The Hodaka Club Forum

I was wondering if anybody has bought one of those india made gas tanks you see on Ebay. To me, they look slightly different in shape than an original Hodaka tank. I would like to have an original and an India tank side by side to compare them. Hopefully some one has all ready done this that has bought one and would share what they have observed about these Indian gas tanks. Thank you gentlemen.

A friend of mine has gotten British repop parts and they are very good. No experience with Hodaka stuff

The only issue I've heard about them is the cost plus shipping is as much or more than getting an original Hodaka tank & having re-chromed. Victor

They are a few hundred less than a restored original Victor..shipping on my tank from India was free and only took 5 days.....a fully restored re-chromed clean dent free original will end up costing $600+ with shipping to and from the restorer...I know...I have 2, one CW one Super Rat fully restored in show condition... The Indian made tank is a wee bit fatter in the front bottom (about 4 o'clock under the tank badge when looking at the tank from the side) and the badge indentation is a bit larger than original...because of the "fatter" profile the tank seam just barley touches the frame near the gusset on my CW near the steering head (not sure about other frames)...finish is pretty good original big gas cap fits as do the stock petcocks...I have one sitting on my shelf in the shop...pm me if interested...I was going to use it as the "go tank" when I ran my restos but the fact that it will mar the paint on the frame when I use it I don't..I have sine found a decent dented CW tank that I use now to run the bikes...my show tanks will never see a drop of gas in them.
bob

How about some side by side pics if you would ?

i'll put some up tonight

Bob. You found a good deal if you found those tanks with free shipping! When I was looking st them they were $398 plus $175 for shipping! It would be a good idea just to post the vender from whom you were able to buy with zero shipping costs.

For me, I couldn't see paying $575 for an "unknown tank" when I could get an original for $100-150 & have it rechromed for around $300 at a chrome place in El Paso, TX. Victor

here are some comparison pics with a CW tank
Pic #1 profile shot...i have a red arrow where the tank seam comes too close to the frame...i glued some rubber strips to the tank to avoid marring and contact...you can also see the difference in the size of the badge indentation. Indian tank is slightly taller vertically and shorter horizontally. Pic #2 overhead shot..the indian tank is wider and shorter than the CW tank..the rear mounting brackets are a little longer to make up the difference on the Indian tank.I dont have an ACE tank but would imagine it is closer to the ace tank dimensions. Pic #3 from the rear...fatter than the CW tank. The Indian tank is MUCH heavier than the original...i believe they used a heavier gauge steel. chrome looks good...one issue was that the forward mounts were a little too close together..i had to spread them out using a threaded rod and some nuts..some of the chrome did come off of one of the forward mounts due to the stretching... it works but is a tight fit on my CW frame...

VICTOR...Always negotiate...you don't get what you don't ask for.

Thanks for posting those pics. You can see the tanks are similarly shaped, just some small differences. That's what I wanted to see. Thank you guys for your contributions to this post.