05 xb tank project

[rmarquez]

Im looking into cutting out and closing the intake hole on the left side of the tank. The question is what material is the tank made of,can it be welded or does it have to be soldered.

 

[strmvt]

I believe it's cast aluminum but I'm probably wrong and far as welding on the tank you would have to make sure there are no gas fumes lingering or boom

 

[rmarquez]

yea I know that but can you weld on cast aluminum or does it have to be soldered

 

[ridendude]

It's not cast, it's formed and welded... What you're proposing is best left to a skilled and trained welder. DIY on a project like this has a significant level of death, dismemberment and damage potentially attached.......

 

[delta one]

first off why?

if you are doing it for fuel capacity it may be cheaper to swap frames instead, or trade up to a newer bike while the prices are still good.

as for welding it...

if I remember properly from class...

empty it of fuel as best you can but you can use a secondary nozzle of shielding gas filling the tank to help reduce the likely hood of ignition.

sandblasting or maybe delicate grinding and sanding to get past the powder coat. the heat of welding may also ruin the powder coat in proximity to the weld.

next it will need to be annealed before it can be welded properly. a T6 is considered an "non weldable" material meaning yes you can weld on it but at a significant loss of strength. proper welds should be as strong or stronger than the base metal depending on the design of the weld. (some finishing welds are cosmetic instead of load bearing)

then it will need to be welded with the proper aluminum rod. unfortunately it is VERY hard to know the exact type of aluminum from the look of it, even a lot of spectral analyzers are inaccurate.

your new plate will need to be suitable for your application as well as weldable to the frame.

then the frame will need to be treated again to get it back up to a T6.

if you are filling that section with fuel you will need to ensure that the inside of the frame is clean so it doesn't contaminate your fuel.

powder coat it again and reinstall.

 

[xtremelow]

First to answer your questions the front and rear sections are cast and the sides are stamp formed and then each is welded together. It would be rather easy to cut the frame and weld in new caps, since they just weld caps on the newer frames rather than weld in the tunnel (given you do all the steps like emptying the tank, getting it recoated and what not)...........

But

Filling the hole will gain you nothing. If you really feel the need to hold more gas just mount an aux bottle sort of like a N2O bottle but for gas.

Also if you dont have a newer airbox cover you will be resticting the air flow greatly as this is where the air is drawn in the older frames unlike the newer frames that have the different airbox cover. Either way I would just leave the tank alone.

IMO it would be a waste of time and money, plus with less gas the bike weighs less so it makes it faster

 

[konarider94]

plus with less gas the bike weighs less so it makes it faster

awesome

 

[rmarquez]

Well just considering my options but not really careing about speed as I am looking for fuel capacity. All newer XB 06 and up hold I believe almost a quart more fuel which you can get about 30 miles or more out of them and to me Id rather run a longer run then a faster run.