My 101 Scout Cannonball Build

[D.A.Bagin]

When I purchased new tanks from IHC for my 440 after suffering 2 separate leak issues on my original tanks, I had the same choice to make. Line or not. I PCd them at 4lbs for 30 mins and checked with soapy water to see if any leaks showed. DO NOT GO TOO HIGH ON THE PSI!!! No leaks no liner. Speaking of new 101 tanks, where can I purchase repo ones that fit?? I have heard that some out there do not fit between the frame rails which would be a major issue.

[pisten-bully]

No leaks no liner.

I think that's good advice with new steel (having had a Caswell's liner fail a few years ago).

Not sure where Dana got his tank, but a friend of mine got a 101 tank from India and the fit was good, the construction looked good, but the fittings were metric and that caused some headaches. Indian Teile-Dienst, Jurgen Mattern in Germany, has well made tanks that fit....soldered not welded.

[pisten-bully]

Dana, looking good there! With your newly made exhaust you were in more control of the fit for the rear header pipe and chainguard...it's pretty tight!

[d_lasher]

>> I would avoid a gas tank liner at all cost. New metal should hold liquid with ease - just pressure check for leaks before painting. Jerry

Thanks for reminding me to do that. Sometimes I get so caught up in the progress I forget the little details like that. I tagged the tank with a reminder.

>>Speaking of new 101 tanks, where can I purchase repo ones that fit??

I got mine from Steve Rinker. I met him at Wauseon this summer and he helped me out finding some parts I needed.

>> I have heard that some out there do not fit between the frame rails which would be a major issue.

Take my comments with a grain of salt. Nothing on my bike has just fit, even the original tank was a very tight fit. But, the front right mount hole was off by about 1/16" so I had to drill the frame's bolt hole out and use a hand file to slot it a little in order to get the bolt in straight. The threads were standard UNF threads. The tank didn't fit between the frame rails at first. I had to grind down the seat mount and the front two mounting tabs on the frame. I didn't want to touch the frame, seems kinda important, the tank mounts were really beefy and looked like I could take some off without affecting their strength at all. There was one spot on the tank where the seam pushed out a little and it got in the way. So I ground that down just enough to get the minimum clearance.

It's still really tight but it doesn't touch the frame and I figure I have just enough clearance for paint!
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>> With your newly made exhaust you were in more control of the fit for the rear header pipe and chainguard...it's pretty tight!

It's VERY tight, So tight I'm thinking of painting the edge of the chain guard with high temp paint. You would think I would 'be in more control' of the header's location but after working on them for days and cutting and grinding and welding and more cutting and welding you get to the point where if it fits you're done and I'm afraid I hit point. Plus my main concern was the clearance to my leg!

Still a lot more to do!

[gharper]

Dana,

WOW, you're doing a lot and looks like you're earning every piece of it! Guess that's what we enjoy right.....? Here are a few thoughts on your tank.......

1. Whatever you do, be absolutely sure the tank sits FLAT on the supports and when you tighten the bolts it doesn't twist at all. If you don't, it will stress the tank and eventually make it fail, somewhere.

2. I'm a fan of tank liners, never had a problem with them. I have 25 year old cream red kote, no problems. I had my 24 chief tank disassembled, cleaned all parts tin plated and then re-soldered prior to the Cannonball. I did a 2 psi air test, all was well. I did 2 coats of Red Kote tank liner after that which was tricky because the Chief has the shut off valve INSIDE the tank and it has a screen! At the end of the Cannonball, I thought it was weeping a bit on the top seam right at the seat pivot. Last time I rode it, it's a gusher! That's also the ONE place it leaked before I took it apart! I plan to clean it and re-seal it because I don't want to go through that whole proces again and repaint it! I assume I didn't get enough sealer on the top side.

Jon Turney from NZ ran a 27 Scout on the last Cannonball. He bought a new tank from India, looked good so he ran it. Half way through the baffle between the oil and gas compartments failed. He rigged up a plastic oil bottle in the doctors bag he had strapped to the luggage rack and carried on. I think he had an additional 3 quarts of gas because the leak was so bad it went down just as fast as the regular fuel level. Perhaps.... a good tank sealer may have prevented this..... who knows......In my estimation it couldn't hurt.

Now let the tank sealer debate begin.......

Gene

[d_lasher]

Just another fall day in California, 75 degrees, 25 MPH winds, smoke in the air and no power. I decided to clean my workshop and do the first 'finial' mock up.

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WTR : 45

[pisten-bully]

Looks good Dana! Hope you get some electricity so you can keep up the great progress!

[d_lasher]

This weekend was about making the rear stand latch and the seat mount strap. Both are harden spring steel and I decided to learn how to heat treat spring steel. I took a metallurgy class in school decades ago and I watched Forged in Fire last week so, yeah I’m an expert.

I use 1075 for the rear stand and 4160 steel for the seat mount. The hardest part was making the bolt hole on the seat strap. The trick ended up to only heat up the little bit you wanted to bend into a curve. I made a little forge out of 5 fire bricks and used my MAP gas torch for the heat supply. Heated the parts until they weren’t magnetic any more and dunked them into the canola oil. The work shop is going to smell like popcorn now for the next few weeks.

This build is all about stretching my comfort zone. I’m trying to learn as much as I can and try and push past the fear factor of never doing it before. On all my past builds I would have just bought these parts and bolted them on.

Here’s a picture of the rear stand latch and the forge. It’s not the prettiest thing but I made it!
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[Steve Swan]

Dana, thank you for your most wonderful thread. your comments about pushing past the fear factor really resonated with me. Thank you for acknowledging that. in the peak of the mid-80's i was at my zenith for taking and making every opportunity i could for learning everything i could, finished a 2 year machine tool program, spent a lot of time in the 70's through the 80's with one of the masters who came from the decades of the late 20's on up. then, life happened and 25 years later i started my JD project. Your commentary is as inspiring as the work you share on your project. For me, your thread IS what the brotherhood shared on this forum is about and nothing else.

[d_lasher]

It’s funny how time flies. It seems like just yesterday I’m sitting in a class wondering why I would ever care about how much carbon is in steel, and the next thing you know I have two kids, a grandchild and I’m trying to find the right temperature to temper steel with .6% carbon in it.

How’s your build coming? I’ve been watching your build and every time I see a progress picture I always think ‘Man his workshop is so clean!’ Mine always looks like a steel mill at the end of a shift. Oil, dirt, steel and tools everywhere.