Safari Tanks ROCK !!

What stickers did you use, mine never stay on, or bubble badly

Nothing special. The oval was actually made on a copy machine using a sticker material. The KTM's are starting to bubble a bit after a year

I had problems with mine West of the Mississippi on up in the Yukon and back. I could barely thread and un-thread the gas caps on and off. I blamed it on the gas from the region because shortly after getting home, they were fine and thread (twist) without issue.

Both of mine overall expanded and never retracted so what I did was take the bolt holes in the rear of the tower and cut them into slots. Then I left it hang there loosly while I bolted up the tanks and got everything aligned. Once I did that, I tightened the tower to the head tube. It is solid as a rock and makes life easy.

I have a 950 so the plate in the bottom was never taken out for any reasons. The cork may just work. I had an older Husky 250CR and hated it in tighter woods so the shop owner said to stuff chunks of cork into 2 of the transfer ports to make the jug identical to the 250WR. Supposedly if the cork comes out, the motor will safely digest it and spew it out the tail pipe. It was in there for 2 years, never disintegrated, never came loose and that was with premix soaking it in a near volatile location.

Good luck

I buggered the hell out of the original fuel pump gasket (990... internal fuel pump) when I first fitted/installed my Safaris and couldn't wait till I got replacements, so I followed the advice of another inmate and used teflon tape (the yellow gas-grade stuff) to create custom "o-rings"... works like a damned charm and NEVER leaks: PERIOD. Even after I had to pull the pump to flush the filter while on the road, the yellow teflon tape never, never, never leaked. I pulled the pump again this past September to recheck the filters (had them replaced at Steamboat Powersports) and re-made my teflon "gaskets"... once again: no leaks. This stuff is awesome.

When you have your stickers made, try to get the printer to use a decent automotive-grade material (mine are printed on 3M vehicle wrap stock) and... make a SHITLOAD of them. Clean your tank(s) thoroughly before applying the stickers... you may want to try a 3M adhesion promoter (can be found online... http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/...4GSSPD0422000000_nid=L30MQM1M4DbeSQHC842H7Fgl)

You simply have to resolve yourself to replacing them when the bubbles get too much for your particular tolerance. My orange "KTM" stickers are ready for replacement... just waiting on my brother to get some free time to print me off a few more sets: I think I'm going white this time

I have a question re these tanks, and paint and stickers.
Forgive me if I have misunderstood the problem, but I take it, that its the action of the petrol vapor passing through the slightly porous plastic that causes the paint and stickers to bubble off?
If this is the case has anyone tried sealing the inside of the tank with one of the polythene seal products to prevent the vapour getting through it, and then put the stickers/wrap/paint on the outside, would that not sort the problem?

sorry if I am asking dumb questions.

Had mine on for a few weeks and no leaks at the pump. I took the edge off the lip where the 990 pump goes in and put a little grease on the O ring to minimize chances of damaging it during install, so far so good. The look of the tanks is starting to grow on me and the best part is no more crappy crash bars.

I've posted the same earlier in this thread (and on the other Safari tank thread), but here it is again...



http://www.advrider.com/forums/showpost.php?p=18423897&postcount=13877

I haven't been able to find out any additional info on how this tank seal/paint job on the Safaris is holding up long-term. You may want to do your own poking around if you are at all interested in sealing the tanks to paint. I've written it off at this point... throwing a couple of cheap stickers on every now and then suits me just fine and I've grown to like the rough "Road Warrior" look of the black tanks as they are.

CJ or others that have done this. What does it take to get a set of stout crash bars made to fit with the Safari tank?

I have to ask, as the shop I visit is trying to talk me out of a Sarafi tank due to crash bar removal. After 3 sets of bars replaced on 2 different 990s they think I am hard on things.

The slower off road dumps I am not not as concerned with. Is the old lady's taking the bike out from under you. Oh and my stupid slidding it down the pavement at a moderate rate of speed I am more concerned about. And as CJ said I like using the crash bars as an alternative foot rest on the ride from Arkansa to Colorado, or other destinations that take me out of the hills and curves down here.

Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions on best ways to add crash bars with the Safaris as I already have the tanks ordered.

Talk to Craig. He might be able to help you. I love the ones he put together... even have an upper fairing crashbar like they had on the 950 but that wasn't made available for the 990s due to the ecu location.
I can email you a pic, pm me if you'd like

I'm not a fan of Touratech crash bars but they offer them.
http://www.touratech-usa.com/Store/PN-370-0310/Crash-bars-for-large-tanks-KTM-LC8-Adventure-950-990

He told me those stories, he single handedly sold me on the tanks.

BTW, was working at a bike show in Cleveland and they had one of the Icon Triumphs with a winch on it. I used your and Matts divide snow adventures to explain one of the ways a winch is useful.

Thanks much for the thoughts, recommendations, and suggestions.

I really appreciate this site and everyone sharing their knowledge.

That's what it's supposed to be all about


.

Bike looks awesome cj. I love the look of safari tanks.

Just got word that there's a 6 week wait for Black and Clear tanks but if youre looking for orange and white they are available.

When I bought mine, I was told the translucent/clear was the least favorite



.

Proabably becasue gasoline is light sensitive and quickly (Hours) deteriorates when exposed to sunlight.. It often causes the Octane additives to settle out.. Race fuel is the most sensitive but I've seen pump 92 octane do it as well.

Good Luck

Dave

Good point on the degradation and one of the reasons I ordered the black. Since the bike is torn apart I guess it's a good time to go ahead and order the CPR air filter for her while I'm waiting.

Gas rarely stays in mine that long and right now more is on the road than in the tank. Fixing a leak at the carb now.

Is this direct from Australia, or is there a stocking dealer in North America?