POLL: Would you buy an aluminum tank...?

[jwoconnor]

Any news?

[Skybarney]

I would consider a metal tank for a 2013 M1100 but only if it held another gallon of fuel.

[thought]

I would consider a metal tank for a 2013 M1100 but only if it held another gallon of fuel.

Already been made:

http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=47693.0

Expensive and I'm not sure if that was a one off or not... but if they made it once they should be able to make it again.  About 1.5 gallons more gas.

[graydo]

Good luck trying to get one though...

[Skybarney]

Yeah I read the thread,  Not a great shot of getting one.  Sad as I would spend the money on the tank before wheels....
I prefer 300 to 400 miles days when I ride and having the extra range would be fantastic.  Especially as I just realized that two 1 liter fuel bottles is only good for ten to 15 miles.

[Scoober1103]

Yeah I read the thread,  Not a great shot of getting one.  Sad as I would spend the money on the tank before wheels....
I prefer 300 to 400 miles days when I ride and having the extra range would be fantastic.  Especially as I just realized that two 1 liter fuel bottles is only good for ten to 15 miles.

Extra mileage would be a bonus but I hope to keep mine for ever and add to it and not confident the plastic will outlast me....even without ethanol based fuels. Yes I would place an alloy tank above wheels as well but if I can't source one.....

[CDawg]

~3 years after my replacement tank w/ Caswell coating it has started to swell again.
Any update on the aluminum tank?

[ducatiz]

Unfortunately, not.  The guy that I had tasked to make tanks basically quit and the other folks doing it at MotoWheels are asking close to $3000 for their tank.

[DarkMonster620]

<snip>close to $3000 for their tank.

ouch !!!

[hackers2r]

There was a thread I read recently that had another small company making tanks.  I think they were just over $2k but I'll see if I can find the thread.  It was on another forum though.  Not sure if I'm violating any rules or not: http://www.ducati.ms/forums/42-monster/375234-aluminum-tank-s2r-s4r.html

[Bill in OKC]

Unfortunately, not.  The guy that I had tasked to make tanks basically quit

I'm guessing my S4rs donor tank is history?

[ducatiz]

I'm guessing my S4rs donor tank is history?

Nope.  Pm.

[roggie]

Sorry if this has been asked before but...

What if every winter (dec thru apr) I take the tank off my s4rs, completely drain it and leave it to air out over those months. If the tank does shrink back down to size, could anyone speculate what would happen to the tank over years of shrinking and expanding? Paint damage? Tank integrity? Fit and overall function?
Or is it just all guessing at this point?

[Moronic]

There was a thread I read recently that had another small company making tanks.  I think they were just over $2k but I'll see if I can find the thread.  It was on another forum though.  Not sure if I'm violating any rules or not: http://www.ducati.ms/forums/42-monster/375234-aluminum-tank-s2r-s4r.html

Yes, these looked good. It was/is a US company, too, Legendary Motorcycles. Hope the project is still going.

And on page 2 of the same thread, motowheels chimes in to point out that they are still taking orders.

The irony is that after all the talk about how good a metal tank would be, motowheels says they have had only two firm orders for their tank built in Italy. It is still available. The above thread on ducati.ms for the US built tank wasn't exactly rushed, either.

So now that tanks are available, no-one wants one. To me the prices seem fair enough, given what is involved and the small production numbers. But yes, they are expensive compared with the market value of the bike they would go on.

I think part of the problem is that Ducati changed the fuel pump flange shape for the Testastretta S4R/s, which are the higher-value bikes. That splits the potential market. Tanks are being built for the more popular two-valvers, but I suspect the Testa market, although smaller, is where more of the cash is located.

Yes I know, motowheels says a Testa owner could replace the fuel pump with a 2V pump and the tank would likely fit. But that is another step and yet more expense.

Seems a shame people have gone to the trouble of making tanks but can't sell them, though.

[Travman]

The tanks have taken way too long to get to the market. Half of the potential customers have moved on and the other half have sealed their plastic tanks. At one time I was a customer, but I sold my Monster and bought and sold several motorcycles since I would have invested in a tank.