Carpy's Dunstall Tank

[Einer Von Meaner]

I recently purchased several items from Carpy's parts page, Including a Fiberglass, "Dunstall" gas tank.

While the tank looks to be well made I have had several issues with fitting and one issue with the petcock mounting holes being pre-drilled.

I have had to remove the triangular gusset under where the tank is mounted, though I notice that on his web site he has not removed these when using this tank on his bikes.

I will have to add material to the front supports as the ears on your tank are much wider than the stock tank, though I notice that on his web site these do not appear to be built up on the frames for his bikes.

The rear of the tank does not sit properly on the frame. I was encoraged to remove material until the tank fits properly, and weld new material on as reinforcement. However, once again, I notice that on his web the frames do not seem to be ground down in this area.

To quote his site "... you can simply push the tank on just like a stock one, this took some research to get right, but now it is a treat and easy to fit to any 750 HONDA."

I understand that this is a custom tank and may take a bit of massaging to fit properly, but for $600.00 I expected less fitting troubles.
I do not wish to remove any more metal from the frame and I think that cutting the tank would be foolish as well.

Do you think that this tank may have some defect?

I would really like to use this product but this particular tank simply isn't going to work.

I sent Carpy an email but he has yet to relpy, I'm sure he is a very busy man and I'm sure he will be cool about the whole thing.

What do y'all think... am I wrong to think this should be less of a headache? I have posted this on another site too sorry if you have seen this already.

Thanks in advance

 

[vaca350]

It does not sound like you are being unreasonable. The quote from his site states that it will go right on and that is what I would expect. Hopefully he has some a solution you overlooked or can get your tank fixed/replaced without too much trouble.

 

[Tim]

I'd definitely be sending it back for a refund, or a replacement. Sounds like you didn't get what you paid for.

Who 'encouraged' you to remove material from the frame until it fit and then reinforce after?

For that kind of money hit Rock City Cycle or BCR up. Lots of options in the $600 custom tank range.

 

[timdhawk]

semi-unrelated:
I bought some gauge overlays from carpy and had "fitment issues". The numbers and hash marks on his overlays didn't match up to my faces. I contacted him about it and he seemed mildly annoyed that I didn't specify for what year bike I needed (nor did he or his site specificly ask before sending them). He sent me the ones for my year and they still ddin't match up. He ultimatley had me send my gauge faces to him for "proper fitment" and even thought they will suffice, they are not perfectly matched to my stock numbers and hash marks.

Even though he is somewhat of a cafe pioneer, I have my reservations about his products and prices.

Just my $.02

 

[killerdwarf]

I have thought for years that the guy was severely over rated, and many of his bikes either ugly, or run of the mill and boring. But every cafe wannabee just keeps kissin his ass, so as long as that keeps happening, he's going to keep peddeling off his junk to suckers.

 

[drewrc2003]

My uncle bought a seat from him and didn't fit. He had to cut it up and mount it to the stock seat pan. He should have just gave me the money and I could have made him one that fit.

 

[timdhawk]

I can thank him for the inspiration from his work, but other than that , I think his 15 minutes are up...

 

[Reinhard]

"bolt-on" parts should do just that. What happens if while trying to make the piece fit you fuck it up? Then who's left holding the bag? My guess is you.

 

[Einer Von Meaner]

Well, it has been a week and I still have not heard a word from Carpy.

As a side note, no part of this tank has been altered in any way. It is the same today as the day that I got it.

I will let you draw your own conclusions.

 

[drewrc2003]

If you pay with credit card you can get full refund.

 

[Rocan]

carpy at some point was probably a stand up guy... now i think hes just a show off egotistical bastard.

not that ive ever dealt with him, but his prices are ridiculous. His bikes are beautiful; dont get me wrong, but i think its time he built something new.


return that tank and get one from shaun at rock city cafe... nothing beats his quality; and it will actually bolt on.

 

[Swagger]

To throw my own experience in here and muddy the waters of the feeding frenzy a bit, I had great experience with Steve's stuff. Helped a buddy put one of his tanks and a seat on a CB750. Went on just as advertised and looked great.

It's interesting to see how things go with 'the public' when it comes to any kind of celebrity.
So He's gained some notoriety and all of a sudden he's egotistical and his products suck. Strikes me as odd but we do it to every person who manages to get some real momentum and make a name. Look at what we do to those actors who make it big enough to attract national attention. If you think for a minute that 'we' don't play a direct role in their almost certain meltdowns you're deluding yourself. Can you imagine what it must be like to put your heart and soul into something and after enjoying some success turn around to see the pitchfork mob preparing to tear you apart. Can you imagine how it must feel to be gutted publicly, especially when it's not deserved? wow

I had MUCH more typed here but deleted it because I've been rather tetchy lately.
The short version is: If, like the fellow who ORDERED THE WRONG PARTS and felt righteous enough to whine publicly about it, you have ordered the wrong tank for your bike the fault is yours. I hope that it's a simple mix-up and one that's easily resolved. I also hope that if it is you'll be good enough to let us all know (on multiple sites) that you were indeed wrong or that Steve stood up and took care of it.

 

[Firestarter]

Can you imagine what it must be like to put your heart and soul into something and after enjoying some success turn around to see the pitchfork mob preparing to tear you apart. Can you imagine how it must feel to be gutted publicly, especially when it's not deserved? wow

Actually, I know exactly how that feels, dont need to imagine it. My own .02$, as someone who has been in the high-performance and racing world for many years, which is somewhat similar to what we have here:

People who build stuff by hand are generically busy BUILDING. I know its a bit hard for some of the modern work force to understand, but since we are not sitting at a desk behind a computer with phone in hand or have "regular" hours it can be a bit challenging to be as "on-demand" as our current society dictates. My suggestion is to be courteous but persistant, maybe leaving a message and shooting out an email every day explaining the issue and what you need done about it.

When a craftsman of any type manages to build the company of his dreams they invariably start out doing all the can for everyone, than as business and time demands grow they have to make very hard choices about how much time and energy they can put into helping individuals. Often this can give the idea that they are now somehow changed, and they are, but usually not the way we might think or for the reasons we assume. Not saying that people dont become assholes over time, but just because you think they are doesnt mean they are.

Last, if you order the wrong part try and remember that small custom shops arent Wal-mart, they cant just spit your money back to you because YOU made a mistake, and its very likely to annoy someone who now has a part that may or may not move very quickly tieing up money and using up thier time, which they could be using to make more parts for people who order the right part the first time.

And yeah, i have ordered the wrong part before, I have a nice collection of crap I ordered thinking I needed or would fit only to find out I was completely wrong, now I have a spare wrong part.

 

[VonYinzer]

If Carpy is wrong... Shame on him but sometimes shit happens. Like it was said earlier, when your a small buisness owner (especially in the custom building/manufacturing world) it takes time to get to everyones issues sometimes. That sucks but its the way it is. Id rather know the guy was in the shop perfecting his craft than sitting at a desk answering emails. Even though as the consumer it can be very frustrating. Give it time. I dont know Steve, and in all honesty dont love his bikes. I do respect them though. And his talents. Hes living the dream we all would love to wake up to.

If the customer is wrong... Well than theyre an asshole for bad-mouthing anyone... PERIOD!

And as far as the celebrity deal... A lot of you guys and gals on here are into punk and metal. Isnt it always great how when a band is living in their van, broke as fuck they are great. But as soon as someone gives them a break and they start makin a few bucks they are asshole sellouts. Fuck that, and fuck off if thats how you feel. Not just for bands. For anyone who dedicated their lives to anything and is shunned once they get recognized for their hard work. Shit changes. So do people. But if the only changing that someone is doing is getting better at their art and getting a decent check for doing it than that sounds pretty good to me.

Sorry for the rant folks... That kinda day.

 

[Rocan]

If Carpy is wrong... Shame on him but sometimes shit happens. Like it was said earlier, when your a small buisness owner (especially in the custom building/manufacturing world) it takes time to get to everyones issues sometimes. That sucks but its the way it is. Id rather know the guy was in the shop perfecting his craft than sitting at a desk answering emails. Even though as the consumer it can be very frustrating. Give it time. I dont know Steve, and in all honesty dont love his bikes. I do respect them though. And his talents. Hes living the dream we all would love to wake up to.

If the customer is wrong... Well than theyre an asshole for bad-mouthing anyone... PERIOD!

And as far as the celebrity deal... A lot of you guys and gals on here are into punk and metal. Isnt it always great how when a band is living in their van, broke as fuck they are great. But as soon as someone gives them a break and they start makin a few bucks they are asshole sellouts. Fuck that, and fuck off if thats how you feel. Not just for bands. For anyone who dedicated their lives to anything and is shunned once they get recognized for their hard work. Shit changes. So do people. But if the only changing that someone is doing is getting better at their art and getting a decent check for doing it than that sounds pretty good to me.

Sorry for the rant folks... That kinda day.

got to agree on this one. not gonna talk about my day... but a couple of things are broken in my basement to say the least.

There is definitely a time when it becomes quite nearly impossible to tune a business to the individual... i see it at work, especially now that we have some popularity.

sure, stuff gets messed up, but i dont care how large of a company you own- if quality is sacrificed you are missing the point. if the customer screws up, shame on them. if it is in fact the business, they should cut their losses and give the customer what they deserve.

 

[rockcitycafe]

hrmmmm I try not to even acknowledge these threads, but I've gotta wonder what kind of cb750 einer has... from my experience with 750 frames, the sohc frames should all for the most part accept a tank from any other sohc 750, assuming he has a frame in his shop to fit the tank up before sending it out (which I'm sure he does just to make sure everythings in the right place), then I'd have to assume that it should fit any sohc 750... maybe there was confusion as to the type of cb750 it was?


p.s. never had anything bad to say about Carpy and he sticks up for people in the business

 

[Einer Von Meaner]

Hey y'all

I have heard from Carpy and, as I predicted, he was very interested in making sure I was happy with his product. He is a stand-up guy and great to work with. I am confident that things will work out.

My frame is a 78 F, for those of you interested.

 

[Swagger]

Glad he got back to you, figured he would.
Sounds like the model was the issue, I know his tank has been mounted up on a cb1100 so it CAN be done.
Good to hear this is moving forward

 

[Einer Von Meaner]

Hey Y'all,

So, I'm going to be posting this a few other places so if you read it twice I'll apologise in advance.

I talked with another board member who...

1. Lives in the same comunity as I do.
2. Has the same tank I do.
3. Was cool enough to let me compare the two.

Thanks again Tom, your bike is going to be great!

I could tell right away that the ears were not the same, the tank on the left is mine.

Here is a close up of mine...

Here is a close up of Tom's...

Now I shouldn't have to say this, again, but I have not altered the tank in any way. Likewise, Tom's tank is also unaltered.

As many of you have pointed out... I don't know how to mount this tank. This is, in fact, the first Dunstall tank that I have mounted to a CB750 (clearly I was gone that day in shop some 22 years ago)

The ass end of both tanks sits up high, I was wrong to think this was as big of an issue as I did. Here is Toms tank mounted.

I'm going to go ahead and send it back to Carpy. He is genuinely interested in customer satisfaction and I know we will get this worked out soon.

Later

 

[Deviant1]

Glad he's hookin ya up. Sucks to go through that, but he'll make it right. I've always heard that Carpy was a stand-up guy and if he's doing lots of business then he deserves it. Hell his site is the reason I decided to convert my cb750 into a cafe racer.
And it's a throw-back to something Von said about 6 posts back, but everyone should go find and listen to the Bigwig song "Sellout." It's a great song on the subject of folks yelling "SELLOUT."