For obvious reasons, gas tanks generally receive the lion's share of most viewers' attention. Their size and prominence are contributing factors, and paint, shape and patina solidify the allure. Oil tanks get short shrift when it comes to building buzz for a bike's aesthetic. I personally love them, and on the ten or so motorcycles I've wrenched on with friends I've seen all kinds: horseshoes, boxes, barrels, custom-crafted sheetmetal obelisques, monocoques and even a badly dented battery box combo or two.

Hoses, hard lines, fittings and hardware add further intrigue to oil bags, and are another reason we're giving this easily overlooked component its 15 minutes of fame. If you've got a finished oil bag or a project in progress, please share it with CC members in the main forum.