New Canadian owner trying to prevent tank deformation

[vinylengraver]

This is only my third post and already a (long and wordy) plea for advice, so please excuse me .
I got my dream bike last week (2007 two-tone GT1000) in pristine condition and after doing several days of reading and thoroughly examining my tank I can tell with great degree of certainty that there are no noticeable issues in terms of spread or deformation. The tank sits securely in its mounts and there's virtually no side-to-side play.

The original owner took very good care of the bike and since I am in British Columbia, Canada alcohol-free gasoline is readily available and this could be my saving grace.

However, before the bike came home last week it spent a few months on consignment on the dealers lot where I suspect it was ridden by someone (a salesman? mechanic?) as the mileage is 1000kms higher from when they first got it.

Now I don't know what gas is now in the tank as I rode it home with what was there and there's still some left (the low fuel light is not on).
Chances are the gas in the tank is of the cheap variety, which means it DOES VERY LIKELY contain ethanol. The dealer I bought the bike from is not a Ducati dealer (they sell Moto Guzzi and Aprilia) and I have no idea if they are aware of the composite tank spreading issue... and even if they are, I don't think they would care enough to gas the bike up with premium fuel.

So to cut to the chase, what do I do to save the bike while I still can?

-Do I fill it up with ethanol-free gas and add Stabil to dilute/eliminate any alcohol content (if present) while it waits for spring?
or
-Do I drain the tank and send it somewhere to get coated right away.
I would really prefer to do it locally though. Anyone know what's a trustworthy place to get this done in BC (Lower Mainland)
Mind you , there's nothing preventing me from only using ethanol-free gasoline for the rest of bike's life which as I understand would be the ultimate remedy - I owned a Monster 695 before and always used good gas without any tank issues. In fact I didn't even know the problem existed.

Obviously I'd like to try the least-invasive method first.

Also, when people talk about "pimples" or blisters" in the paint, is this caused by the alcohol in the fuel too?
I have what looks like a fine scratch in the upper left knee-area of the tank and the clearer has peeled there off of a tiny spot (the size of the sunflower seed or so) - that wouldn't be the blister people are talking about, I hope.
I'd like to get this touched up, but If I'm removing evidence, perhaps I should leave it alone...
Thanks for your patience,
Kris

[poolagent]

Originally Posted by vinylengraver

Obviously I'd like to try the least-invasive method first.


Kris

I'd fill it up with ethanol free gas and that should do it…

Me and my friends here in Munich we have no problems so far and we regularly fill in Premium95 which is allowed to have max 5% ethanol…

Gas containing more than that seems to be problematic.

[MTScott2]

Run it till near empty fill with Shell Gold ,ride away.I don't think all the bikes tanks swell ,seems to be certain areas ...Keep researching and find out if any \canadian tanks swell...
Seems funny one would not put in the best non ethanol gas for the price it costs per fill up...

[paulmack]

2006 Sport 1000, lots of trips to the States. Tried to stick to ethanol free as much as possible. No signs of damage to tank.

[YellowDuck]

I'm in Ontario which no doubt is a different situation fuel-wise from BC, but I have always just used the highest octane I can find, and have never had a problem - the bike is a 2006, and I have had it since new, and I store it with a ful tank over winter, no Stabil.

Pulling the tank to drain it is not that hard if you want the peace of mind.

[Bishamon]

I just keep filling with Shell V-Power (ethanol free, at least in Ontario), and I check the gas before filling my Sport 1000 using an ethanol test kit (Order page - Ethanol Alcohol Fuel Test Kit.), just to be extra-safe. You could purchase one of these kits and test the gas that's currently in your tank, but I would just ride until the fuel light comes on and then fill with ethanol-free fuel.

[muzzmann]

Originally Posted by vinylengraver

This is only my third post and already a (long and wordy) plea for advice, so please excuse me .
I got my dream bike last week (2007 two-tone GT1000) in pristine condition and after doing several days of reading and thoroughly examining my tank I can tell with great degree of certainty that there are no noticeable issues in terms of spread or deformation. The tank sits securely in its mounts and there's virtually no side-to-side play.

The original owner took very good care of the bike and since I am in British Columbia, Canada alcohol-free gasoline is readily available and this could be my saving grace.

However, before the bike came home last week it spent a few months on consignment on the dealers lot where I suspect it was ridden by someone (a salesman? mechanic?) as the mileage is 1000kms higher from when they first got it.

Now I don't know what gas is now in the tank as I rode it home with what was there and there's still some left (the low fuel light is not on).
Chances are the gas in the tank is of the cheap variety, which means it DOES VERY LIKELY contain ethanol. The dealer I bought the bike from is not a Ducati dealer (they sell Moto Guzzi and Aprilia) and I have no idea if they are aware of the composite tank spreading issue... and even if they are, I don't think they would care enough to gas the bike up with premium fuel.

So to cut to the chase, what do I do to save the bike while I still can?

-Do I fill it up with ethanol-free gas and add Stabil to dilute/eliminate any alcohol content (if present) while it waits for spring?
or
-Do I drain the tank and send it somewhere to get coated right away.
I would really prefer to do it locally though. Anyone know what's a trustworthy place to get this done in BC (Lower Mainland)
Mind you , there's nothing preventing me from only using ethanol-free gasoline for the rest of bike's life which as I understand would be the ultimate remedy - I owned a Monster 695 before and always used good gas without any tank issues. In fact I didn't even know the problem existed.

Obviously I'd like to try the least-invasive method first.

Also, when people talk about "pimples" or blisters" in the paint, is this caused by the alcohol in the fuel too?
I have what looks like a fine scratch in the upper left knee-area of the tank and the clearer has peeled there off of a tiny spot (the size of the sunflower seed or so) - that wouldn't be the blister people are talking about, I hope.
I'd like to get this touched up, but If I'm removing evidence, perhaps I should leave it alone...
Thanks for your patience,
Kris

Hey Bro ..I 'm here in Vancouver. Dont sweat the spreading issue. Just get Chevron 94 ..no ethanol...or you can run regular or mid-grade from their pumps without issue. I have had my 07 since 07 and occassionaly run a tank of ethanol fuel in it when there aint nothin else available ...no spreading.

Dont know about Shell or Esso fuels back east but out here I have had problems on several occassions car and bike with water and filth in the fuel so I stay away from them I dont think you guys have Chevron back there but we are lucky to have em here....

I believe our American cousins have such trouble is Mr Al Gore is selling them corn liquor for their fuels in massive amts so they tend to have a crazy high ethanol content...

If your tank is low on fuel now I would top it off with the good stuff and add the stabil. A tiny touch of injector cleaning additive wont hurt either. Roll it into the driveway once a month or so and run it for a bit. Keeps any varnish from building up in the injectors.

Dont worry about spreading . Its not an issue here thanks to our over-abundance of gas and oil we dont need to "water" our fuels down ...

Stephano

[vinylengraver]

Thanks everybody!
The bike is a keeper, so I want it to stay pretty and trouble-free.
Filling up with the good stuff and some Stabil for a good measure sounds good to me.
I like it simple!
Kris

[ducSculptor]

Originally Posted by muzzmann

.... I believe our American cousins have such trouble is Mr Al Gore is selling them corn liquor for their fuels in massive amts so they tend to have a crazy high ethanol content...

fwiw I tested the gas out of pumps in several states and never saw over 10% ethanol. There were quite a few times where I found gas coming out of a pump that was labeled "may have up to 10% ethanol" really was pumping just 5%. It depends on the time of year, how cheap the subsidized ethanol is that month, etc.

I'm thinking it's some other additive in the gas, something that is added in at the regional storage facilities prior to being sent out to the stations as "soup". That would explain why people in certain parts of the US haven't had trouble, and why some have seen deformation even when they weren't using ethanol tainted gas.

[freezerburn]

Just like Muzzman, I too use 94 from Chevron. No issues with my tank and many guys on the Streetfighter forum are experiencing issues.