Can you add a Harley Davidson Sportster gas tank to a Kawasaki Vulcan 800?
I want to turn a Vulcan 800 into a bobber, but the gas tank isn’t too appealing. I was wondering if it was possible to add any Harley gas tank to a Vulcan 800.
You probably could, and the result would be some sort of custom bike, possibly a mild chopper. But “Bobber” is a term with a specific meaning. You bob a bike by cutting of everything that does not contribute to making it go. Once you start replacing components, it’s not a bobber any more.
OK, end of pedantic criticism. It has been done: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-AMO1AY5J4
You’d probably need to remove the stock tank mountings from the frame (hello, angle grinder) and then weld on new ones that would work with the new tank. Then you’d need to sand and paint that section of the frame so that everything didn’t rust off. But that is just the beginning of your problems. The Kawa has tank mounted clocks IIRC. Most sportsters don’t (except perhaps the Sportster Custom? Not sure.) So now you have to find a speedo that will work with the Kawa. You probably won’t have a lockable tank cap any more, certainly not one that works with the same key as the ignition. The plastic cover over the steering head area is now too small, exposing ugly welds. Does your bike have a fuel guage or a low fuel light? You can get away with blanking it off on a bike with carbs, but fuel injection systems typically need that info. And an ON | Reserve petcock is the fastest way to kill your EFI. Does the Vulcan have an in-tank fuel filter? How are you going to clean your fuel with a different tank?
A quick look at http://www.cruisercustomizing.com/ and similar sites will show that while there is a massive aftermarket for Harley tanks, almost nobody makes alternative tanks for Jap cruisers. There must be a reason for that.Time to heed the wisdom of the market.
Frankly, unless you are doing a full-on custom like the one in the Youtube vid, it’s not worth it. Your best bet is to find a good paint artist. A good spraypainter (and there are an awful lot of talentless hacks out there) will design a paint scheme for your bike that draws the eye away from the bulky parts of the tank, making it look smaller.
