Benjie's Fitting

gnarshread

gnarshread

Been Around the Block
Hey guys. I have been talking to the dude at Benjie's Cafe racers about a seat and tank combo for my CL350. He has been super accommodating, and is willing to do exactly what I want. Mad props to him! Anyways, I was wondering how easy or hard it is to fit one of his seats or tanks. I really REALLY like the Manx replica set up.
http://www.benjiescaferacer.com/combo-fiberglass-sprinter.php
Any help, advise or abuse would be greatly appreciated.

I've included a photo of the real thing that I snapped last summer. Little bit of bike porn for yall"
 

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Search around here for other's experiences with Benjies. Very poor quality/fitment seems to be the norm. I'd give that junk a wide berth.
 
For what you'll get charged by Benjies for 75lbs of finely shaped (by someone in Taiwan) bondo you can find an American craftsman that could make you a tank out of aluminum.

Search DTT for OlSkool or RocCity.
 
So are you guys talking from experience or not? Was it an issue with the lining of the tank? are they relatively easy fixes or do they start pissing out fuel? Pretty much everything I've seen is a one size fits all tank that looks a bit chintzy and really isn't what I'm after. Benjie's are the only people who seems receptive to making a tank and seat that is to my liking and will fit my frame size. I'm not being offensive here I'm just airing my thoughts.
 
Oh! and while we are doing this, dose anyone know if any of these tanks are DOT certified or not? I would rather not get the shaft from my insurance people if something should go wrong.
 
I have bought a headlight bucket off him. The quality was extremely poor, especially for the price. I mean, come on, the hole for the gauge wasn't even circular! The cut for the headlight was also visibly uneven. I was told the bucket would fit a 360 headlight and gauge. It didn't fit either. I ended up buying another headlight/trim ring and fabbing a bracket for the gauge. Not impressed. I'll make my own next time.

I would spend my money elsewhere. There are plenty of craftsman on this site (oldskool, RocCity, etc) that can turn you out an awesome tank for not much more coin and stand behind their product.
 
I can check into the dot certification but I don't know if its available on tanks and it may be expensive. If I can find a 350 frame I can build whatever you want ( in the good ol USA) if anything it should add value to your bike, and I warranty against leaks. Pressure tested and coated. And I do all the work myself,no cheap labor working on it. I don't know much about Benjie's stuff so I won't comment. I do see Roc City putting up some nice pics on Facebook and have only heard good things about them.
 
And there are also plenty of guys on DTT that have been in my shop and watched me work. I also did some fab work at Barber this year in front of a huge crowd of DTT members. So I may have a few references although I don't advertise on the forum.(yet)
 
oldskool said:
And there are also plenty of guys on DTT that have been in my shop and watched me work. I also did some fab work at Barber this year in front of a huge crowd of DTT members. So I may have a few references although I don't advertise on the forum.(yet)
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Well damn man! Thanks for the offer. I suppose if I sent you a pattern of the layout of the frame, some picks and told you what I was after you could come back with a price?
 
66replica said:
I have bought a headlight bucket off him. The quality was extremely poor, especially for the price. I mean, come on, the hole for the gauge wasn't even circular! The cut for the headlight was also visibly uneven. I was told the bucket would fit a 360 headlight and gauge. It didn't fit either. I ended up buying another headlight/trim ring and fabbing a bracket for the gauge. Not impressed. I'll make my own next time.

I would spend my money elsewhere. There are plenty of craftsman on this site (oldskool, RocCity, etc) that can turn you out an awesome tank for not much more coin and stand behind their product.
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Ok cool. this is what I wanted to know. I wasn't sure if people were slagging him off for no reason or not. Thanks for the heads up.
 
oldskool said:
Ya no prob,my email is rmspeedparts@yahoo.com
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Would it be helpful if I sent you the original tank? It would be nice if I didn't have to change any mounts but I don't know if that's possible for you. Do you have any photos or a website I can look at? You have to understand I'm a bit wary of having a tank built by some dude I met on the internet.
 
If be more weary about ordering a tank from Benji for that amount of coin. Sure his parts look great in photos, but they are mass produced. I'd spend the same coin or a bit more to have a custom one off tank made by someone backed by an online community.
 
Here is one of my tanks built for a XS750 on its original frame, the tank is no good to me. A frame is what I need to make it for the mounts. I know a few guys with that style bike I ask and see if I could borrow a frame to fab on.
 

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+1 to having it made by one of our members by hand in the USA. Nothing against BCR - they've been at it for some time and have created some good stuff, but if you can buy hand-made in the USA for the same or even slightly more money than stamped-out in Vietnam, well... you know what the right thing to do is.
 
Tim said:
+1 to having it made by one of our members by hand in the USA. Nothing against BCR - they've been at it for some time and have created some good stuff, but if you can buy hand-made in the USA for the same or even slightly more money than stamped-out in Vietnam, well... you know what the right thing to do is.
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^^ Closet American

;)
 
Junior (oldskool) is currently building an aluminum tank and tail for my 2010 Thruxton. It's particularly challenging because the newer Thruxtons incorporate a built in fuel pump. The tank is 99% done and I'm extremely happy. The fuel pump mount looks awesome, the tank strap is exactly what I wanted and the build quality is top notch. Once it's 100% I'll post up a thread about it.
 
66replica said:
Junior (oldskool) is currently building an aluminum tank and tail for my 2010 Thruxton. It's particularly challenging because the newer Thruxtons incorporate a built in fuel pump. The tank is 99% done and I'm extremely happy. The fuel pump mount looks awesome, the tank strap is exactly what I wanted and the build quality is top notch. Once it's 100% I'll post up a thread about it.
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^This guy :) Thanks for the good words man.
 
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