper gaskets in the caps with cork or some similar real gasket material. Also, if the caps are fitted with those irritating childproof caps you may want to cut them off.

Laying up the tanks

The tanks are made of 3 layers of cloth, with an extra 2-3 layers top and bottom. Cut all your cloth pieces before you start glassing. Cut your cloth on the bias so its easier to work around curves. Work on one tank at a time. Mix about 100-150 cc of resin at a time. You can do the lay-ups however you please. However, Id suggest starting the top and bottom with a single ply each, just covering the flat area. Next, add a second top and bottom ply, extending this over the edges. Thats two top and two bottom. Still working with the same tank, lay up your first side ply all the way around. Let this cure. One way to cure the tanks is to lay them flat (inner) side down on a sheet of wax paper. Once the resin has green-cured (about 6-8 hours, depending on temperature) you can peel off the wax paper and trim away the excess resin that will have run out a bit onto the wax paper. Once this layer has cured, you can do one of two things: Continue with your next layer of cloth, this time side first and top and bottom last (overlapping down the sides slightly for a neat finish) and let this cure; or

JB weld your outlet (goes at the front of the tank) and pop rivet and JB Weld your filler (also at the front) into place. If you choose this second method, you may not have to cut your tanks open to get all the foam out later. Remember to add a ply of cloth over both top and bottom once the JB Weld has set to hold your fittings in place.

I chose the first method: I glassed the tanks first, cut them open, cleaned out all the foam, installed the filler from the inside and coated the inside of the tanks with resin. Anal. If you chose to follow my lead, youve now got two cured fuel tanks with two layers of cloth all around.

Removing the foam

The foam dissolves with acetone. If youve glassed your filler and outlet into the tank, youll have to cut the cured fiberglass from inside the filler neck to pour the acetone in. If youve not glassed the filler and outlet in place, use a band saw, Dremel cutoff wheel or whatever works to carefully cut the tops off your tanks. Cut far enough below the tops of the tanks to leave at least of straight tank side. Youll need this for riveting your tanks back together. Dissolve the foam with acetone and remove any stubborn pieces. (A Dremel with a wire brush is excellent if used while the dissolved foam is still tacky).

Installing the filler and outlet (cut tanks only)

Cut appropriate holes in the bottom and top for the outlet and filler. JB Weld the outlet to the bottom, ensuring a good bond. Tape in place to cure. Match-drill holes for 4 pop-rivets (one at each corner) in the flange of the filler (use a 1/8 drill for a close fit). Coat the top of the flange with JB Weld; press it into place from the inside of the tank top and pop rivet in place from the outside. Ensure that a small bead of JB Weld is squeezed up around the base of filler on the outside of the tank. Smooth this with your finger to make a nice, even filet. Put a drop of JB Weld onto each of the rivet heads on the outside of the tank top, ensuring that it seals the edge of the rivet to the tank top. If youre careful, youll get a nice, round button of JB Weld covering each rivet head. The vent can be installed now or after the tanks are reassembled. Installing it now is easier. Figure out where you want it, drill a hole in the tank top and JB Weld it into place. Use tape to hold it in place while it sets.

Reassemble the tanks (cut tanks only)

Cut two long and two shorter strips of aluminum for each tank (About 3 and 1 long) Match drill them for pop rivets (3 rivets for the long strips, 2 for the short ones is plenty). Do this with the strips on the outside of the tanks. Use the Clecos to hold the strips in place while drilling. If you dont have Clecos, use masking tape to hold the strips in

place. (Dont forget to mark them so you know which strip goes where!) Make sure the tank halves fit exactly together when youre match drilling these pieces! Install the aluminum strips to the inside of the lower part of the tanks, using a smear of JB weld and pop rivets. Coat the top portion of each strip with JB Weld. Put a small bead of JB Weld on the cut edge of the tank bottom, drop the tank top in place and pop rivet it in place. Using your finger, work some JB Weld into the rivet heads. Let this set.

Apply the final (3rd) layer of cloth.

If you cut the tanks open, youll have to lay up an extra strip of cloth like a bandage over the cut area. Make this wide enough to overlap the rivet heads. You can easily do this bandage and the third layer of cloth in one session. Also, youll need at least one layer of cloth over the outlet on the bottom. If youre really ambitious, you can add a final one over the top, too, but it will require a lot of fiddly cutting and placement. If youve been careful to this point you probably dont need it. Once this layer has set, sand and paint the tanks if you want.

Installation and Plumbing

You can do this without any disassembly. However, it will be much easier if you remove the fairing grille and the left hand horn. Cut diameter holes in the bottom of your glove boxes for the vents, diameter for the outlets. Install the lines, feed through their holes and drop the tanks in place. Run the fuel line from the right tank over to the left side and T it together with the left tank. To keep it cool, run it along one of the louvers in the RT grille, holding it in place with a small black wire tie. Install the inline filter downstream from the T and the shutoff valve downstream from that. Install a T fitting in the fuel line coming down from the left main tank petcock above the crossover to the right carb. Run the fuel line from your aux. tank shutoff valve to this T. Run the vent/overflow lines down along the frame tubes and hold them in place with wire ties. You may want to install some sort of hold down for these tanks. A simple nylon strap fitted with snaps would work, as would some sort of Velcro arrangement.

Operation
You can use these tanks first, as reserve or simultaneously with the main tank. The simplest way is to use them simultaneously with the main tank. In this case, head pressure from the main tank will feed fuel into the aux. tanks and may, depending on your actual fuel consumption, overflow the aux tanks. I dont recommend this.

I generally use the aux tanks first. If using them first, keep the main tank petcocks OFF until you run the aux. tanks dry. Then turn on the main petcocks. Some fuel will back-fill the aux tanks but it all gets used eventually and at that point you go on reserve as you normally would. This method means you never have to use the aux tank petcock. If using them as reserve, keep the aux. tank petcock OFF and run your main tank with both petcocks in the Reserve position. When its time, turn the aux. tank valve On. Avoid use of the side stand when these aux tanks are full, as fuel will tend to drain from the right side to the left, causing overflow. If this happens, the low tank will siphon. To stop this, unscrew the cap on the low tank to allow some air in. When youre fueling and intend to fill and use the aux tanks, turn the main petcocks off. This will prevent head pressure from the main tank filling the aux tanks and possibly overflowing them. You will also notice some cross feed when filling the tanks: by the time one side is full, a liter or so will have migrated to the other side. To get the maximum amount of fuel into these tanks, youll have to be patient when filling them and top up one or the other as needed. Now, go ride!

RT Auxiliary Glove Box Fuel Tanks

Examples of paper patterns The dashed line is the nominal top of the tank. The ones I made hold .85 gallons each. For more capacity, make the tanks taller. (Middle pattern not shown)

Top View of the right-hand tank before the final layer of glass. The vent fitting is one end of a plastic fuel filter, with a right-angle fitting, JB Weld-ed to the tank top. The filler is cut from the top of a 1 quart acetone can and was JB Weld-ed and riveted into the inside of the of the tank top. Note the radiused corners. Also, the rear of the tank is formed at an angle to conform to the rear of the glove box. This required an extra layer of foam and a lot of trimming. Finally, the inside rear corner is cut away an additional amount to allow the vent/overflow hose to run down through the bottom of the glove box.

Side view of the right-hand tank. Several things are notable in this picture. The line where the tank was cut open is visible. To close the tank, aluminum strips were riveted along the inside of the tank on all four sides, with a thin layer of JB Weld between the aluminum and the glass. JB Weld was used to fill the small gap along the cut line. The rivet heads have been filled with JB Weld. A strip of cloth will be glassed over this cut line, and then the final layer of cloth will be laid up over the whole tank. The other end of the plastic fuel filter has been glassed to the bottom of the tank, at the front. Not visible is the plastic fuel filter insert epoxied to this homemade outlet fitting to act as an in-tank strainer. Note the complex contour of the tank on the outside (fairing side). Careful fitting of the foam blank to match this curve will maximize tank capacity.

Left-hand tank mounted in the glove box. The top outboard edge of the tank is about above the edge of the fairing cutout. A tank this size holds .85 USGal. Make the tank taller for more capacity. The vent/overflow line runs down the inside rear corner of the tank, then forward to the frame tube. From there, it runs back to about the centerstand mount. Nylon wire ties secure it in place. I replaced the black line with clear for appearances sake. I have two snaps riveted to the glove box tops between the fairing and the edge of the glove box. These are the attach points for two Cordura backpackers zippered cases that I use for day-to-day stuff. (White stuff is old weatherstripping, removed in the next photo.)

Tank Restraining Strap. I used a length of nylon strapping and a 3/8 dome snap to make this. The male part of the dome snap is riveted to the inside of the glove box. The inboard end of the strap snaps to this. The outboard end of the strap is held down by the screw in the fairing. Barely visible along the outside edge of the tank is the end of the M8 bolt that must be cut down so that it does not hole the tank. There is no paint on the white patch at the outside rear corner of the tank. This lets you see when the gas reaches this level so you can reduce the flow rate and (hopefully) avoid sending gas out the overflow onto the toe of your boot (which is where the left-side overflow is, the way I installed it. Duh.)

The invisible fuel tank. With the soft pack snapped into place, the auxiliary fuel tank is invisible. When time is tight on an IBA ride, removing the packs is a pain. I left them at home on my ride. However, that was unnecessary: it takes so long to fill 4 tanks that the extra time it takes to re/re the packs is negligible. I missed the convenience of the extra storage.

Fuel tank plumbing to left side fuel lines. This shows the fuel line running aft to a Briggs & Stratton fuel valve (shown in the off position). This is teed into the left-hand fuel line above the crossover to the right-hand carb. Not visible in this picture is the inline fuel filter, fitted just upstream of the fuel valve. I kept it inside the fairing for a cleaner look. The plumbing from tank to tank is simple: a line runs from the right-hand tank across in front of the engine to a T-fitting. The left-hand tank is plumbed to that T-fitting. The feed line (the one you see here) comes off the bottom of the T, to the filter, then the valve.

Long Distance RT The fairing auxiliary tanks hold 1.7 gallons, the tail tank another 2.5. Combined fuel capacity is about 10.5 gallons, good for almost 450 miles. The rear tank has an outlet fitting on the forward left corner. The fuel line runs across the bottom of the tank from left to right. A Briggs & Stratton fuel valve (like the one shown earlier) is fitted in the line near the carb. The fuel line runs along the right-side sub frame tube, behind the side cover and tees into the right-hand fuel line. An inline filter is fitted under the tank. The vent/overflow line exits behind the mud flap. White strips are DOT truck reflective tape. The tail tank provides great range but the fuel sloshes and its a poor location in the event of a rear-ender. I always use this fuel first, followed by the fairing fuel. Head pressure from this tank will overflow everything. Use the valves!

Tail tank fuel line fitting. The nifty little white filter is a John Deere inline filter. I later swapped the positions of the inline filter and the valve, moving the filter under the tank and the valve to where you see the filter in this picture. This mirrored the installation on the other side. The other downside to the tail tank is that it makes the fuel system overly complex. Forget to turn off a valve when refueling or riding and youll run an awful lot of fuel onto the ground.