As I understand it the airbox (and possibly the carbs) are different to accomodate the larger tank and it is not a straight swap.
As a result of the larger tank (and smaller airbox) the breathing on the newer bikes isn't as good either so any benefits of a couple of extra litres would be nearly cancelled anyway
The airbox on 97-2001 is the same as 2001 onwards. There has been a myth about that it changed with the new tank which is false. The extra capacity comes at the top and sides of tank. The 48mm CV carbs have never changed on VTR. As far as making a later tank fit on a pre 2001 bike. The fuel tap & vacuum valve are the only differences. On 2001 models the vacuum valve is seperate from tank and it has no fuel tap attached to tank. If you got the fuel supply house from wrecked 2001 model and the vacuum valve and fuel lines it will bolt straight up.
I find one of the problems with the VTR gas milage is that it never gets all the fuel out of the Tank before it stops. have thought of adding a fuel pump to solve this problem or removing the vacuum operated safety valve to see if that is where the problem lies. (i.e. the vacuum line shuts the fuel off as soon as vacuum drops with nearly 2" carbs it would only take a small hiccup before vacuum was lost)
So. It seems we have someone here, who has detailed technical "real world" knowledge of the vtr1000. But who is right one might wonder.
Has anyone actually tried to mount a bigger tank on the "older" VTR100
Somewhere else on this very nice bulletin board I read something about
having to raise the handlebar(s) - that makes sense if the 19 l. tank is
both higher and wider.
Is raising the handlebars required, or is that also a myth
Not sure if the earlier model bars will foul tank. But the latter model also had slightly different bar angles than earlier models so that is a definate possibility. I have actually sat my later model tank on my mates 98 model VTR it fitted over airbox fine. Never tried full lock with his bars though. I have a vista cruise control on my throttle that touches the tank when on full lock so the clearance is definately tight.
Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge. I will pass your reply on
to my mate. It seems that he now has the knowledge required to make a useful decision.