Ace or Super Rat? Tank on eBay

[viclioce]

I found this on eBay today. Could this be the more narrow Super Rat fuel tank, or is it just another Ace 100 tank? I'm not real familiar with them, but it looks to be in fairly good shape and reasonably priced. Thought I would put a copy of the link up. If someone can A. Tell me yes or no about it being a Super Rat & B. If anyone is interested in it, I'm just putting it up for anyone who might be in need.

I'm not saying it IS a Super Rat tank, but if it is someone please tell me/us! I know there were people looking for one!
; D Victor

http://m.ebay.com/itm/HODAKA-PABATCO-AC ... nav=SEARCH

[MTrat]

Not a rat...

[viclioce]

The seller says the frame number the tank came from is 45441, which, if I read Paul's frame number chart right, would make it from a 1970 MX, a Model 93, so that would be a Super Rat, right? Let me know if I am wrong. If I am correct, then someone who was Looking for a Super Rat tank should jump all over this!!' ; D Victor

[socalhodaka]

Looks like a rat tank to me

[viclioce]

Well for the price, someone who needs one should jump on it! ; D Victor

[Dale]

Victor,
The frame number that begins with A is an Ace 100 and not a Super Rat. There has been numerous discussions about anomalies in the model numbers. Some of the Model 92 Ace 100 numbers fall in the range of the Super Rat numbers in the listings...

I feel confident in saying that if an Ebay listing says that it is a Super Rat, there is a fair chance that it is not. And... if an Ebay listing does not say Super Rat, then it is highly doubtful to be a Super Rat. Looking at the Frame number and at the 3rd picture, I would say that this is not a Super Rat tank.
My opinion,
Dale

[Bullfrog]

It doesn't look like a Rat tank to me.

Ed

[rtboone]

Greetings

Just curious.

How much thinner is the Rat tank than the Ace tank? With .75 gal less capacity, I'm guessing that the Rat tank would need to be be about 1" to 1 1/2" narrower.

Am I close in my guess/estimate?

Thanks

Tom

[bchappy]

I don't have the measurements but it looks a little wide for a Rat tank. In addition, there is a lot of rust showing on the bottom of the tank and I would be surprised if there were not a lot of leaks when you start cleaning the inside.

[rlkarren]

Your best chance at identifying a narrow tank from a photo is by looking at the underside and it's lengthwise profile. But I will say that unless you can actually go "hands on" with both and do a side by side comparison, it is difficult to see the difference in photos.

I drew a picture of what i see when looking at the two side by side. It's not "to scale" and the features I look for may be a little exaggerated for emphasis.

From previous postings about Hodaka tanks it's been highly suggested that these tanks were more than likely hand-made and they are not all exactly the same, which makes it even more difficult to identify a Narrow vs Wide tank from photos.

$0.02

Roger

[viclioce]

Well, I've been provided enough "clarification" to be able to say it's NOT a Rat tank. Seems there's some errors in the mid year 1970 frame numbers which makes this NOT a Rat tank, if that s indeed the frame it came from. I was also not aware that ALL Ace frames started with an "A." I am fully aware of that now. So my apologies to anyone who's hopes had gotten up! ; D Victor