Welded Aluminum is not that great either. There was a TSB or recall for these:

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Q1UYkrxFls4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The 900ss/cr/sp bikes get frame cracks at the steering head and pull head studs like 911's. BMW (bikes) have fueling and clunky gear boxes. None of which affect
every bike. Fill a plastic tank
with ethanol gas and let it sit
in a humid garage, the alcohol will absorb water that will leach into and distort the plastic liner.

I'm fortunate to have a pure-gas source 2 miles from home which should minimize the risk.

As usual with anything I could not resist taking the thing apart. After 2 months of dodging rain storms and 1000 miles on the Duc I started pulling it apart last night. I had some steam coming off the bottom end when I started the bike each evening and I cant find the source of the condensation which burns off right away so now I have a totally naked ST4 which I find pretty cool. I may have to relocate the battery and run it as a naked bike for a while. If I could only figure out how to get it into my living room for the winter you would not recognize it after the winter was over.

like this?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1318459478.jpg

which ducati's have a plastic tank? i have a vested interest in this information. TIA.

d.

My Hypermotard has a plastic tank.

All the sport classics have a plastic tank. I had the tank replaced twice on my Paul Smart. The second time it was coated on the inside first. But, ive heard that even the coated tanks are starting to warp and that Ducati is pretty much done replacing them on their dime......I know retail on my tank is $1800......

oh, that sucks. any idea on a 749 tank?

All Superbikes should have a metal tank.

Not sure about any of the superbikes. Oh there ya go :)

Regarding the tank issues: I have a buddy with a 1098R and an 848. I think he may have had to have one of the tanks replaced. I'll give him a call tomorrow to double check. I don't think his 999R (which he had previous to the 1098) had a plastic tank, so I'd guess a 749 should be metal, as well. His Bostrom certainly was metal.

IIRC Ducati started sourcing plastic tanks somewhere around '04. Acerbis actually makes them for Ducati. Perhaps not every tank will deform--I've got a buddy trying to sell me his Paul Smart replica with 600 miles on it who has a perfect tank--but it's certainly an epidemic here in America; at least there seems to be a lot of internet vitriol against the factory. Some class action lawsuit was settled recently. I don't recall the details, but the internet consensus seems to be that the only ones who made out on the deal were the lawyers.

Another buddy who used to own a Ducati dealership (BCM) is pretty ticked off. He feels this is something swept under the rug by Ducati. Like Mr. Marsh has indicated, replacement tanks go for almost $1900. So far, Ducati is good-faith warranting them. But that'll last only so long, I'd imagine. After all, they stopped warranting the cracked 900SS frames around 2006...when they started picking up the tab for replacing deforming plastic tanks. And even if it's a "free" new tank, there's the hassle and time involved in leaving your bike with a dealer, having the dealer ship the bad tank back to Italy, and waiting for a new tank to arrive for installation.

You can coat the insides of the tank with some Caswell product (at your cost--not Ducati's). But there have been one or two guys (who have had it done professionally)...and their coated replacement tanks have started to warp, too. At least that's what I've heard from Pro Italia.

The solution is to avoid ethanol. But in Kalifornia, for example, that's realistically impossible. Fortunately the OP has a local source of pure gasoline. I don't, so I made a deliberate decision to go with a metal-tanked bike. Plus, my tank bag is magnetic.

All the 749-999 bikes are metal tanks. Plastic tank monsters have it the worst because when the tank enlarges there is very little room front to rear and you are left with a tank you cannot latch down. Sport Classics can have the front mounts spaced out with washers to make the tank fit tightly again.


Since this thread is getting "enhanced" with other people's Italian bikes... here's mine.
http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/...1/IMG_0449.jpg

To the original poster: I see you are in Georgia, I've been a professional Ducati mech since the late '90's if you are looking for someone to service or modify your new monster.

And we wont start on the valve guide issue. Thats another bomb thats awaiting low milage bike owners. That will only set you back about 3 k on your dime....

Wicked.http://forums.pelicanparts.com/suppo...amingdevil.gif

I've had 3 Ducati, and none of the problems anyone has mentioned. But I have heard the tank issues are a real problem. You would think they could come up with a tank lining solution that would last.

My Aprilia RS250s have plastic fuel tanks, and they are also prone to expanding and leaking, although it hasn't happened to me in nearly 10 years of ownership.

Luckily mine went while under warranty. So when it burned into a pile of goo at least it had good valve guides :D