Overall Rating ++We've been hauling around an '86 Sportster for a few years now, just waiting for a chance to resurrect her. The hot 1200 engine blew up, and other projects relegated the first-year Evo Sporty to the corner of various garages and warehouses. Finally this year we decided to overhaul the motor, but why keep it ordinary? That's not how we like to roll. So we contacted S&S Cycle to outfit the original four-speed cases with a stroker flywheel and assorted other S&S go-fast goodies. When all was said and done we ended up with an 89ci mill that wouldn't fit into our stock frame. To make a long story short, the backbone and seatpost were cut to accommodate the motor. After attempting to mock-up the sheetmetal we found the taller motor wouldn't allow the gastank to even come close to fitting. The rocker boxes made the tank sit 2-inches higher than it was supposed to and there was no way to mount it. (All of the wonders of this build have appeared in HOT BIKE earlier this year).
During the frame surgery the rear gas tank mount was obliterated. We had made the backbone thinner, and welding on a new mount just didn't look right. To get around this problem we scoured catalogs for off the shelf tanks that didn't utilize stock mounting tabs or brackets. When we got to Paughco, we knew we had found what we were looking for. Not only did they have one of the coolest shaped tanks on the market, but it had universal mounting tabs that allowed us to mount the tank on top of the backbone. All we had to do was find someone willing to do the job.
Gard Hollinger of L.A. Choprods fame has a bitchin' little scoot that has a Paughco Mustang tank on it, so we decided to call him first. He's local to us in SoCal, and can never say no to anybody. The deal was set: We'd send Toph over to his shop to take photos and direct the operation, spend 12 hours there drinking Gard's wine and beer, and call it a day.
Installation requires some general fabrication skills and light welding. There are many ways to mount a tank such as this, but the following is our rendition.
| RATING GUIDE |
| ABILITY | ++ | TIME | + |
| TOOLS | +++ | COST | + |
Here's the underside of Paughco's extra-wide Mustang-style tank in the three-gallon capacity. This tank features tabs that attach the tank to the top of the backbone. In addition there are two petcock mounting options, one on each side. Other mounting lugs and capacities are available. | 
A top view of the tank showing the right side gas cap bung that utilizes a cam type gas cap. | 
The '86 Sportster frame, sans motor, awaiting Gard's gentle touch. The couch-type seat was put into position to approximate where the rider will sit once the scoot is done. |