Hi all……… has anyone had a problem with their fuel tank trying to dissolve its self I have an
S1White lightning and the tank is showing signs of starting to leak it has small blisters under
The paint and the L in BUELL IS STARTING TO LIFT .The paint is all original as far as I know,
I have owned the bike for the past 6 years it has been of road for last 3 with fuel in it (I know I
Should have emptied it) is it the Fecking Ethanol they are putting in the fuel these days or
What, if so can the use of tank sealers that are on the market be of any use. help!

They all do that sir! Do a search of any Buell forum and you will find blistering tanks mentioned. Some are OK others are really bad. Even newly painted ones can suffer as mentioned in this thread http://www.ukbeg.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=14481

Buell solved the problem with the X1 by covering the plastic tank with a separate cover piece.

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Buell S1
Buell S3 (Topless for now)
Buell XB12S
Piaggio X8 400ie
Yamaha XTZ750 Super Tenere (x2)
Suzuki GSXR750WR
BSA B441VS
FJR1300

Hi and welcome

This has been discussed to death for many years, here is a recent thread.

viewtopic.php?p=184575#p184575

Cheers

Nick

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08 Specialized Langster

Thanks guys, it sounds like I’ve got some catching up to do! Dose the castwell 1750 work? I imagine it becoming solvent in the fuel and gumming up the valve stems. Or is that just me being an arse. Think I might go the X1 way and make a stainless steel under tank and have done with it god knows what we will be using for fuel in the years to come!!!!! ACETONE, PIG SH*T, etc. Thanks again

If Dream Machine will give you a warranty, why not get them to paint it for you?

The Tank Shop will make you an ally tank...

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08 Specialized Langster

Not in your life time he wont.

Didn't want to mention that...

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08 Specialized Langster

I think it's the nature of the plastic being slightly porous rather than the Ethanol that causes the paint/decals to bubble. In the US Ducati owners have launched a 'class action' against Ducati because the Ethanol was expanding the tanks enough to make them floppy on the rubber mounts. Ducati then issued those affected with new tanks (made from the same material )

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If your dreams don't scare you, they are not big enough.

Yes but they have en10. We do not get that until next year.deep joy.

I am worried about the tank on my multistrada as they have high failure rates in the USA due to ethanol expansion. I tend to fill it then run it low on long runs then refill next time I go out. Not ideal but it keeps the chances of expansion low.

Ducati help them but in the uk I believe the stance is that without a full ducati service history you are goosed. We know how to look after customers don't we?

My 24 flat tank Enfield is suffering internal rust due to ethanol. No one to turn to there. And where do I get a new tank if the worst occurs?

If Ducati take this view,what chance HD?

If I keep my 1198 long term, I'll get a bigger alloy tank if the plastic one melts, but I suspect anyone with a plastic tank will have a battle on their hands trying to get a satisfactory outcome from any bike manufacturer. I've not bonded with the Duc like I have with the 1125, it makes the Buell feel like a very slow bike when you nail it and it's completely mental in every aspect, but the Buell just does everything very well, with no fuss , and it's got an ally tank
Funnily enough, I try and keep my plastic tanks in good nick, by doing just the opposite to you . I keep it brimmed, so there's no air gap to get moisture into and no room for the fuel to give of the more volatile vapours , but really, I've no idea if it's a sound theory or not
This could turn into an interesting experiment

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If your dreams don't scare you, they are not big enough.

Not just plastic fuel tanks that ethanol can damage.

Fuel pumps that sit in the tank often have plastic housings and parts. These can also swell and distort in contact with ethanol.

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Mike_S

2001 Buell X1
2017 BMW S1000RR
2010 Yamaha R1 (Sold)
1125CR - Sold and living in Germany
GSXR1000K3 - Sold

However there's no history of Duc fuel pump failure that can be linked to the fuel. This has led me to believe that it's the vapours that do the harm.
As I said before, I'm just going on intuition here and have no evidence what so ever

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If your dreams don't scare you, they are not big enough.

Well my M2 tank after behaving itself for 10 years is bubbling in several small areas
Does seem weird why it's started now
Does the pin method work

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Should Have Stuck To making Tubers

A mate of mine had problems with the carb jets on his XT600 becoming blocked with a white substance. The XT's tank is white plastic. He'd previously had recurring problems with carb blockages on a KTM 950 Adventure, to the extent that he got pissed off with it and sold it. It seems that the fuel was dissolving the inside of the tank, which would then come out of solution when passing through the jets. He started filling up at a Shell station, instead of the local Sainsbury's, and has had no recurrence of the problem.

Its a big problem in the states with the high ethanol content corroding and blocking injectors on all different makes of bikes.

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I don't own a car.