The Wandering Waltons: The XT1200Z Tank Conversion Project

As with all good idea’s it started with a conversation that went pretty much like this, give or take.

“If you’re doing the Iron Butt Rally with me you need to sort out your tank, I don’t want to be having to stop for you to fill up every half hour”

“Cheers for that, at least you’ll get a smoke break, its not the 675 you know I can do 240 miles”

“240 miles, is that it.................?”

“I know the GSA can do 340 you don’t need to tell me AGAIN!”

And with those words rattling around inside my head I thought I’d better get my sh1t together and see if I can sort out the horrendous short fall in the Yamaha XT1200Z fuel capacity of 23 litres (5.1 imp gal - 6.1 US gal).

Last year I spotted a very nice Honda Varadero (Thank's GrahamD, LOL) with one of the largest fuel tanks I have ever seen but I felt it was just a little “Too Radical” for my taste. Mind I would have liked to have met the owner and found out where the fabrication had been done.

Now that is what I call

a LARGE fuel tank.

Having had a good look at Kevin’s FJR Tank Expansion Conversion at the weekend only added more fuel to the fire (no pun intended, much!)

Spot the difference, very sutel but

effective!

So with a little rooting around the Yamaha Super Tenere Forum I found the thread I was looking for, fellow XT1200Z owners who were as disgruntled as me. I added my pennies worth to the already busy thread and asked ~TABASCO~ if he could fabricate me a tank, increasing capacity by at least 5 litres, the answer came back with a categorical “Yes, I can do that for you” and so my New Project sprang to life.

After a quick fire exchange in which I explained my requirements :-

Hi J,

I’m looking for something that looks “Factory” as you put it. Something that to the untrained eye would be quite easily missed. Cost I know is going to be up there but the rewards are too. Starting with a brand new tank or as good as new, and shipping a complete, drop on hook up the fuel lines and away I go painted tank.

Design wise I will leave it to you but would love to be kept informed via photo’s and the like as you know I’m a bit of a Mad Blogger LOL so would like to document the whole journey.

Is this enough information to be going on with from my side? Will you need an initial set up payment or how do you work.?

Cheers

Ray

Jaxon of www.rideonadv.com took on the project whole heatedly so it was off to find a tank for him create mock ups on before cutting it up. Plus with so much experience on tap at WildCard Customs
817-831-9700 www.wccprodiselperformance.com this is going to be one very special Project Tank. There are going to be lots of eye's following this one J!

I jumped onto eBay first in the UK only to find there was nothing what so ever new or second hand. Checking the price of a new tank made my eyes water £791.89 including Vat. However a quick look on U.S. eBay brought a massive smile to my face when I spotted this listing:-

YAMAHA SUPER TENERE GAS TANK OEM

NEW NEVER USED

You are looking at a new fuel tank off of a 2012 Yamaha Super Tenere . This tank was ordered for a customer and was never installed and has never had gas in it. This tank is perfect in every way. This would be a great tank to replace a worn or damaged tank. This tank retails for $590.00! Save Money now! This may fit other models as well, so consult with your local dealer before bidding. Check our feedback and bid with confidence. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you for looking.

It was listed at $425 I made an offer of $350 which tejasmotorsports accepted almost immediately.

The original tank can be expanded in three ways, up, out and back. Using a 1 litre oil container bag I’ve taken a few pictures to give J an idea of what I’m looking to achieve this expansion. Initially I was looking to go for a 10 litre expansion but will be happy with anything over 5 litres as this will increase the range of the XT1200Z to 300+ miles.