Not Café, but... (VX800)

[Innamorata 750]

So I decided to dig out my VX800 and get it going. I'm not sure why, but I have never been a huge fan of the VX's tank. To me, it always looked like the forgot the front half. So I did a bit of research, put my original tank up on fleabay, and bought one I thought should do the trick.

Sorry about the dark pics, but it gives the general idea. I need to make up a few mounts, and modify the side panels a bit, but I think it will look great once done.

Shiny Side Up!
Bill

 

[jgivens]

Awesome!! I used to have one too, very rare bikes. I didn't mind the tank, but hated the front fender so I modified an old sportster fender to fit. Made a few other cosmetic mods as well.
Cheers!

 

[Innamorata 750]

Next step, making the tank mounts.

The rear mount of the BMW tank will need to sit further forward than the VX800 tank. First, I removed all the old hardware, including the old seat mount.

Next I mocked up a seat/tank mount, using the original BMW piece.

As you can see, the seat hook pops right into the new mount.

It sits further forward than the factory Suzuki mount, and higher.

This is the stack of stuff it took to make the mount the right height. I'll replace this with a real spacer.

To be continued...

 

[Innamorata 750]

I sliced the thing up a bit to make it look nicer.

And welded it up.

The back of the tank is now nice and centered.

Next up, I'll make the front mount. This looks like it will be pretty easy, I just need to extend the Suzuki mount out by about 1-1/2 inches.

If all goes well, the side panels will snap into the side of the tank, in a similar fashion as the original Suzuki tank. I had planned to use the Suzuki cap, but it looks like I will need to use the one from the BMW.

Shiny Side Up!
Bill

 

[john83]

That's cool. I've always thought the XVs were such cool bikes. I used to have an Intruder so I wondered how that engine would be in a sportier chassis.