FS NOS gas tank; fits '73-76

[Mike OReilly]

This came out of the Montreal QC area. There was a guy importing KTM's into Canada back in the late 70's and I believe this is where this came from.
NOS tank, to fit the 1976 Cross Country models. In 1976 the cross-countrys were carry-overs from the previous CMF hi-breathers.(MC5 motocrosser came with an all-new frame) This will fit all of the 1973-1976 hi-breather frames with the square backbone.
The tank has some shelf wear (see photos) but is otherwise brand new. No scuffing in the knee area or underneath - the gel coat is unmolested.
$225 plus shipping, from 13669.


Mike

[rpage11]

Mike
Will this fit the 77 250 GS 6?  If so, I'll take it off your hands.  Thanks

Skip Page
Tucson, AZ
//www.robertpagearchitect.com

[Kip Kern]

77 was a turtle frame, one of a kind

[G Ellis]

Looks to me the tank is for a MC5,not for a GS6 frame. Skip if you need a talk for a GS6 frame I have some. Email me @ [email protected]. Later Gary

[rpage11]

Gary
E mail sent.  Thanks Kip for the help.

Thanks

Skip Page
Tucson, AZ
//www.robertpagearchitect.com

[Bob Seymour]

I have a nice tank available for the 77 GS6 also. You can email me at: [email protected]   Thanks, Bob

[Mike OReilly]

I compared the tank tonight to an 1976 MC5 tank. They are not the same.
And as pointed out, this is not a GS6 tank. They were round at the back end to fit over the round (or turtle-style) top tube/breather.,

1976 was a transition year for Penton/KTM: the cross-country bikes and the motocross bikes diverged, with the all-new MC5 motocross bike.

This tank will fit all of the CMF hi-breathers, (very) late 1972 (earliest Jackpiners) and the 1973 Hare Scrambler: the "toaster" tank era, thru the "Watermelon" era, into 1976.

I checked out the "model years" section of this site, and it indicated that all of the 1976 cross-country bikes came with this tank, but in orange - in America. That jives with my recollection. I believe this is a European KTM tank that was ordered by the Canadian importer, direct from KTM, and never sold. In Europe it would have been fitted to the 175, and had a KTM logo, as opposed to Penton. (Maybe I should advertise to our European counterpart enthusiasts?)

Anyway, that's my 10 cents worth. I can be contacted directly at [email protected]

Mike

[Larry Perkins]

Seems like the 76 GS bike had the same frame as a 75 high breather but had the Ceriani leading axle forks on the front.  That is probably what this tank was meant for. Not till 77 did the GS have the turtle frame.

Larry P

[Mike OReilly]

Yes the '76 cross-country was the same frame as the '75 hi-breather.

Most that I have seen, and my brochures, show them with the straight-leg Ceriani's with the rib on the front (220 mm. travel). I read somewhere that some preferred that setup because it carved better in the tight stuff than leading axle.

In the meantime, anyone interested in buying the tank??
$225 and I will cover the shipping.
I would prefer not to have to go the Ebay route.

Mike

[454MRW]

I've seen the leading axle Marzocchi forks on the 76 cross country 175 and smaller bikes, but all of the 250 and 400's I have seen had the straight axle Ceriani's usually with the ribs. Mike

[rpage11]

Thanks for the extra information.  I couldn't tell the difference looking at the side of the tank it looked like the one I have.



Looking down the throat must be considerably different.



Also here's a picture of what you're calling the turtle frame, if anyone is interested.



Thanks again for the help

Skip Page
Tucson, AZ
//www.robertpagearchitect.com

[Mike OReilly]

I finally got the time to dig out the brochure for the 1976 Penton Cross-Country lineup. As you can see from the photos, the frame is the same as all of the high-breathers, 1973 thru 1976, so this tank will fit all of those.

Also, as noted on the brochure, all American bikes 125 thru 400 had the orange tank. This tank is European NOS which would have been fitted to a 175.

Any takers before I go to E-bay or look into selling it to Europe? No reasonable offer refused.

Mike

[Mike OReilly]

P.S.

I have the Penton stickers (new) for the tank as well.

I found them when I was digging through all of my literatre this evening. Totally amazing how you can completely forget some of the treasures that you have.

I also found - a copy - of what is probably the earliest piece of Penton literature, with a special note from Doug Wilford. It mentions the bikes being available April 1st (as in 1968!). I will post it soon for everyones enjoyment.

Mike

[Kip Kern]

If you look in the GS 76 parts book, there were 3 choices of forks available for the bike.  Mine has the leading axle Ceriani's. A fantastic machine to own with the heavy crank and flywheel

[Mike OReilly]

It was definitely mix and match at the factory. This was not like the Japanese where they set up the tooling and then cranked out a gazillion of the same.

I have:
- a 1975 1/2 250, with ribbed, straight-leg Ceriani's;
- a 1976 MC5 with the leading axle Ceriani's (very cool, not too many of that fork before they went to Marzocchi);
- and finally a 1977 GS6 with the "tunnel" style frame and the Zokes.

Mike