HOW TO TELL YOU HAVE A WARPED PLASTIC TANK

[He Man]

ducatiz has been nice enough to try and help us all get this problem fixed but very few people are willing to put up the effort and help because they are just plain old lazy.

Its not a one person job, its a group effort. Hes done his part, now its our turn to do ours.

Heres a guide on what you should do if you own a plastic tank on any Ducati. These pictures are specific to ducati monsters, but can be applied to other bikes.

Shown below is a 2006 S2R1000 with 17,800miles and is filled with 10% Ethanol Gasoline twice a week. It is NEVER winterized and rides through all and any weather conditions and lives both outside and inside a non heated garage.


1) Inspect your bike for signs of expansion.

To check the Bumpers, look below the tank. There are 2 screws for adjustment on each rubber stop. If you cannot get them both adjusted where they fit fairly well on the frame, its likely that your tank is expanding. In this example, the right bumper is fully flush on the frame, but the left bumper is almost completely off the frame.



To check the tank wave, look at the area where your leg holds onto the tank. You can immediately feel a wave occuring in this area  if your tank is expanding. With proper lighting you can see a bend in any reflected image due to the bump. This is another sign of an expanding tank. however to my understanding, this is only a cosmetic issue and Ducati will not replace your tank if this is the only sign.



To check your Tank latch, you can push down on your tank latch as if you were to remove the tank. The latch is suppose to be free to move around easily. However a swelling tank can press the latch into the antenna port and cause it to be increasingly difficult to unlatch. It will also make it very difficult to remove the tank without some sort of tool to get in and pry the latch.



To check your attenna port, simply look at your keyhole. If the tank is pressing into the port from either left or right side, and from the tank latch, the cover will shift.

This is a picture of the gap that will begin to increase. ( it is suppose to be uniformly spaced all around.


Here is a picture of how the tank pushes against the cap.


The "normal" capacity of the tank is just under 3 gallons when you first purchased your bike. However as your tank increases, you may see numbers reaching 3.5gallons.

2) After you have verified that your tank has expanded, you should file NHTSA at http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm .


                                                                    1. You won't lose any rights by filing.
                                               2. You won't get "in trouble" with Ducati by filing.
                                               3. You can't be punished or anything by anyone.
                                               4. There is no sane or good reason not to file.

In case you missed it again,

YOU MUST FILE A COMPLAIN WITH NHTSA IF YOUR TANK IS EXPANDING IN ORDER TO GET THIS PROBLEM FIXED!!! http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm

3) Call your local dealer(s)
and set up a time to get your tank inspected so a warranty claim can be processed for you.

The tank is covered under the Emissions warranty and is valid for 18,000 miles or 5 years from date of purchase. It does not follow the Unlimited mile 2 year warranty that we all know off.

4) Email ducatiplastictanks-subscribe@yahoogroups.com and join the mailing list to get updates.


What are some of the problems I will experience with a expanding tank?

The biggest problem with an expanding tank is the POSSIBILITY OF LEAKING GAS from the fuel pump since it is bolted to the tank itself. It starts off as a cosmetic issue, but can escalate to a safety issue if your bike is showing extreme signs of expansion.

If your steering stops are MAXED out but the controls are still hitting the tank, you can PINCH YOUR HAND WHILE TURNING AND CRASH

If your tank is swelling so much that it pushes your seat into the seat lock it can POP OUT WHILE RIDING.

If your tank is pushing against your attenna, IT WILL CRACK AND LEAVE YOU STRANDED unless you can duct tape your attenna to the keyport.
 
So get off your ass and check your bike, and file a complaint if it is expanding. The more complaints we can get, the more we can fix this problem and not just patch it with a new tank.

Thats it!

[fastwin]

Thanks for posting this. I need to perform a close inspection on my '07 S2R1000 and '06 Sports 1000.

[lwszabo]

nice write up! the biggest problem i see it what happens when you are out of the miles and time and you have it happen a 2nd or 3rd etc time....I feel there are going to be a TON of parts bikes in the future unless Ducati fixes it for real or makes a retro fit steel tank. it would be  a shame to have bikes sitting around because Ducati made shitty fuel tanks.

[scduc]

And those of us who've had theirs fixed, don't think its over. I've had a new tank for 10 months, and I think it's starting all over again. S.O.B.

[somegirl]

Thanks for putting that together!

I will also add that you might see bubbles in the paint or other similar effects. 
When my tank got bad the top-mount steering damper started touching the tank, then the bar ends (stock bars).

[fastwin]

I think I'm seeing a business opportunity for an aftermarket "good" plastic or aluminum tank manufacturer to step up. My question is why is it Duc tanks flake out and yet there are about 5 million plastic gas cans in garages every where that have no problems at all?? What's up with that?

[Popeye the Sailor]

I think I'm seeing a business opportunity for an aftermarket "good" plastic or aluminum tank manufacturer to step up. My question is why is it Duc tanks flake out and yet there are about 5 million plastic gas cans in garages every where that have no problems at all?? What's up with that?

Oh easy,

When the red tanks came out-people filled out the NHTSA forms.

[MotoCreations]

I think I'm seeing a business opportunity for an aftermarket "good" plastic or aluminum tank manufacturer to step up.

Various problems with this -- besides the financial commitment and resources.

1) Good plastic isn't paintable.  Thus the color needs to be injected as part of the mold process.  Thus why most manufacturers today do an inner fuel tank with outer exterior panels.

2) Aluminum isn't that great anymore.  With the new fuels out there, I and others in the vintage automobile/motorcycle business are seeing these new fuels etch and corrode tanks.  Thus strong recommendation is to use POR15, aircraft fuel tank sealer, etc in your aluminum tanks asap.

3) Carbonfiber / kevlar.  You have to do a multi-resin build process to get a sealed tank and great exterior finish treatment. 

Best recommendation is to find a STEEL tank before they become stupidly expensive and put on your bike or on the shelf for later.

Remember that Europe doesn't have the fuel problems we do.  Upcoming he entire EU will use our "blend" of fuel that is causing the headaches here now.  Thus European manufactures will truly start to see the problem.  Imagine buying your Ducati and riding it for multi-years without tank deformation problems in Europe -- they change the gasoline composition and then your tank deforms.  For those whose bikes are years out of warranty -- it will be an interesting problem in how it is dealt with.

[lilmonster]

My tank was replaced less than a year ago. The new tank is swelled just like the old one. 

[fastwin]

My tank was replaced less than a year ago. The new tank is swelled just like the old one. 

I rest my case.

All good points from the MotoCreations post. F#@king A, then where do we all go? Why hasn't Ducati put some thought into this and done a "man up" and replaced the buggered tanks with something that works??? Are they the new Toyota???

This could haunt their ass for years!!

[tilt]

what do you guys think, do i have a warped tank?

[ducpainter]

Plastic tanks suck...

but we don't need another thread about it bro...