The Paughco Tank

They've been making them wrong all these years!!

So rewind 3 weeks. The ol'man came to brooklyn and we spent the afternoon putzin around in the shop. I was showing him the latest on this build and we were playing around with gas tank ideas.

The peanut tank that Ive been using for mock up is really too small. Ive had this Paughco tank laying around it doesn't look right either. The tunnel is too low, but overall the proportions aren't right for this bike. The Paughco mustang tanks are supposed to look like split fat bob tanks welded together. They're close but there's something I never liked about them.

I envisioned this bike with something close to a set of flatside tanks. But real flatside tanks would be too big and look cheesy. This bike has a very close stance to that of the pan Fonda rode in the Wild Angels. I was becoming frustrated with not finding the right kind of gas tank for this bike. You would have to put a gun to my head to put a sportster tank on this bike. Even if I lowered the Paugho tank it would still look.... typical. With such a unique bike, it needs a unique solution for a gas tank. I wanted to steer clear of the jap chop formula that so many use today.

No sir... I don't like it....


I love the little side fill wassell tank but it's really too small to feed those 4 hungry carbs. It's all about riding isnt it?! And something still doesnt sit well with me about that Paughco tank. And then it hit me out of dumb luck!

I was messing with the tank and had it upside down. I walked away for a minute to get a wrench or something and then I hear the ol'man holler, "Check this out!" I come back and instantly saw what he did. The tank has a better shape upside down! And then I figured out after all this time why I'm not crazy about those Paughco Mustang tanks...

Its that flat spot that's in the center of the tank!

There's my mini split tanks that I originally envisioned! Believe it or not, these tanks have a better profile upside down.

It may not seem like much looking at these photos but in person it's day and night.

So we broke out the battle axe...







So has Paughco been making their tanks upside down all these years? Who knows. But what I do know is I definitely found my tanks for this bike.

I debated whether to sew the two halves back together or make them split. I think for something different I'm going to make them split. The biggest challenge is going to find two small gas caps and bungs like the one pictured. We'll see what Rhinebeck brings this year, hopefully not rain, I think we had enough already....