Click pictures to  supersize.

Olimotos

A company in Brazil, Olimotos, sells many brands of parts and accessories, plus clothing, and much more. They also sell replacements for stock parts. When I saw their plastic fuel tank replacement for the stock CRF250F metal tank, I was sold before I even knew what it cost.

They take PayPal, and ship to the US.

Some riders have used WhatsApp to communicate. I just used email, with short clear statements and questions. They use personal and computer translators, so communication was not a problem.

A very good thread on Thumpertalk tells about Olimotos and other companies:
CRF250F Aftermarket Brazilian Parts Sources

My first email:

Their response:

And we were off and running.
I paid.
They acknowledged.
They shipped.
I received.
Done and done.

19 days from time of payment to in-my-hands.
$118 USD tank + $95 USD shipping = $213 USD total

Because of Real to USD conversions at different times, tank and shipping amounts are approximate.

So the tank was ready to be swapped in.
And then I had some problems.

First, there were no instructions. Well, not as bad as I thought. I had the Honda CRF250F Service Manual, and it had a very good description of how to remove and re-install the fuel pump. But the XCELL fuel tank and hardware were just that little bit different from the stock Honda, that I had to make a few decisions.

Mounting bolts
There were 4 black anodized M6x20 mounting bolts supplied in the kit. After looking at the stock Honda mounting bolts, I found 4 each of M6x16 bolt, collar, and conical spring washer. I liked the Honda setup, so I used the collars, conical spring washers, and some new M6x25 bolts I had on hand. The bolts were longer to insure they would reach the cast-in nuts on the tank with plenty of over-reach, but not bottom in the plastic tank casting.

Note: Honda called for 12 fig-newtons on the bolts, but that was for a steel tank with all steel except for a plastic plate, whereas the XCELL tank was an all plastic setup with one thin metal plate. I did not want to deform the plastic or rip out the cast in nuts, so I used 5 fig-newtons, and that seemed plenty tight. It closed up all the gaps between the plates and spacers.

Hole alignment
One of the cast-in nuts was slightly out of line. The picture shows it slightly off to the inside. I thought about enlarging the hole in the plastic base, but then thought not. The stock Honda metal and plastic plates had holes large enough not to be affected. In the end, I raised the black plastic plate and others slightly as I threaded the bolt in, and then lowered the complete assembly to finish screwing in the bolt and it probably enlarged the hole enough to seat properly. It did not take any more effort to screw in than the other 3 bolts.

Gunk in cast-in nut
The pictures show some gunk that was in one of the cast-in nuts. At first, I just tried screwing the bolt in to clear the threads, but only got it in about 4mm before it jammed. I used a near-new M6-1.0 tap and ran it in slowly, removing it from time-to-time to clear the debris. Finally, the threads were cleared and the mounting bolt screwed in as it should.

Note: I call them cast-in nuts because they are functionally that, but in reality, they are not actually nuts. They may have some shape that extends wider than a nut, and that would keep them from breaking loose and spinning in the plastic in which they are cast.

O-rings oiled or dry
Honda said to coat the rubber o-rings with motor oil, but I elected to go dry. The honda parts are metal; the XCELL parts are all plastic, and I felt that oil was not needed. Maybe a bit would have been ok......

Front tank mount
The stock Honda tank uses a rubber donut spacer in the front mount. This donut is too large to fit the XCELL front mount hole. I cut off the top rubber flange and used the shortened donut on the mounting post. The front tank mount then rests on the post/donut and the mounting bolt holds it down in place. I used a flange M8x15 bolt and a washer.

Summary
So there were a few problems, but nothing that couldn't be dealt with using what was on hand. I took my time and spent 3 hours total to do the job. I learned about the fuel pump and connections, so time well spent.

After mounting the tank and connecting the fuel pump, I poured about 2 cups of fuel in the tank to check for leaks. The next morning found the tank bottom dry as it should be. I added about 1/2 gallon of fuel, primed the fuel pump, and then finally started the bike and it ran just fine.

Weight a minute, almost forgot...
I read somewhere that the XCELL tank weighed 2.6 lbs less than the stock Honda tank. Here is what I measured. I used grams to weigh, then converted to lbs. 1 3/4 lbs less is what I ended up measuring for the tank plus cap.

I put 6.4 liters of fuel in the tank. That's 1.7 gal in 'Merican.

Ready to ride.

I was very happy to do business with Olimotos. They were prompt, polite, and the product is most excellent. The price seemed fair to me. If they ever make/sell a larger fuel tank, I will definitely be interested.

Thank you Olimotos.

fini

 Rick's Home Page