[pigmode]

I'm looking at the 2014-15 Hyperstrada/Hypermotard and or the 2014 Monster 796. Do any of these have plastic tanks?

Have read many of the discussions online, and decided to avoid plastic. Its troublesome here staying away from ethanol based fuel.

 

[Zootcadillac]

The tank will be what it's made of. Don't concern yourself too much about the material as PA6 plastic tanks have not been made by Ducati sisnce 2010 and those were the ones having problems.
Whatever the tank is made from ( and don't expect aluminium tanks on the lower end models ) it will deal with current ethanol specifications. However if they up that I'd worry more about the rubber and plastic components than the tank.

Ethanol is a scourge to vehicle collectors and a false promise of energy efficiency and 'green' living. Get down to your local track and buy race fuel

 

[cbr6]

The tank will be what it's made of. Don't concern yourself too much about the material as PA6 plastic tanks have not been made by Ducati sisnce 2010 and those were the ones having problems.
Whatever the tank is made from ( and don't expect aluminium tanks on the lower end models ) it will deal with current ethanol specifications. However if they up that I'd worry more about the rubber and plastic components than the tank.

Ethanol is a scourge to vehicle collectors and a false promise of energy efficiency and 'green' living. Get down to your local track and buy race fuel

Just make sure it's ethanol free race fuel, some race fuel do have ethanol. But I'm pretty sure diesel fuel is ethanol free.

 

[Zootcadillac]

Just make sure it's ethanol free race fuel, some race fuel do have ethanol. But I'm pretty sure diesel fuel is ethanol free.

I guess that's going to depend upon your part of the world. We have this at the pump at most UK tracks http://www.superstarsworld.com/geta...ng-Fuel-Superstars-2010---caratteristich.aspx

 

[MOTRSPRT]

The tank will be what it's made of. Don't concern yourself too much about the material as PA6 plastic tanks have not been made by Ducati sisnce 2010 and those were the ones having problems...

So are you saying all the plastic tanks up to 2010 models will have expansion issues? And that my 2011 1198 tank will not have any issues? I've been hauling several 5-gallon containers 10 miles down the road to fill them up for my bike cuz every other fuel station has 10% ethanol fuel. I even bought the Caswell tank sealer to curb this issue, but have yet to do this project. Just wondering if I'm worried about something that I need not be worried about.

 

[Zootcadillac]

So are you saying all the plastic tanks up to 2010 models will have expansion issues? And that my 2011 1198 tank will not have any issues? I've been hauling several 5-gallon containers 10 miles down the road to fill them up for my bike cuz every other fuel station has 10% ethanol fuel. I even bought the Caswell tank sealer to curb this issue, but have yet to do this project. Just wondering if I'm worried about something that I need not be worried about.

No, I'm not saying that because it would be unwise. Not all plastic tanks had problems. But it was identified and fixed. As far as I know 2011 models onward are of a different composition.
You should contact your dealer or Ducati direct for information about your tank and the use of whatever fuel is available to you.

I was indicating to the OP that if buying a new or nearly new Ducati that he should not be scared off by horror stories about expanding tanks as the issue is resolved.

I don't know if it still stands which is why you should mail a Ducati dealer or office, but Ducati did prohibit the use of E10 in all their vehicles a few years back.

It's pretty easy to remove ethanol from fuel with stuff you can buy from a hardware store or beer brewing materials, but it's time consuming, a PITA to be forced to do it a few litres at a time and is scary as it involves adding water to your fuel

Short answer, I'd never put e10 in a Ducati. If you want to I suggest you ask someone better qualified than me to advise you on your particular model. I don't like having to put 95RON ( up to 5% ethanol but not a firm number ) in the car but am forced into it locally. Luckily we can still find ethanol free fuel in the UK and although legislation is in to bring in E10 it's not as a replacement, but an alternative.

Ethanol won't be an issue in the future ( unless you count all the starving people not getting that corn that the governments are subsidizing farmers to turn into fuel ) as technology will adapt. It's more efficient and has a higher octane rating than old gasoline. But for now it will kill almost anything vintage and probably damage many more recent vehicles in the long run.

 

[blablac]

No, I'm not saying that because it would be unwise. Not all plastic tanks had problems. But it was identified and fixed. As far as I know 2011 models onward are of a different composition.
You should contact your dealer or Ducati direct for information about your tank and the use of whatever fuel is available to you.

I was indicating to the OP that if buying a new or nearly new Ducati that he should not be scared off by horror stories about expanding tanks as the issue is resolved.

I don't know if it still stands which is why you should mail a Ducati dealer or office, but Ducati did prohibit the use of E10 in all their vehicles a few years back.

It's pretty easy to remove ethanol from fuel with stuff you can buy from a hardware store or beer brewing materials, but it's time consuming, a PITA to be forced to do it a few litres at a time and is scary as it involves adding water to your fuel

Short answer, I'd never put e10 in a Ducati. If you want to I suggest you ask someone better qualified than me to advise you on your particular model. I don't like having to put 95RON ( up to 5% ethanol but not a firm number ) in the car but am forced into it locally. Luckily we can still find ethanol free fuel in the UK and although legislation is in to bring in E10 it's not as a replacement, but an alternative.

Ethanol won't be an issue in the future ( unless you count all the starving people not getting that corn that the governments are subsidizing farmers to turn into fuel ) as technology will adapt. It's more efficient and has a higher octane rating than old gasoline. But for now it will kill almost anything vintage and probably damage many more recent vehicles in the long run.

Couple points that need to be addressed:

- Ethanol is not more efficient. It has less energy per volume than gas does.

- No fuel additive will help with the issue.

I have a 2011 evo, 3 tanks in the past 3 years. The only change as far as I can tell is the size. Smaller tanks were designed for the superbikes as a response to the lawsuit.

OP should be concerned because the problem has not been addressed.

 

[Tchase]

2012 848 plastic tank, used ethanol fuel since day one (premium). Bike runs great, have not noticed expansion to date.

 

[Zootcadillac]

Couple points that need to be addressed:

- Ethanol is not more efficient. It has less energy per volume than gas does.

- No fuel additive will help with the issue.

I have a 2011 evo, 3 tanks in the past 3 years. The only change as far as I can tell is the size. Smaller tanks were designed for the superbikes as a response to the lawsuit.

OP should be concerned because the problem has not been addressed.

I used an incorrect term to describe what I meant. Ethanol has a higher octane rating than gas. So it can withstand higher compression before combustion.

Didn't mention additives.

Sorry for your problems. However the issue has been addressed. Whether you consider that satisfactory is another matter. Ducati changed tank composition and size and they issued a fuel warning. Don't use E10.

if you can't find anything other than e10 then maybe it's time to vote for people that will stop the biofuels nonsense.

As I made it clear. The only advice anyone should be taking is from a dealer or Ducati. If you get it in writing then still have issues you at least have some legal recourse. But at some point if you keep using a fuel they have said is prohibited in their products someone is going to say "you are on your own"

 

[Tchase]

I used an incorrect term to describe what I meant. Ethanol has a higher octane rating than gas. So it can withstand higher compression before combustion.

Didn't mention additives.

Sorry for your problems. However the issue has been addressed. Whether you consider that satisfactory is another matter. Ducati changed tank composition and size and they issued a fuel warning. Don't use E10.

if you can't find anything other than e10 then maybe it's time to vote for people that will stop the biofuels nonsense.

As I made it clear. The only advice anyone should be taking is from a dealer or Ducati. If you get it in writing then still have issues you at least have some legal recourse. But at some point if you keep using a fuel they have said is prohibited in their products someone is going to say "you are on your own"

E10 is pretty much the standard in the states, if Ducati can't run on that then they should not be able to sale them for street use in the states..

 

[blablac]

I used an incorrect term to describe what I meant. Ethanol has a higher octane rating than gas. So it can withstand higher compression before combustion.

Didn't mention additives.

Sorry for your problems. However the issue has been addressed. Whether you consider that satisfactory is another matter. Ducati changed tank composition and size and they issued a fuel warning. Don't use E10.

if you can't find anything other than e10 then maybe it's time to vote for people that will stop the biofuels nonsense.

As I made it clear. The only advice anyone should be taking is from a dealer or Ducati. If you get it in writing then still have issues you at least have some legal recourse. But at some point if you keep using a fuel they have said is prohibited in their products someone is going to say "you are on your own"

They addressed a symptom (tank hitting the steering damper), not the issue.

Four things can happen because of ethanol:
- you will see paint bubbles on your tank
- you can get a leak from the inner vent line cracking.
- you can get gas leaking around your gas cap from the tank deforming
- the tank used to be bigger and expand so much that it would interfere with the steering damper. That was the subject of a lawsuit and sparked the smaller gas tank design

Ducati is the last place someone should seek advice from regarding that issue. They want to sell bikes and will not be objective. Hell... they haven't even issued a recall for the poorly fitting air filter on the 848/1098/1198 series.

Zoot - why do you think the 899 / 1199 now comes with a steel / aluminium gas tank?

One of hundreds:
Http://www.ducati.org/forums/848/41164-fuel-tank-expanding-problem-2.html

If you are in California there is a law that forces OEM to warranty fuel equipment for 6 years if I remember correctly.

In the us you have no choice. Its E10 or nothing 95% of the time. The corn industry was lobying for even more ethanol a few month ago but major car manufacturers got together and fought it back.

 

[Zootcadillac]

I had no intention to get into another forum argument. I've given my opinion and tried to ensure nobody takes my comments as any kind of confirmed or explicit advice. I merely tried to assure the OP that as he's buying a new or nearly new bike he should not let past issues scare him off.
The rest of it was just discussion.
My apologies if i've got anyone riled up.

 

[Tchase]

We all want each others opinions, debates are bound to happen but that's what makes this forum a wealth of information. As long as it doesn't get personal its all good.

Zoot you give us info from across the pond, and have some insights into Ducati, so please keep contributing!

 

[Zootcadillac]

No problem Tchase. I think we are beyond the hissy fit stage Thanks.

As for California? Can i just say that as an observer from the outside it looks like those people will regulate themselves into bankruptcy. And given the amount of water they take from other states? I'd shed no tears.