710 Restoration Okay With Ethanol?

[nicholastanguma]

So I've been seriously considering having a 710m completely restored inside and out, from every nut and bolt and gasket to paint and upholstery; essentially factory new condition.

From years spent in the vintage motorcycle world I'm very familiar with making old carbed engines pretty well ethanol friendly by using modern material for fuel lines and carb diaphragms, etc.

But I don't yet know much about Pinzy fuel systems. Can the original carbies be retrofitted with modern ethanol-resistant components, or are there perhaps modern carburetor kits out there that already address this issue?

And besides the potential vapor lock issues I've read about here on the forum, are there any other ethanol related issues I could have pre-emptively fixed during the restoration?

[pcolette]

It would be a good idea to strip the red lining from the fuel tank and have it re-coated with a more modern product or have a new tank made of stainless steel.

Do a search on the forum for "red death" to get a good background on the potential problem.

My experience has run contrary to many and my lining has survived (so far). Hopefully I haven't just jinxed myself by saying that

[nicholastanguma]

It would be a good idea to strip the red lining from the fuel tank and have it re-coated with a more modern product or have a new tank made of stainless steel.

Do a search on the forum for "red death" to get a good background on the potential problem.

I've done some reading on here about the Red Death. A new tank made of stainless? Sounds a great idea, and thanks for the tip.

I've seen some pics of Pinzies with what appear to be giant long range fuel tanks. Are there such objects floating around that I could purchase and then have duplicated in stainless?

[pcolette]

Andre, here on the forum, has made up some higher capacity SS tanks in the past as I recall.

[Andre]

Here's a couple.

[Andre]

I believe Jim has some finish images of his extended range tank.

[nicholastanguma]

I believe Jim has some finish images of his extended range tank.

So you made the two fuel cells shown above, Andre? Or did Jim LaGuardia?

If I recall correctly the stock 710 fuel capacity is 20 gallons, with the spare jerry holding 5 gallons. I see using the space typically held by the spare jerry is taken up by the larger capacity tank, so how much total capacity does the long range tank hold?

By the way Andre, I visited your Facebook, and some of the stuff you've fabbed for Pinzies is outstanding!

[Jimm391730]

If I recall correctly the stock 710 fuel capacity is 20 gallons, with the spare jerry holding 5 gallons. I see using the space typically held by the spare jerry is taken up by the larger capacity tank, so how much total capacity does the long range tank hold?

Andre made this tank and guard that holds 43 gallons, plus a single additional 5 gallons in the jerry can (behind the small black panel which hinges down for access) giving a total of 48 gallons:

It is just barely higher than the bottom of the central tube but sticks out wider than the stock tank (fits well with the wider rub rails and widened rims). This was done to get the capacity up. This is installed on a 712, so there is less length available for the tank than in a 710. The tank is 16 gauge steel, not stainless. It has an in-tank fuel pump for my EFI setup. No "red death" to worry about, and the in tank pump has a fuel sock to filter without getting plugged. I just got back from a 3500 mile trip over three weeks -- it was so convenient to only gas up about once a day! The unfinished image in Andre's post is of this tank during test fitting during fabrication.

[Andre]

So you made the two fuel cells shown above, Andre? Or did Jim LaGuardia?

I built both, the yellow truck was done in stainless steel and I also built the tank guard for it.