Tank Options - left to right: Benelli Mojave, Sebring, 175 TS

"New" tank - filler and old decals are under the paint.

Though shown on the 160, the Benelli and Sebring tank were bought with the 250 in mind. I had been searching for a 125 Sport tank for the 160, but came across this 175 TS tank and decided I'll use it instead.

In 2005 I saw a bike at Mid-Ohio with a Benelli Mojave tank and liked it. In fact most people liked it - it won best in show in an AMA bike show. I then found an NOS Mojave tank on eBay and put in what I thought was a low bid on it. To my surprise, I met the reserve and won the tank. I thought I had my 250 tank.

Not long after that, a member of the bevelehads list notified me of a Mach 1 style tank on German eBay. I checked it out, and the Buy it Now price seemed reasonable. I liked it better than the Benelli tank, so I bought it. As it turns out it's not a Mach 1 tank (it doesn't have the cut out for the carb on the right side) and is probably from a Sebring. Since I'm not building a Mach 1 replica, that doesn't matter. It became the tank I intended to use on the 250.

Then the guy I bought the Sebring tank from listed parts off a 175 TS. I liked that tank too, so I decided to go with it instead of continuing my search for a Sport tank. It's in great shape for how old it is, it wouldn't require much work at all. But it uses a screw on gas cap, and I was hoping to use a "lever" type cap.

So... I gave in to my tank fetish and bought another TS tank off eBay. This one came from Spain. Took about six weeks to get here, and it's rough. Not nearly as nice as the one I already had. I have already discovered many issues with it, and the more I look, the worse it gets. The petcock bosses are both bent to the side rather than sticking straight down. The rear tab has punched the back of the tank in some. And then I ran my hands over it and something up front felt wrong. Right about where the bars would hit in a crash. I took out a pick, pressed it in to the paint, and discovered at least 1/4" of filler. Sigh...

I'm discovering some structural differences with it too. They won't matter to me, but should provide some clue as to what year/model the tanks are from.

As for the Sebring tank - I traded it to a buddy who's restoring an early (actually the first!) production Sebring. He gave me a different Benelli tank I thought I might use, but then as luck would have it I found a tank off a 125 Americano (I think) which is VERY similar to the Sport tank I wanted originally. Of course I bought it! I've lost count of how many tanks I've gone through on these two projects.