Have any owners tried to get Ducati to replace or repair spreading tanks (tanks that are loose or no longer fit in the front brackets) after the bike is no longer under warranty? What has been Ducati's response?
Out Of Warranty Spreading Tank Problems
1971TT
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Just dropped off my plastic tank to get Caswell coated! Luckily, a custom fabbed aluminum tank is my back up. I'd hate to lose the original one to swelling.
Keeping my fingers crossed the shop does a good job of this exact, delicate procedure!
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I second the part about the Caswell needing to be warm enough to flow. I coated my tank in winter, storing the Caswell in a heated room, but when it came to coating the tank, the Caswell was not hot enough and would not flow. I knew better when I did the next one!
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Just a heads-up since this Caswell coating appears to still be a preferred preventative method.
I noticed my Caswell-coated tank had spread outside of its mounts about two years ago. I wasn't terribly surprised. About a month ago I pulled my fuel pump to have a detailed look inside the tank, and I found the Caswell coating peeling off of the tank internal surface. This coating was applied by a reputable professional (site sponsor), so I mostly have confidence it was done correctly. But after 6ish years, the coating has met its match.
So far, the peeling doesn't appear to affect performance. The pieces were large, and I don't think they would enter the fuel system. I do worry about a large flake breaking of and blocking the fuel pick-up, but there's not much to be done about it now. Since I have access to non-ethanol fuel, I'm considering an ETI fuel tank.
I noticed my Caswell-coated tank had spread outside of its mounts about two years ago. I wasn't terribly surprised. About a month ago I pulled my fuel pump to have a detailed look inside the tank, and I found the Caswell coating peeling off of the tank internal surface. This coating was applied by a reputable professional (site sponsor), so I mostly have confidence it was done correctly. But after 6ish years, the coating has met its match.
So far, the peeling doesn't appear to affect performance. The pieces were large, and I don't think they would enter the fuel system. I do worry about a large flake breaking of and blocking the fuel pick-up, but there's not much to be done about it now. Since I have access to non-ethanol fuel, I'm considering an ETI fuel tank.
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To date I have not heard of a fail, so thanks for sharing this. Mine is also done by the "site sponsor" and well I bought into the selling point that the application takes some skill/ care. Peeling pieces of Caswell in the tank is not good. Ugh, I would've hoped this would last years. I hope this is an outlier and that you can get some help from the vendor.
I have a virgin ETI Sport tank and ETI recommends it be internally coated. There is an old thread in which Motowheels reported one of their ETI racebike tanks leaking twice, ruining two paint jobs. It's an old thread. I asked ETI and they said to coat the interior. There goes great weight savings.
That's strange because I also have a Virgin ETI fuel cel and they told me and it is in bold print
on the website that they do not suffer from ethanol fuel. They do have a very small their words
pin hole leak some times that is when they will coat a tank and why they want you to run it with
fuel on the bike before you paint them. They said the problem is one that happens when the tank
is laid up and it is a pin hole in the epoxy that is the issue. They admit that they have had tanks
leak but for defects during manufacture not from ethanol. The thread you mention is the only tank
that i have heard of leaking. I read that thread also that is why I questioned them about it before
I bought one.
And if you get a pin hole leak, ETI will recommend coating the tank but won't guarantee it to not leak again. In other words, once the tank leaks from a pin hole leak, you're on your own. I'm going to coat mine and have it vinyl wrapped rather than risk an expensive paint job.
Yes, you’re probably right. I put about a pound of self tappers and shook it til my arms fell off and the inside looked pretty smooth when I looked inside with an inspection camera. I flushed it out and coated it anyway. I’m doubting it will do any good, but I already had the stuff, might as well use it.
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I am new to this but since there is no EFI or Aluminum tank option for a GT 1000, what are other folks doing about it? The coating is obviously failing as mentioned above.
Found this article, Are these brackets and rubber bumpers offered by Ducati any good?
https://www.webbikeworld.com/ducati-gt-1000-loose-fuel-tank-spreading-problem/
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Found this article, Are these brackets and rubber bumpers offered by Ducati any good?
https://www.webbikeworld.com/ducati-gt-1000-loose-fuel-tank-spreading-problem/
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It appears that if you don’t let the tank swell to the point that it damages the paint then the tank will shrink back to size after being drained and aired out for a while . Mine does. I’m not sure how long it takes as I left mine open all winter, 4-5 months, and it was fitting the frame pretty well by the time I coated and reinstalled it. Maybe it would be cheaper to buy a second tank and coat both, then swap each time swelling is noticeable and let the other one shrink back to normal. It would still be cheaper than aftermarket.
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5,885 Posts
Still offering the coating. I have done three tanks recently that we shrank back to nearly stock and coated it. We also offer new tanks and coating package
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My bike went to the dealer for tank swelling several years ago, and they installed spacers on the frame instead of replacing the tank ... No noticeable tank damage, other than it "growing" (wouldn't fit snug in the frame mounts, and the rear tank to frame bolt was also a pain to get started). Anyway, I bought a new tank a year or two ago to do a color change, and the old tank has been sitting in the garage ever since - if it has shrunk back to the original size, that would make me one happy guy! Guess I need to swap tanks and see.
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10,702 Posts
I use the ETI fuel cells for race/track bikes quite often being able to repair them is why I would chose one. I have seen the tank crashed bad enough you could fit your fist through the side and ETI fixed the tank and sent it back. Yes you need to verify you have no leaks before painting but I have 2 ETI tanks on my own bikes (monster and 748) both hold ethanol fuel since it was introduced in the US and to date not a problem . I did wear a small hole in the monster tank due to a poor fitting seat but it was a easy external repair. The 748 has barrel rolled on the track and has not leaked a drop.
I personnaly would resist coating a tank because at some point the coating may become a bigger issue than the leak. I do not like hearing of caswell failures as they were the last man standing for tank sealers. I single example is not a trend so just be aware the best coating done by the best application will always still have a slight chance of failure that's just life. If we start seeing a trend then I will re-visit the options. I know I would be happy to use a ETI fuel cell and aluminum or steel would be fine as well with me. For now on my plastic tank bike I just keep a spare tank and if it gets bad enough I will swap them out and decide if I need another spare.
I personnaly would resist coating a tank because at some point the coating may become a bigger issue than the leak. I do not like hearing of caswell failures as they were the last man standing for tank sealers. I single example is not a trend so just be aware the best coating done by the best application will always still have a slight chance of failure that's just life. If we start seeing a trend then I will re-visit the options. I know I would be happy to use a ETI fuel cell and aluminum or steel would be fine as well with me. For now on my plastic tank bike I just keep a spare tank and if it gets bad enough I will swap them out and decide if I need another spare.
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The way we coat now It has yet to fail. Many other competitors that do the coating does not prep the tank well enough to get 100% of the inside scuffed and roughed up to accept the coating. This was mentioned many years ago but many seem to have not read this warning. I can not say the coating is a fix but it does extend the life of the tank left without coating it. I have seen hundreds of Sport Classics in the past 15 years come through my shop. Early on when the tank coating was just coming about. There was a failure rate of 75% if you followed the Caswell Manual. We found a method that improved on this and have have done hundreds of thanks since and the method kept getting better and better and our rate of success is about 95% now The 5% would be from accidents where the coating got damaged and coatings from early years when we were still trying to work out the best system and method. Now we are at a plateau where it is quite successful. We may cost more but we do it better. Aluminum tanks are great but they too have issues. Where they are weakest is the weld and it tends to get dinged easily. If it starts leaking it can be coated. Nothing is perfect. But after many years I think we have gotten to a very good place. I hope they don't discontinue the tanks anytime soon
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