650R tank on 650L?

[STEVE B]

What are the problems in fitting a 650r tank on a 650L? It seems to me there would be more probs going the other way around, with the "r" being liquid cooled and the "L" being air cooled, it seemes it should be easier to make mounts with the extra space available with no radiator.What major factor am I missing? The reason I ask is I saw IMS is now making a 7 gallon tank for the 650R, and want to know how to fit it to a 650L.

[wbagwell]

Well - the entire frame geometry is different between the two bikes - I doubt that any of the bolt holes would line up.

Also, at low speeds that tank may prohibit cooling on the air-cooled XR650L, as it may enclose hot air around the cylinder. Note that no air-coooled single has ever had a tank that droops down to cover the engine. This is one of the reasons why the BMW boxers have always had access to enormous tanks with a low center of gravity - the cylinders don't get covered up by the tanks. (the ohter being that there's simply more room given the engine layout)

But if you'd like to try it, there would be a lot of grateful XR650L owners out there, myself included, who would love to see if it could be done.

If I was going to attempt something like that, I would first try to modify the subframe to acomodate the rear 650R Sahara tank, which seems like a much simpler endeavor - or just carry some dromedary bags or jerricans.

Wright

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Wright Bagwell
http://www.geocities.com/wwbagwell/

[This message has been edited by wbagwell (edited 18 February 2002).]

[This message has been edited by wbagwell (edited 18 February 2002).]