08 May dB25: The Tank – Part 2

With the completion of our fuel tank (shared in our previous newsletter) we were able to start work on the tank skin. This is our final body panel and such a defining part on any motorcycle so we had to make sure we took the time to get it right. Our tank skin is mounted through our fuel cap adaptor and floats 10mm away from the polymer fuel cell sitting below. This newsletter is a bit photo heavy but pictures can demonstrate better than words, so I thought you could follow the images on how the tank skin came to be!

Hand fabricated in aluminium, like the rest of our panels, piece by piece the tank skin is formed. The past 3 weeks have required complete focus with the tank being the most challenging piece to make.

It’s split in two halves to allow easy fitment and mounting in the middle, via our cap adapter. This plays a vital role in keeping the skin aligned and fuel cap central.

In the space of 3 weeks we must have removed and refitted the tank skin via the tiny 4 and 5mm bolts thousands of times, making adjustments and welding on the next section, all with the goal of the perfect fit.

We absolutely love the end result and feel it compliments the rest of the design as we intended. We couldn’t help but take the prototype outside so we could step back and see the full picture.

The tank knee indents have been specifically designed and shaped around the riders knee to allow room for the legs to be tucked in.

Our next task is to use the tank, as we have done with the rest of our panels, to create the mould so we can reproduce the parts in carbon fibre. Once this is done, finally we’ll be off to paint.

We’ve been putting together a colour palette for the dB25 to aid with colour selection. This No1 prototype has an owner and he has kindly, or cruelly, left colour choice up to us, so we look forward to diving into colours in the coming weeks.

Thanks for reading

Calum