Kz1000 Carbon Fiber Fuel Tank

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19 Aug 2010 22:07 - 20 Aug 2010 10:56 #392350 by porchev914
Kz1000 Carbon Fiber Fuel Tank was created by porchev914
DISCLAIMER

THIS THREAD IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. ANY PARTS BUILT OR MODIFIED USING THE PROCESSES SHOW ARE FOR USE ON OFF HIGHWAY VEHICLES ONLY AND SHOULD NOT BE USED ON VEHICLES OPPERATED ON PUBLIC HIGHWAYS.


Fellow Kz riders, in this thread I propose to duplicate my stock 1978 Kz1000 A2A fuel tank in carbon fiber. I do not undertake this endeavor lightly. I believe I understand the downsides to having a carbon fiber tank and I am willing to accept them. I separated this thread from my sidecover/tail thread to make it easier to search and find, rather than readers having to wallow through the other thread. But if you are interested in reading it, you can find it here:
kzrider.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&...ew&catid=6&id=380084

I will be prepping the stock gas tank, then making a mold of it. Once the mold is completed and prepped I will laminate the parts. There will be two parts to the tank, a top and a bottom. The two parts will be joined by epoxy adhesive and the interior lined with a liquid sealer. After making the molds for my sidecovers, I had an idea on how I would do the tank. It involved making the top and bottom molds, with the top mold being a 2 piece mold. Then I ran across a thread on another forum found here www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=145975
After reading through it, not only was I convinced my original idea for the mold and tank construction was sound, I was certain I could pull it off!

And with that, let's get started :cheer:

FRANKEN Z!
1978 KZ1000 A2A with 08'Speed Triple SSSA and '06 GSXR1000 front end
Last edit: 20 Aug 2010 10:56 by porchev914.

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19 Aug 2010 22:39 #392360 by porchev914
Replied by porchev914 on topic Kz1000 Carbon Fiber Fuel Tank
Here is my stock green tank

It has some blemishes in the finish that is unaceptable to mold off of, besides I need to cut off the neck flush with the top of the tank.

FRANKEN Z!
1978 KZ1000 A2A with 08'Speed Triple SSSA and '06 GSXR1000 front end
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19 Aug 2010 22:45 #392364 by porchev914
Replied by porchev914 on topic Kz1000 Carbon Fiber Fuel Tank
I also needed to remove the painted stripes as well as feather out the chips/scratches in paint. We'll need the tank to be as straight as possible so that the mold is as perfect as we can make it. Otherwise, any defects in the surface or the lines of the tank will get transfered to the finished part. We strive for perfection ;)

I sanded the tank with 220 grit and a DA sander, painted trim stripes removed, the filler cap mounting tabs removed and ready for the next step.

FRANKEN Z!
1978 KZ1000 A2A with 08'Speed Triple SSSA and '06 GSXR1000 front end
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19 Aug 2010 22:49 #392365 by porchev914
Replied by porchev914 on topic Kz1000 Carbon Fiber Fuel Tank
Using a die grinder with a cut off wheel, I removed the top of the fuel filler neck.

I finished it with an angle grinder flush with the top of the tank.

FRANKEN Z!
1978 KZ1000 A2A with 08'Speed Triple SSSA and '06 GSXR1000 front end
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19 Aug 2010 22:51 #392366 by porchev914
Replied by porchev914 on topic Kz1000 Carbon Fiber Fuel Tank
I discovered 4 dents while I was sanding, ground them down to bare metal and spread on filler

FRANKEN Z!
1978 KZ1000 A2A with 08'Speed Triple SSSA and '06 GSXR1000 front end
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19 Aug 2010 22:57 #392368 by porchev914
Replied by porchev914 on topic Kz1000 Carbon Fiber Fuel Tank
I was LAZY and I didn't feel like mixing up body filler, so I used straight spot putty. Spot putty isn't designed to fill large or deep areas, and as a consequence, where I spread it thick I got some shrinkage cracking

THATS what I get for being lazy :laugh:

FRANKEN Z!
1978 KZ1000 A2A with 08'Speed Triple SSSA and '06 GSXR1000 front end
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20 Aug 2010 04:18 #392382 by 9am53
Replied by 9am53 on topic Kz1000 Carbon Fiber Fuel Tank
you slothful lazy man

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20 Aug 2010 08:09 #392424 by porchev914
Replied by porchev914 on topic Kz1000 Carbon Fiber Fuel Tank
Tell me about it!!! Where it's cracked from shrinkage, I'll have to remove it back to the metal since it won't have cured properly underneath. Three of the four dents I'll get away with though, so maybe it was worth it after all :huh: Once the dents are filled, I'll flip the tank over and coat the underside with paint remover. The underside of the tank has ribs from stamping that will unessasarily complicate to layup, so our solution is to fill them in to make the underside smoother and therefore simpler to mold off of.
:)

FRANKEN Z!
1978 KZ1000 A2A with 08'Speed Triple SSSA and '06 GSXR1000 front end

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20 Aug 2010 08:20 #392428 by Motor Head
Replied by Motor Head on topic Kz1000 Carbon Fiber Fuel Tank
Maybe a heads up, if for street use you may want to check the laws for this. Even racing they may have rules that may be against a otherwise neat Idea. Bursting, then fire when hit?

1982 KZ1000LTD K2 Vance & Hines 4-1 ACCEL COILS Added Vetter fairing & Bags. FOX Racing rear Shocks, Braced Swing-arm, Fork Brace, Progressive Fork Springs RT Gold Emulators, APE Valve Springs, 1166 Big Bore kit, RS34's, GPZ cams.
1980 KZ550LTD C1 Stock SOLD Miss it
1979 MAZDA RX7 in the works, 13B...

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20 Aug 2010 08:24 #392430 by Jeff.Saunders
Replied by Jeff.Saunders on topic Kz1000 Carbon Fiber Fuel Tank
Please, please, please check the laws where you are and in other states.

I know fiberglass tanks are illegal many places.

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20 Aug 2010 08:38 #392438 by porchev914
Replied by porchev914 on topic Kz1000 Carbon Fiber Fuel Tank
Thanks for the heads up motorhead. I considered the crash scenario before deciding to go forward with this. It what I mostly meant when I said I believe I understand the downsides to a carbon tank, and I am prepared to accept them. I am going to have several layers of Kevlar in the laminate, to help mitigate the more brittle nature of pure carbon fiber. The bottom line is yes, if I crash, I run the risk of bursting into flames and burning to death. I accept that possibility. As far as Johnny law is concerned, I'm sure it probably is illegal, but isn't everything that's lots of fun? If I am going to get a ticket for an illegal tank, I'll probably get written up for a bunch more than that. On a positive note, I have never had a deputy look at any bike I was riding. They write the ticket an run :X

FRANKEN Z!
1978 KZ1000 A2A with 08'Speed Triple SSSA and '06 GSXR1000 front end

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20 Aug 2010 08:46 #392442 by 9am53
Replied by 9am53 on topic Kz1000 Carbon Fiber Fuel Tank
I know it would kind of be cheating, but you could just cover your tank with kevlar like RoyNor...you could say it was the responsible thing to do.

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