[ProphetPVD]

I hate to say this, but I think the only permanent option is to purchase a metal tank. Not sure if there were any livery specific 1098 metal tanks, but both the 1198 Corse and the 1198SP were aluminum.

 

[72duc]

Some of the late 2000 Triumphs had the same issue. Like ProphetPVD mentioned, metal tank is the best way to go about solving the issue permanently.

 

[chris_f]

Its quite a problem for Aprilia's to, any tank that is plastic really because of ethanol. If you have access to ethanol free that is the best option. The tank on the Aprilia I bought was swelled over an inch where it bolts in. Took it off and drained it and left it out in the sun for a few days. It shrunk almost back to normal, enough so I could bolt it down again.

 

[72duc]

One would think the design engineers would have thought about temperature changes affecting a plastic fuel tank

 

[chris_f]

Its not temperature, its the material and the fact that is absorbs ethanol from the fuel. The affects of temperature are minimal.

 

[72duc]

Its not temperature, its the material and the fact that is absorbs ethanol from the fuel. The affects of temperature are minimal.

yeah you're right

 

[trussdude]

This is how I fixed mine:

 

[Kalyx]

Hi,
IMO, polymers are fantastic: in their place. For road bikes, plastic fuel tanks are not such a great idea. Eventually, they fail.
If you're thinking your 1098 is a keeper, then an aluminum tank is probably your best option.
For my 1098, I went with Beater. No problems whatsoever. Has some nice benefits over stock as well.
At this point in time, that bike series is getting "old", and used aluminum tanks come up for sale from time to time. Still not cheap, but not expensive either.

 

[chris_f]

Hi,
IMO, polymers are fantastic: in their place. For road bikes, plastic fuel tanks are not such a great idea. Eventually, they fail.

Absolutely, polymers are fantastic right up until the point they are not. Ask anyone who owns a modern BMW past 120K miles. The E53 X5 I have uses a different system design so hasnt been as bad. Same for the E90 3 series I had. The E39 5 series however, I always kept a spare expansion tank and hoses handy. Because it would fail. And while using hoses with plastic ends and o-rings sounds great, an o-ring that has been in place for 15K miles isnt going to reseal once you pull the hose off.

Sorry for the off topic sort of, but yeah ethanol free fuel or aluminum tank are your only options for eliminating the issue.

Or you could try drying it out and letting it bake for a while, and if it shrinks up enough you could seal it with Caswells tank sealer.

 

[ProphetPVD]

One would think the design engineers would have thought about temperature changes affecting a plastic fuel tank

Sometimes we have to make concessions... it's not an ideal situation unfortunately. When we do get to design something from the ground up, and do it the right way, the result is frequently something amazing, and prohibitively expensive.

 

[Kalyx]

Sometimes we have to make concessions... it's not an ideal situation unfortunately.

Yep, such is Life.
What do you Want?, What can you Do?, Can you Afford it?.

 

[tboooe]

If I remember correctly back when I had my 848 EVO, I thought a popular solution to have the tank coated on the inside.

 

[duc96cr]

I coated the tank and also always use non-ethanol fuel . I haven’t noticed any problems. I bought a spare tank but so far I haven’t had to use it. This is on an S4RS

 

[ProphetPVD]

If I remember correctly back when I had my 848 EVO, I thought a popular solution to have the tank coated on the inside.

I coated the tank and also always use non-ethanol fuel . I haven’t noticed any problems. I bought a spare tank but so far I haven’t had to use it. This is on an S4RS

I always heard really good things about Caswell tank sealer. I'll temper that statement by saying that it is an "involved" process... do everything correctly, you've got yourself a sealed tank, regardless of the material it's made from. Do it incorrectly and you've got yourself a fuel tank sized paper weight, door stop, etc.

Personally, I'd go with a metal tank.

 

[duc96cr]

I thought I did a really good job of coating the tank , but when I put a camera in I saw that it was uneven and did it again. I’m going to guess that if you leave a spot where fuel might be able to penetrate, the sealer may not last. If you do try to seal your used tank, follow the instructions about prep and if you have access to an inspection camera, take a look when you’re done. I think the key is not using ethanol fuel. Everything else you do is putting lipstick on a pig.

 

[belter]

have two tanks, swap them over every 6 months or so if you use it regularly.

the issue is the nylon absorbs water out of the fuel that the ethanol gets hold of. no ethanol in the fuel means no water in the fuel to absorb. i doubt they have this issue in europe, so it would have been a new one on them, and we really don't see much of it in au as generally we don't have a lot of ethanol fuels.

 

[chris900ssie]

I can say that in mainland Europe we ONLY have fuel with Ethanol. Either 5% or 10% (and i think the 5% is being dropped this year). Ducati or Aprillia, i drain my tanks every winter and put them in a warm dry location to "shrink" for the 4 months of off season. This works but is obviously a PITA.

 

[JEFFRPM]

Here in the good old government subsidised farming world (US) were getting E15 shoved down our throats by 2030 (actually this summer 2023 Biden is allowing up to E15) to help the starving farmers like Cargill, Simplot, Archer Daniels Midland, Monsanto by growing more corn for fuel & finish off the population with more HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) added to our food getting us even MORE obese.

The side benefit of obesity is phamacuticsl company's (government subsidised also) can develop more drugs for heart & digestive problems the HFCS causes WIN WIN all around........oh and also killing off all the remaining gasoline powered vehicles while getting us convinced electric vehicles are better than gasoline.

 

[Mal’s900SS]

I always figured it was the difference between ethanol bases. US is corn based, Oz is sugar cane base. We didn’t get much swelling of any here but it did eat fibreglass tanks.

our sugar, in the early days, used to clog the fine block filter strainers in the bowsers.