I am distressed

[Lee Davis]

I saw the video online about Ewan Macgregor having his El Dorado Cop bike "Restored" by Cycle Garden. I squirmed through it all. As a restorer of vintage autos and bikes, I feel a kinship with others in the business. I will not list my accomplishments, for that is irrelevant.
  But I have to take issue with something.... the 'restoration' of the gas tank. Instead of chroming the entire tank (as Moto Guzzi did), they took the option of cutting the knee panel out, chroming it, then welding it back in before painting. FOUL! What this does, (on a $250 tank), is to make the tank unoriginal, with a weld line inside. I assume they coated it, but, still it is an abomination.... to save money. What do you think?  I am an 'Originalist'... meaning, I think that things should be restored to strictly original.     Lee Davis

[Lannis]

I saw the video online about Ewan Macgregor having his El Dorado Cop bike "Restored" by Cycle Garden. I squirmed through it all. As a restorer of vintage autos and bikes, I feel a kinship with others in the business. I will not list my accomplishments, for that is irrelevant.
  But I have to take issue with something.... the 'restoration' of the gas tank. Instead of chroming the entire tank (as Moto Guzzi did), they took the option of cutting the knee panel out, chroming it, then welding it back in before painting. FOUL! What this does, (on a $250 tank), is to make the tank unoriginal, with a weld line inside. I assume they coated it, but, still it is an abomination.... to save money. What do you think?  I am an 'Originalist'... meaning, I think that things should be restored to strictly original.     Lee Davis

I guess it depends on what the customer thinks he's paying for.   If he wants a tank as close to original as possible, and believes that's what he's paying for, there are plenty of usable tanks that can be blasted, masked, chromed, and painted and not have a weld line inside.

If the customer agrees that he just wants a solid tank, then cutting out part of the tank, cleaning/baking all the crap out of it, welding it back up, grinding down the welds on the outside, and chroming/masking/painting it would be OK in my book.

Lannis

[Idontwantapickle]

I agree thats not original but beyond that it seems like a lot of trouble to cut weld grind repair and line vs just doing it right in the first place.
So there, it's wrong on 2 levels IMHO.

[Turin]

I don't see how it would be cheaper to cut out the panels, chrome them and weld them back on. Seems like a lot of extra labor.

I think Moe does his tanks this way for some other reason.

[Zoom Zoom]

This may be a dumb question, but wouldn't welding the panel back in mess up the chrome????????

I don't know, I'm simply asking.

John Henry

[Arizona Wayne]

My son Matt bought a used Suzuki 550 triple 2 stroke bike w/o looking in the gas tank that was full of gas.  He rode it home and later we found out the whole inside of the tank was total rust.      At the time I worked at an AFB where we reconditioned free standing air conditioners with a plastic media bead blaster when needed.  So I took my son's tank there and on my off time bead blasted the whole inside of that tank.  In maybe 5-10 minutes the whole inside was shiny metal just going thru the fill hole.    All the rust was gone and it never leaked!

[Lannis]

I don't see how it would be cheaper to cut out the panels, chrome them and weld them back on. Seems like a lot of extra labor.

I think Moe does his tanks this way for some other reason.

The folks that I consider the premier motorcycle fuel tank fixers, Moyers Fuel Tank Renu, do it that way.   Plasma-cut the bottom out of the tank, bake it in an 800 oven to get all the old crap out, weld the panel back in, grind out the weld marks, and seal the inside with a bulletproof red primer-like sealer of some kind that never goes bad.

They did my BSA Firebird tank, sent it back to me in primer ready to paint, for $290.   I don't know how they did it for that price, I'd have to charge $12,000 if I was doing all that ... !

Lannis

[bigbikerrick]

Interesting discussion, I always wondered myself, does seem like alot of work, but his results look exceptional! Nice loop tanks are getting to be like hens teeth, I really "baby" my 73's since it has original paint/chrome, and no rust inside. I would hate having to try to  find a replacement if I damaged mine.
Does an one make any aftermarket replacement like an alloy tank from India?
Rick.

[bad Chad]

Don't sweat it Lee, who the F cares what someone else did to restore their bike 5 or 6 years ago? 

[Huzo]

Don't sweat it Lee, who the F cares what someone else did to restore their bike 5 or 6 years ago?

Well, I guess Lee does, Chad...

[nbags]

i think reason the panel gets cut is to be able to get inside tank and clean rust and crap , i think is a lot different trying to restore something than the way it was built originally.I think people that restore items (car,bikes,furniture, etc.) are true artists i rather see a beauty full restore bike as a piece of art than a statue of duck with a cow head and a monkey tail and called it art .

[jwinwi]

Part of Moe's process is powder coating the tank inside and out. Clearly not original but he is forthright about what the customer can expect.

[Perazzimx14]

You can restore to look like original but it's only original once. I personally wouldn't care if there was a weld seam on the interior of the tank as long as it didn't leak. Moe also uses lead as a body filler not a
non-stock process.

[Murray]

As others have said it might be more about making sure a 40-50year old tank is rust and leak free on a bike you are selling for top dollar. The side pannels are probably point of least resistance as there are no fittings or mounting points deserved.

[jas67]

You certainly can't argue with the result.
I'd be very happy to call one of Moe's restored loops one of my own.

[Murray]

You certainly can't argue with the result.
I'd be very happy to call one of Moe's restored loops one of my own.

For whatever reason I still don't see why these things are desirable.

[Mr Pootle]

Do you want a museum piece, or a bike to ride? When I restored my 1954 Velocette MSS i,was persuaded to keep it original, and that included keeping the magneto. I could go to it at the end of it's winter layup, and it would start second or third kick. But if I stopped during a ride on a nice summer day, I'd have to wait for it to cool down before I could start it again. I tried three supposedly rewound magnetos, and the result was always the same.
The fellow who bought it from me wasn't so precious. He fitted electronic ignition. He can stop for coffee whenever he likes.
Sorry, Lee, keep a bike looking right, but don't be too evangelical about keeping it original.

[Lannis]

You certainly can't argue with the result.
I'd be very happy to call one of Moe's restored loops one of my own.

Go on, then. 

Or is there some reason you and I don't own one?   

Lannis

[guzzista]

The tendency to restore above and beyond factory finish standard has been around for a while now. Not saying it is wrong as specialists like Moe want to do the best work for their customers.  I believe that this M.O. has increased the value/ desiderability of original, non restored vehicles .

[jas67]

Go on, then. 

Or is there some reason you and I don't own one?   

Lannis

Yeah, price.     Of course, I'm still going to have $10k into this one before it's over:
IMG_0114 by jay_snyder67, on Flickr

[Turin]

I visited cycle garden back in 2005. :Pictures don't do his restorations justice. If I hit the powerball, that would be my first stop.

[Lannis]

Yeah, price.     Of course, I'm still going to have $10k into this one before it's over:
IMG_0114 by jay_snyder67, on Flickr

IN MY OPINION, that one looks like it's "Worth" $10,000 (in other words, I'd put $10K into building one).    An over-chromed, what's-in-a-name Cycle Garden bike, by the same criteria, is not "Worth" $30,000 or whatever they're asking these days.

I must say there's a lot of "I love these Cycle Garden bikes" and "I'd have one in a second".   Doesn't mean a whole lot, though, since there are very few owned by anyone who actually rides them and even fewer showing up on rides and rallies or just at an overlook .... ?

Lannis

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

I visited cycle garden back in 2005. :Pictures don't do his restorations justice. If I hit the powerball, that would be my first stop.

I've had three Cycle Garden built bikes here in the shop - Eldos and a V7 Sport. All of them had running issues which needed to be corrected, right off the truck from CG. The V7 Sport had a front tire so oversized that it was rubbing the fender braces, no rubber bumpers on the underside of the seat, rattlecan black paint on parts that should have been zinc-plated, etc. Oh, but the paint on the bodywork was nice...

[Chuck in Indiana]

^^^^^ Uh.. yeah. Sometimes, beauty is only skin deep. I'd take one of Charlie's restorations any day.. <shrug>

[John Ulrich]

I had my dented tank done by Moe.  Still perfect 10 yrs later.  What his process does is saves dipping a tank the acid wash that will eat up the bottom of the tank where rust starts.

[John Ulrich]

I had my dented tank done by Moe.  Still perfect 10 yrs later.  What his process does is saves dipping a tank the acid wash that will eat up the bottom of the tank where rust starts.                                               The chroming process destroyed more tanks then it saved.  Moe has a video that shows how It is done.