X-Pro Paladin 300 gas tank swap process

[LightSmith88]

Hey gang! I know that many of you will now attempt the IMS gas tank swap in light of the 'actual' capacity of the stock tank. I did a write-up on it in my Paladin mods thread, but it was a while ago, and I feel that it has been buried among all the other fun stuff there. I also have since learned how to put full-sized pictures in my posts, which will make it a little easier to understand. I intend to show every step that I took to make it work. Keep in mind that some have been able to do this swap while omitting certain steps. I believe that this is due to the inconsistencies in the fabrication process. If you can get a good fit without some of these steps, great! Consider yourself lucky. I definitely took a couple of unnecessary steps along the way, but for simplicity's sake, I will omit them from this write-up. So here we are, stripped down to the bare stock tank and ready to begin the swap.
https://i.ibb.co/zhFwGgmD/20250222-104121.jpg (https://ibb.co/PZM8wyr0)
And the other side
https://i.ibb.co/B5MHpkvg/20250222-104108.jpg (https://ibb.co/dwYsTZXQ)
The tank that I chose for this project is this tank https://a.co/d/9Ysix4T The initial test fit revealed a couple of clearance issues.
https://i.ibb.co/Jwb6tnQM/20250222-105743.jpg (https://ibb.co/21LVhqNf)

[LightSmith88]

Here are the few areas that I had to deal with in order to make this thing fit. The first is the voltage regulator.
https://i.ibb.co/0pgDXxWs/20250222-105816.jpg (https://ibb.co/9mF8v7fZ)
This was solved by relocating it to the opposite side of the bike and attaching it to the radiator on that side.
https://i.ibb.co/qFJgWdHm/20250223-121550.jpg (https://ibb.co/x8FgfDnz)
Once moved, it made contact with the new tank in the lower left corner.
https://i.ibb.co/fzmnq4Y1/20250223-123838.jpg (https://ibb.co/6761rgRn)
I made room for this by shaving a little material off with a belt sander. This part is just aluminum fins for dissipating heat, so there is no harm in removing a tiny bit.
https://i.ibb.co/cSCMbCKk/20250223-113531.jpg (https://ibb.co/TxbpKbDY)
https://i.ibb.co/R5c1WK0/20250223-113537.jpg (https://ibb.co/9MWJj0T)
That solved the problem. The next issue was the rubber grommets that slipped into the notches on the bottom of the tank. On the IMS they are slightly smaller and a different shape.
https://i.ibb.co/YByNF045/20250222-105755.jpg (https://ibb.co/8gdmLYny)
The way I solved this one was by removing them and wrapping some rubber tape around the metal. It worked out just fine. Here is factory.
https://i.ibb.co/hnQHgFv/20250223-111449.jpg (https://ibb.co/cpftyhd)
And then bare.
https://i.ibb.co/LhxvG046/20250223-111455.jpg (https://ibb.co/YTcbrNv8)
Here is what I used...
https://i.ibb.co/Y4xpxQ9m/20250223-111529.jpg (https://ibb.co/NgMZMCh5)
Then the result..
https://i.ibb.co/HTYBmH9B/20250223-111643.jpg (https://ibb.co/chtkzrsk)
The next thing was that the back of the tank made contact with the computer.
https://i.ibb.co/ZzD61Ttv/20250222-105804.jpg (https://ibb.co/8gZD48TG)
This was solved by making new holes just behind the original ones and reinstalling. That gave me just enough clearance...
https://i.ibb.co/N2yhNPKg/20250223-111218.jpg (https://ibb.co/9HrX4LWm)
After that, wire management between the frame below the tank was the next hurdle. I did not get a before picture but here is what I ended up having to do to get it all to fit properly. Nice and tight!...
https://i.ibb.co/BHtKYfS0/20250223-121634.jpg (https://ibb.co/V0tpkLPf)

[LightSmith88]

Now this next part is not entirely necessary but I thought it a good idea. I realized that the new tank was right up against (not quite touching but close) the cylinder head on both sides. To put my mind at ease, I added some thermal protective shielding to the underside of the tank. This is what I used https://a.co/d/fBK49Zk and here is what it looked like...
https://i.ibb.co/8gdxtMNz/20250223-123118.jpg (https://ibb.co/YBydw2PD)
https://i.ibb.co/QvBBbNk7/20250223-123613.jpg (https://ibb.co/2322ntS0)
https://i.ibb.co/DHcSLdNN/20250223-123414.jpg (https://ibb.co/mVZMSpmm)
https://i.ibb.co/vx32sKrL/20250223-123123.jpg (https://ibb.co/Fb5Gsjf8)
With all of that accomplished, I did a test fit of the tank with one of the body panels to make sure it would all work.
https://i.ibb.co/jZ80ZW6H/20250222-164415.jpg (https://ibb.co/93pK3V8G)

[LightSmith88]

So now we come to the fuel pump set up. This may appear to be the most daunting task in this conversion but it is not as bad as it seems. The first thing is, you will need to get this fuel pump assembly https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807215039007.html?pdp_ext_f=%7B%22sku_id%22%3A %2212000040590845719%22%7D&sourceType=1&spm=a2g0o.wish-manage-home.0.0&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt
This can be found on Amazon or eBay as well. Just use the part numbers from the link I gave. This unit will come with most of what you need to install it into the IMS tank. The fuel outlet itself is the straight kind. You could use it but it would send the fuel line toward the ground instead of back up to the bike. Remember, it is a pump, and we do not need the aid of gravity here. The solution for this is a KTM part https://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/parts/ktm-factory-fuel-pump-connection-hose-p
It should look like this...
https://i.ibb.co/SXNN4J3t/IMG-0551.jpg (https://imgbb.com/)
You will also need a couple of O-rings, but they are not too hard to come by. I got an expensive KTM fuel pump gasket kit but did not end up needing most of it. Now when you get the tank, don't look at it and freak out (like I did). It comes with an aluminum plate that has the hole for your middle tank mounting screw. Without this in place, it looks like it wouldn't work. The other two things I want to point out in this picture are as follows. Notice the one body panel mounting hole above the fuel pump connector on the left side. it does say in the IMS tank instructions that you will have to make a new hole for this screw. This is not a mistake; it is how it was made. The other thing is, notice how I used heat shrink to make a 90-degree bend in the wires at the fuel pump connector? This is important to do, or the wires will interfere with your seat. I also ended up putting a black corrugated plastic tube over those wires after this picture.
https://i.ibb.co/zVP1KHPn/20250222-212848.jpg (https://ibb.co/9HyJR3y8)
Now for the electrical connector on the fuel pump, do yourself a favor and pick up this kit with the compression tool. It is money well spent and you find lots of uses for this type of connector. It happens to have the exact 3-wire connector that you will need for this fuel pump. https://a.co/d/gRjJHrA I also used a couple to make a quick connector so that I could go back to my stock tank in a hurry if I had to.
https://i.ibb.co/wNGGwFdv/20250222-124040.jpg (https://ibb.co/QFSSC3J5)
https://i.ibb.co/Q7qMrX5w/20250222-124022.jpg (https://ibb.co/HLMqnXJ8)
https://i.ibb.co/PZykM45R/20250222-120259.jpg (https://ibb.co/vxW9hmJb)
Now you will notice that I used a 3-pin connector for the fuel pump and a two-pin connector on the other end. Our bike only has positive (red) and negative (black) wires that go to the fuel pump. The KTM fuel pump uses three wires. Black (neg), red (pos), and blue (fuel level sensor). The blue wire is not necessary, so I opted out of it. I suppose that you could use it for a fuel light if you wanted to, though. Keep in mind, it is a low-level sensor. There is no float involved. On the KTM,s all it does is turn on a low fuel light. It does not tell you how much gas you have left.
https://i.ibb.co/qMJnqkG1/20250222-105954.jpg (https://ibb.co/MDBhwMTN)
Now the fuel pump is in and wired, the 90 fitting is on and the fuel line connected. Getting close, just have the seat and body panels to go.

[LightSmith88]

So I got the bike to this point and started it up to make sure everything was going to work.
https://i.ibb.co/0VXJ4gRJ/20250222-141526.jpg (https://ibb.co/wrL6G9F6)
Next up was fitting the body panels. The only way to do this and have it all fit is to put it all together just barely threading each screw. DO NOT TIGHTEN THEM YET. You have to get all the screws started and then tihgten them all one by one. Think about it like this. What do you want to move around a little, and what doesn't matter as much? After I got them all started, I tightened down the tank itself to the frame. Now, I did not get a picture of this, but I actually used a longer bolt through the tank to the frame to make the fitting process easier. After the tank was solid, I went around and tightened all of the shroud bolts.
https://i.ibb.co/Mkq4z7hS/20250222-164425.jpg (https://ibb.co/v42GNkBq)
If you look closely, you can see that my graphics no longer line up between the two panels on this side (it is the same on the other side). If I had to do it all over again, I would have done the graphics after the tank swap so that I could line this up better. It is a good indicator, though, of how everything is going to shift a little bit throughout this process. The next thing was the seat. It was just not going to work without modification. For this, there were three things that I had to do. The first is to move the hole on the bracket for the middle seat mount on the tank...
https://i.ibb.co/zVP1KHPn/20250222-212848.jpg (https://ibb.co/9HyJR3y8)
https://i.ibb.co/M5745071/20250222-213537.jpg (https://ibb.co/vvkGvnkd)
https://i.ibb.co/994n7Jz8/20250222-215602.jpg (https://ibb.co/wNQyfT30)
The second was to notch part of the seat base...
https://i.ibb.co/HTf7RK3F/20250222-222403.jpg (https://ibb.co/v461fcRw)
Here is after being notched...
https://i.ibb.co/mVXBLqGt/20250223-101502.jpg (https://ibb.co/dwLcd2r6)
Here is a side-by-side comparison of an unnotched and notched seat
https://i.ibb.co/JR1KCg2v/20250223-101523.jpg (https://ibb.co/MDvs9Qpc)
https://i.ibb.co/TDMcLXC2/20250223-105030.jpg (https://ibb.co/Kcx6wZ1h)
The third and final step was to trim the front off of the seat.
https://i.ibb.co/Pvs5N1Vn/20250222-212257.jpg (https://ibb.co/fzVC2rT5)
https://i.ibb.co/LDms30VB/20250222-212308.jpg (https://ibb.co/hxbTSg3r)
https://i.ibb.co/V0Nj4f8X/20250222-212833.jpg (https://ibb.co/rKt7rDJn)
Here is what you will need to do this https://a.co/d/7HO6tDU
https://i.ibb.co/TF0b7dB/20250223-102015.jpg (https://ibb.co/8SxdftD)
I tried with a traditional stapler and it sucked! This one has the extended nose on it that you need. Here is how it came out...
https://i.ibb.co/fYJ5SDWP/20250223-102701.jpg (https://ibb.co/GvmLJHDb)
https://i.ibb.co/W4zKwYfG/20250223-102359.jpg (https://ibb.co/HfPgskqB)
https://i.ibb.co/bgGHw95r/20250223-102355.jpg (https://ibb.co/0jzB4byf)
The seat fit well after that!
https://i.ibb.co/kgZ5dx8Z/20250223-102906.jpg (https://ibb.co/HDZBJVzZ)

[LightSmith88]

Well, that's it. Here are a few shots of the final product and a video of the bike running.
https://i.ibb.co/rKZYqVdk/20250223-132513.jpg (https://ibb.co/nqD94FPr)
https://i.ibb.co/4RFDr65c/20250223-132554.jpg (https://ibb.co/v4crn7Kb)
https://i.ibb.co/rKg2f3zJ/20250223-132534.jpg (https://ibb.co/HL0TpCbQ)
https://i.ibb.co/QjFS1Krj/tank-zoom.jpg (https://ibb.co/BKVWSCqK)
https://youtube.com/shorts/7MZpYhJe4dI?si=BCQ15kLSO7jwwrum
https://youtu.be/ueS9RnwMwbo?si=E-wJLqbaMG8RHT7z

[LightSmith88]

Shoot. For one of it running, you have to click the little link above the full thumbnail of the walkaround video. this one here https://youtube.com/shorts/7MZpYhJe4dI?si=hmlQL3tlAhhLpRjR

[LightSmith88]

Oh yeah. I should mention that I want to keep this thread related to the gas tank and fuel pump. for any other mods check out this thread https://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=35100 If there are any other mods on the bike you want to know about, check over there. Chances are I did a write-up on it and have links to the parts.

[Mumen Rider]

Great write up, it's going to be a lot better for people to search for and follow not buried inside of the mods thread.

[LightSmith88]

Hey all. If anyone does use this for the tank/pump install process, I would appreciate if you let me know on here how it went. Also if you have any questions along the way, put them on here and I will get back to you pretty quick. I check all of the threads that I am on just about once a day. Cheers!