Lightweight tank for slimline Dominator

hello yes I have a Norton manxman 650  And these tank were made of these motorclyes first  but in 62  they were fitted to the first atlas  and the odd ES2  as well they hold 2.1/2 gallon of fuel and you can get your knees tucked in to the tank there a nice tank  and the bikes are super rare as there is onlt 12 in this country and  I found 58 to date  along with the first one ever to be built  and know of two for sale  shop number 40 and shop number 10  are still for sale but both are of need of a full restoration  and shipping is expencive  1500 pounds being the cheapest and two months wait  for shipping,  so not good ,  yours   anna j 

Hi Daniel, for the elimination of possible confusion, Lightweight as we use it here in the NOC is generally taken to mean the small 250/350/400 twins, as opposed to the Dominator range 500cc and up.

The style of the L/W and Slimline are very similar eg tank flash badges. In fact the Slimline is an enlargement all round of the L/W, introduced for the Jubilee model in 1958.

I have just measured a L/W tank: at 19 ½”, the L/W is about an inch and a half shorter; at 11 ½” is about an inch narrower at the tank’s widest point. Sitting it on a Slimline, this narrowness means it sits above the top rails and fully exposes them, rather than sitting on and concealing them.

Front and back tank mountings are completely dissimilar.

That’s not to say a skilled metalworker couldn’t split it lengthwise (top and bottom) and add in extra metal to widen: likewise front mounting studs could be welded on. There would also be a gap between the back of the tank and the nose of the seat to compensate.

All in all, nothing is impossible, but whether the effort (and therefore cost) is worth it, is a matter of opinion. As to style, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but to my mind would look strange. Best bet would be to look on American websites and auctions, to source a US-market tank.

You're most welcome Daniel. Although many years of Norton ownership, this has mostly been with the slimline big twins. I have recently commenced on the reassembly of a pile of bits comprising an Electra- I have learnt a huge amount about these just in the last couple of months, entirely from items on this wonderful website.

I've said it before, I'll say it again, look at some of the other old brit one-make club websites, then you will appreciate the huge resource we have at our fingertips- and all for 40p/week! (or a bob a day;-) )

Thanks Anna for your input. No misunderstanding on my part: “PS; I just saw the tank is a Manxman tank but as it is super rare I still wonder if my initial idea might work? “ I was helping Daniel appreciate how the L/W and standard Slimline tanks differ, and what the implications of a conversion might entail, to hopefully save him wasting his time and money on a probably  fruitless endeavour.

As you say, you have the Manxman model he admires, so given the skills and resources you profess, you are in a position to help him directly by making a replica to your bike’s tank.

Hello well in answer to your last thred  there are two Norton Manxmans up for sale with in the USA  if anyone cares to look and do there research  and one is the 10th ever made And as been up for sale for some years now and is still 2500 dollers     if you are interested you will have do your own web browsing    Yours  Anna J