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I'm already thinking ahead to this winter's mods, and am seriously thinking about replacing the Falco headers with some custom stainless headers from my mate Mark Chittenden. This is partly for the performance gain I'd expect, and partly because the Falco headers are made out of a really shit grade of stainless that rusts like buggery.

My question is, while I'm changing the headers is there any benefit in swapping the cast iron Falco oil tank for the (I believe) stainless tank of the RSV Mille? As far as i understand, a change of tank requires a change of exhaust routing, so if I'm going to change the tank it would be wise to do it before having a set of custom headers made up.

Is there any real advantage in changing the oil tank, or is it normally just done so people can fit RSV Mille headers/exhaust to a Falco?

normally just done to fit the mille headers afaik

i think thta rather than getting some made, i would get some mille headers - likely to be cheaper and will fit with little fiddling

the mille oil tank is required - the oil cooler matrix is not necessary, the falco one can be plumbed in so long as you have some spare oil pipe - it needs a longer length to go up and over - it will make sense when you see it!

you do need the polished steel oil tank to ensure it fits on the skidmarkx falco belly pan - and even then mr dremel does have to visit in a small way

Oil tanks:

• Falco: Cast Aluminium (not Iron)
  MilleR: Stainless (very thin gauge - light weight)
  Mille: Mild Steel - painted
  
  Mille and MilleR are exactly the same shape and size.

Mille / MilleR oil tank does not require a change in Falco exhaust

Mille Exhaust will not fit with Falco oil tank - that is why we fit the Mille Oil tank when we convert to Mille 2:1 exhaust systems.

Pete is right that you can use a Falco oil cooler with a Mille oil tank - I did that when I first made the swap and made a pretty neat job of it ..... but fitting a mille oil cooler makes a much neater job than the best you could hope for using a falco cooler and extended pipework to suit.


If you are getting a custom exhaust made, you don't need to worry about any changes in oil tanks or coolers - just work round them.

Hi Andy,

Thanks for that, especially clarifying the materials used. I was thinking that a switch from the Falco oil tank to a MilleR version might save quite a bit of weight, but the weight saving would be fairly insignificant I guess. A Mille tank would probably add weight...

As you say, custom headers can accommodate either oil tank; so being a lazy sod, I think I now have my answer...

one thing to consider is that I believe the mille headers are more effective than the falco ones partly due to their size but also their shape - the routing of the front header is a lot more direct than the falco one - so to get the best performing header you may well need a mille tank anyway....

and andy i thought that the not polished shiny oil tank was a different shape than the other one - remember i was able to get the belly pan to fit with the shiny one where others had struggled with the plain one?

I've had a number of discussions with Mark about exhausts and it's his opinion that there are a lot of myths surrounding exhaust design. For example he's perfectly happy using oval section pipe instead of round if space dictates it, as long as the cross-sectional area isn't compromised.

He also normally builds his headers with a smaller diameter pipe near the exhaust port (for mid-range power) flaring out at a predetermined point to a larger section (for top end power).

I don't think the exhaust routing on the Falco would give him any concerns. He's also not necessarily a fan of siamesed or linked pipes on twins, but normally builds them with a link pipe just because people seem to want it...

mangocrazy wrote: I was thinking that a switch from the Falco oil tank to a MilleR version might save quite a bit of weight, but the weight saving would be fairly insignificant I guess. A Mille tank would probably add weight...

I know we always think Stainless = Heavy, Aluminium = Light but I'm guessing the stainless tank is the lighter of the two as it uses a very thin gauge steel.
Also, if I remember, it's capacity is a bit less so the weight of oil is less .... but the difference is not going to be noticeable on the bike in the real world.

You would save far more by going for a 2:1 with less pipework and only one can.

Aladinsaneuk wrote:one thing to consider is that I believe the mille headers are more effective than the falco ones partly due to their size but also their shape - the routing of the front header is a lot more direct than the falco one - so to get the best performing header you may well need a mille tank anyway....

...... and don't forget, there are 2 different designs of mille header - biggest difference in the centre section where the 2 pipes join together. Think I've posted some pics of this somewhere.

Aladinsaneuk wrote:
and andy i thought that the not polished shiny oil tank was a different shape than the other one - remember i was able to get the belly pan to fit with the shiny one where others had struggled with the plain one?

Nope - same shape.
What you hadn't mentioned to me previously was that the rubber mounts at the bottom of the tank need to be removed .... I'd not spotted that they were removable items until I bought the stainless tank.
TBH I'm not that happy that I've removed them as they are obviously there to protect the oil tank from vibration (and potential cracking of the mounting tabs). I'll be glad to get the Mille belly-pan fitted and restore the rubber mounts.

My zoltion was too use my 3 quid o ring set and make some thinner bushes....