Plastic Tank problems: Discussion thread, see info thread sticky for updates

[NorDog]

4-7 lbs up top? I'd call that significant for "up top" weight.    .... "stranded or killed"  ...... reductio ad absurdum.

If you're charging that he has employed a rational fallacy, I think you mean "false dichotomy".

[junior varsity]

only that a swelling tank could get you "killed" was taking something to such an extreme as to be absurd.   next minute someone else will chime in by accusing another of invading poland. (a la Godwin's law)

[NorDog]

only that a swelling tank could get you "killed" was taking something to such an extreme as to be absurd.   next minute someone else will chime in by accusing another of invading poland. (a la Godwin's law)

I don't know, I've heard some of the tanks leak at the pump flange.

If mine was leaking when the voltage regulator caught fire there's no tellin' what would have happened to me.

Basically, it's not unreasonable to think that having a fuel fire in you crotch/ass area while lane splitting rush hour LA traffic on the highway might be a deadly experience.

Also, generally, as a logical device, the reductio ad absurdum actually proves the point to be made by showing the contrary to be impossible.  So, that's why I thought you were referring to "logic".  I would have understood better if you had just said, "Dude, that's absurd!"  But then, I can be obtuse.

[junior varsity]

Never saw a leaky tank flange while working at the dealership, not that it could happen, but didn't see one once. Nor did any of the other guys while I was there

[ducatiz]

I have video of a dozen bikes with leaky flanges.

[junior varsity]

interesting.   i've seen leaky flanges unrelated to tank expansion (bad {misshapen}o-rings, torn o-rings, dried-out/rotten o-rings), but not on any of the warranty-for-swelling tanks while i was at AMS, and we did a TON of them.   Tons of 848's, Monsters, and Sport Classics - primarily ones that had been sitting quite a while. (several Sport 1000's with almost no miles on them stored primarily for looking at - but with gas in the tank... a plan i could not understand whatsoever)

[DRKWNG]

several Sport 1000's with almost no miles on them stored primarily for looking at - but with gas in the tank... a plan i could not understand whatsoever

Ride one some time, then maybe you'll start to understand.   

[muskrat]

 
Ive never seen this much "explaining away" for a defective tank.  We are true Duc whores who refuse to accept a truly shitty design.  Include all other manufacturers if you like. 
I expect my two ducs to be buried with me unless things change and ill ask the funeral director to flog my Hardly in honor of JV who believes it cant be done.   

[David Lowenstein]

Thanks for the feedback.  So now I could really use a good recommendation for a shop to do the Caswell coating.  I know there have been a few vendors mentioned in this and other threads, but I'm hoping specifically for a place in the eastern half of the U.S. to minimize shipping time and cost (I'm in Washington DC), a track record of having done this coating successfully, and obviously competitive pricing would be great too 

Any suggestions?

Dave

Absolutely.  Once it has gas on it you've got to cleanse the gas and let it completely dry. 

[DRKWNG]

I'm in Washington DC,

Any suggestions?

Izaak wants to do it for you. 

[DesmoDad]

I just had my tank replaced by Ducati (and the dealer, Erico Motorsports).  They confirmed that the ethanol is definitely the problem... Now, according the EM, I should drain the tank and use fuel stabilizer when I am running it... but there isn't a month that I don't ride, so really don't want to drain it for the winter.  My mechanic tells me that he has heard the new tank is supposed to be made of a different plastic and will not have the same problem.  Does anyone know the latest on the tank problem?

[ducatiz]

Izaak wants to do it for you. 

what is "it"?

[ducatiz]

I just had my tank replaced by Ducati (and the dealer, Erico Motorsports).  They confirmed that the ethanol is definitely the problem... Now, according the EM, I should drain the tank and use fuel stabilizer when I am running it... but there isn't a month that I don't ride, so really don't want to drain it for the winter.  My mechanic tells me that he has heard the new tank is supposed to be made of a different plastic and will not have the same problem.  Does anyone know the latest on the tank problem?

1.  Fuel stabilizer will only help minimally, if at all.  Stabil, startron, etc all help combust old E10 gas, they don't prevent ethanol from absorbing water.

2.  There is no new plastic, replacement tanks are all PA6 still.  My replacement tank was older than my original tank, going by the inspection date on the bottom.

3.  The latest is that the lawsuit produced a result that no one is really happy with except perhaps the attorneys who did it (and have been paid 800k for about 10 hours of work, having used most of my postings as a guide).  The settlement is pending acceptance by the court, so here is your chance to comment on it before it's final.  Scroll back a few pages to find the link or go to the sticky in this section.

4.  The only solution is to coat your tank.  Ducati can't do it for reasons unclear, possibly homologation issues.  I tried to get them to send a tank to 3M to test it, but no go, they are in defense mode now. :-/.  Lots of people using Caswell's coating with good results.  Tank prep is the key.

[Curmudgeon]

1.  Fuel stabilizer will only help minimally, if at all.  Stabil, startron, etc all help combust old E10 gas, they don't prevent ethanol from absorbing water.

No experience with Startron but Sta-Bil and Sta-Bil Marine claim to remove water. You have data which refutes this? Sta-Bil has been at this for 75 years and has wide manufacturer approval.

[ducatiz]

No experience with Startron but Sta-Bil and Sta-Bil Marine claim to remove water. You have data which refutes this? Sta-Bil has been at this for 75 years and has wide manufacturer approval.

You put it in your tank with the gas and then what?

It magically disappears?  If it removes the water, where does it go? 

According to the MSDS sheets for Stabil, Stabil Marine and Startron, they are all between 94 and 96 percent petroleum naphtha.  The other 4-6% is listed as inert "additive mixture" which does not have any special properties necessary to be listed on the MSDS.

What's frustrating is that all of the fuel stabilizers on the market employ naphtha or some alcohol as the primary ingredient.  2-propanol, butyl alcohol, isopropyl, etc.  Seems to me it's just adding more problematic stuff to the mix.  propanol is aggressively hygroscopic.

So it could be that 4-6% by volume is the magic ingredient, but I doubt it.  I bet if you bought pure petroleum naphtha and put it in your tank it would do the same job.