The Truth Behind Indian Made Gas Tanks
So the word on the street has It that the new Indian gas tanks are great replacement parts for those who are either missing a tank or for those replacing a damaged tank.
I'm sure most of you have probably noticed Indian gas tanks all over eBay or Google images at some point during your parts search.
There is a lot of controversy around these tanks and today I would like to uncover truth behind the new Indian made gas tanks.
Lets get to it...
eBay listing from an Indian gas tank seller located in India
Most Indian gas tank sellers on eBay always seem to put their spammy company or username over the images making them stand out like a sore thumb.
Indian based sellers have just about flooded eBay with there gas tanks and other various replacement parts.
Million dollar question... are the tanks any good?
A couple years back I started to notice a big influx of gas tanks from sellers coming out of India on eBay.
Most photos of the new Indian gas tanks appear to be of quality, just like an original but for half the price of a dented or damaged original tank.
I once contemplated about purchasing a new gas tank for my BSA Lightning, but after reading reviews on forums like www.britbike.com or www.triumphrat.net I quickly came to the conclusion that the Indian made tanks were not of the quality they portrayed to be.
Feedback
Based on feedback and what I read online (and been told by my customers personally) that the new Indian made gas tanks are simply a "lump of coal".
I have heard stories that some Indian tanks that where purchased where an exact reproduction.
The quality was spot on but none of the mounting holes lined up anywhere therefore making the tank useless without serious modification - who wants to put up with that?
I have also been told that not all Indian gas tank manufacturers are the same.
The word has it that not all Indian gas tank manufactures are the same on eBay. However, most of them (despite them being different sellers) get them from one manufacturer based out of the Middle East.
Although no one really knows where these gas tanks are manufactured, many have thrown out the possibility that they could be manufactured in Afghanistan, Pakistan or even Kazakhstan.
Be on the look out
When searching for a used gas tank be on the lookout for these Indian made gas tanks as one can trick you into thinking you were buying an original.
Indian gas tanks are typically sold as new replacement parts but many of them slip under the radar and are sold as original gas tanks when they should not be!
How to spot Indian tanks
You can usually identify an Indian gas tank compared to an original tank by some of the following key details.
Over the years Indian gas tank manufacturers have gotten smart on the way they produce their gas tanks simply because all the negative feedback they have received.
The 3 points as shown below are typical of Indian gas tanks but it's very possible they could have changed there manufacturing process.
#1 Red Gas Tank Liner
Most Indian gas tanks will have a red tank liner sealer that is typically applied on the inside and sometimes the underside of the gas tank.
The sealer is to prevent rust and also line the inside of the tank to stop corrosion from occurring from today's ethanol fuel.
I firmly believe the reason why the sealer is used because there might be small pinholes within the seams of the tank.
#2 Rust - Corrosion
Any new gas tank that would be manufactured today would have some type of coating to preserve and prevent corrosion.
Indian gas tanks have unusually hi levels of rust deposits despite it being a new gas tank. I believe that has to do with the quality control and the way that they preserve the gas tank during storage and shipping.
#3 The Shape
As most people always say there's nothing better than OEM.
Indian made gas tanks when compared to an original tank of the same type you will find that the finish, and the shape will not be consistent as an original gas tank.
Now I understand that it is very difficult to reproduce a gas tank not using the same stampings or molding from the factory. So I do have to give the Indian manufactures some type of credit by creating a gas tank basically from scratch or from an original tank.
"To sum it up..."
To sum it up I wouldn't recommend purchasing an Indian made gas tank to anyone.
As previously stated, I do give the Indian manufacturers some credit for at least trying to make a quality product.
However, most of these gas tanks are not usable therefore its very disappointing because I personally feel like sellers are selling junk and they deliberately know that.
If you purchased or own a new Indian made gas tank, please feel free to leave use a comment below as we would love to hear your personal feedback on it.
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Thanks for reading today!
Brian Jones.
I bought a Indian tank for my super rocket can’t fault it after 8 year chrome is still good
Geoff
I purchases new Indian tank for my 1950 BSA B32, the cost was far less than half the
price of rechroming the original . The finish and firt was good, knee grip rubber holes correct thread as well. Very pleased with , originals are unobtanium ,
Sluggo
I do want to add one additional comment, The statement about their “SPAMMY” logos plastered all over kind of pisses me off. I suppose you guys have never had intellectual property or your work stolen by others, but believe me, it can be very annoying and bothersome. (Cycleworld magazine did me wrong years ago and they didnt even have the decency to buy me a beer or say thanks)
But here is the scoop. I have a friend IN India and he used to be one of the leading manuf of replica speedos, tachs and other instruments. other companies saw his success and copied his work and drove him out of that market. (Flooded it with crappy knock offs). So the problem is global,,I have a friend who is the internets leading marketer of Belly dance and other clothing and accy,. Daily people rip her off. I know a guy who just sold his Triumph and within 6hrs ads popped up all over the US on Craigslist and other sites using his images and scam offers for half price for the same bike.
So watermarks other markings it is. I noticed on another blog post here on a Triumph service bulletin if you click on the scan of the image this sites logo appears in the background watermarking it. Are you guys SPAMMY as well??? Its a serious problem, so if you have better ideas on how to prevent scammers, thieves and rip off artists lets hear them.
But here is a funny story in the interim. I know a guy who makes Performance car parts and a scumbag competitor was making knock off parts similar to Andris’s parts. Too lazy to even do it right they had linked Andris’s parts pictures into their own webpage. (Too cheap and lazy to do their own image hosting) Andris learned of this and changed his websites host picture of those parts to a
photo of a Dog taking a S**t and the text across the picture “This image and product ripped off from Sk###e performance”. The competitor actually had the gall to call and yell at Andris for doing this.
Sheesh,,, some people eh?
Sluggo
Oh Jeez! Where do I start?? Sounds pretty biased, but I guess most guys have not tried a lot of these and I do agree, some of them are total garbage!
But not ALL! My neighbor up the road also has an extensive collection and very knowledgeable guy who also runs an Aerospace manuf business and knows the metal trades very well. He ordered 2 tanks 1 of which was bare steel and he had chromed here in the US, The other was for another BSA and he bought it already chromed. Neither was perfect but he was very satisfied with quality vs price. So, over the years I have bought a number of Indian and far eastern made parts for vintage BI.
Bolts, fenders, tanks, brackets etc.. Overall positive but I call most of them 80% parts as they are CLOSE but rarely 100% perfect.
So let me say this, I have some old BSAs that parts were Un-obtain-ium, its amazing to me I can get obscure tool boxs, fenders, battery trays and other parts no one else stocks, makes or has the slightest inclination to try. Same with my wifes 48 Norton, and I can on at length with bikes we have.
So, 2 things you need to know, 1st of all,, ALUMINUM tanks dont rust, and typically DONT have that sealer in them. Secondly Steel or Alloy tanks can be hand made, or formed on a die. Dies are a tricky thing to make,. Short runs you can make one out of hardwoods and get maybe 10-20 tanks before scrap, A proper die though is very hard to get made and very expensive,, but THEN you get consistent shapes and results. Thats why late 50s Triumph fenders from the UK vendor ACE Classics are hand made, long wait (6 months or so…) and cost approx $1250 per fender. (59 T110 or T120 for example)
Now, researching this, I became friends with a guy in India who makes all kinds of body work, He had great insights and echoes my experience living around the world. He said that MOST people making the tanks NEVER hear from the buyers, most parts are sold by middle men who dont care about getting it right. The makers would in most cases be happy to correct problems. I have supplied examples to be copied and they CAN be done right, but its a cultural gap and takes good comm skills and patience to get a good product. So, what IS lacking is consistent brand info, there ARE some good manuf over there and sure is a lot of garbage. Problem is shipping,,, no one wants to roll the dice and worry about a return. Eventually this will all get worked out, But I for one am stoked I can get obscure parts for obscure bikes. I will be visiting India soon, and touring several manufacturers as well as working on working out some kinks on these issues.
This guy here is a good friend, has visited me multiple times here in the US and will make anything you want. The Norton wankers on AccessNorton were rude as hell and I told him forget them, but he is killing it with Honda, Sportster HD owners and other bikes,,, You can see his products with me next year at the 2018 Norton international rally and I will have a display of Nortons and other bikes with his body work…
See: https://www.facebook.com/precisions.singh/
Chris Ray
Only one experience with an Indian made Norton Interstate tank . tried one because we all know how difficult it is to find a genuine one . it was rusty on the inside and no matter how hard we tried using a range of methods we could not clean it out . I sold it to a customer on apro , told him about the problem but he was desperate and decided to try it as well . no luck , he eventually went right through the metal , so I took it back and returned it to the importer. Its a shame because the shape and fit was OK , but they must be using some sort of crap steel with low nickle or chrome content which is easy to work but has no rust resistance. We sell the Emgo Roadster tanks and triumph T120 / T140 tanks with no problem , excellent product.