So what swells plastic tanks if it isn't ethanol, bearing in mind that they only seem to swell when used with ethanol fuel? As Loz says, if ethanol isn't the problem when ethanol isn't present what's causing the problem when it is? Shouldn't be producing bio-ethanol anyway. Its a disgraceful waste of a shrinking supply of food growing agricultural land. And is there a coating that can be applied to protect plastic tanks?
Heh. Elise, stay away from ethanol threads, you are even more crap at them than finm is with the political ones :Stop:
Read this: (Courtesy of Andy Tiernan Classic Motorcycles) Here in the UK, petrol from road side filling stations in now all unleaded, & has been for some years. When unleaded petrol was first introduced into the UK, & leaded petrol became harder to purchase, there were certain myths that started going around regarding valve seats in classic motorcycles. It became the mission of certain interested parties to make us believe that we needed to have new 'unleaded valve' seats fitted to our classic motorcycles as soon as possible. This was & is simply not true, it is not necessary to have your valve seats changed purely on the basis of using unleaded petrol. The simplest thing to do is just to carry on using your bike as normal, & only have unleaded valve seats fitted, if & when your original valve seats wear out. In practice most people will find that their original valve seats do not wear out, & therefore do not need replacing. Our fitter, David 'Beret' Berry (now sadly deceased), who was with us for over twenty years, clocked up hundreds of thousands of miles on a number of different British classics (he had quite a collection, & rode them daily to work, as well as on long distance touring holidays two up). He never had unleaded valve seats fitted to any of his motorcycles, & never needed them! Ethanol in petrol This is not good for anyone in the classic vehicle world. Modern vehicles are made to run on petrol containing ethanol. Unfortunately older classic vehicles were not. The problems for classic bike owners include: - Fibre glass fuel tanks that go soft as the resin that binds the glass fibre together is dissolved by the Ethanol. Fuel tanks that have been sealed with a leak sealant at sometime in the past, again the ethanol dissolves this sealant. In both these cases, a sticky yellow mess results that blocks up your fuel system (petrol taps, filters, carburettors etc. There are solutions to problems with fibre glass tanks. Replace your fibre glass tank with a steel or alloy one. Alternatively you could get a new fibre glass tank made in ethanol resistant material. You can also get one of the new ethanol resistant sealers for the inside of your tank, but the outside may still suffer if you spill any petrol on it. The solution for old sealant inside your metal tank, that is being dissolved by the ethanol, is to get a chemical to remove the old sealant, & then to re-seal your tank with one of the new ethanol resistant sealers. Ethanol also attacks & degrades other parts of the fuel system, such as rubber pipes & seals, as well as zinc & brass fittings. A further problem with ethanol in petrol, is water. Ethanol is hydroscopic, which means it absorbs water. This in turns leads to rust & corrosion inside your petrol tank. If you use your classic motorcycle regularly this is usually more of an inconvenience than a serious problem, however if you leave your machine standing for long periods, then this problem becomes much more serious. Also petrol containing ethanol does not seem to have a very long 'shelf life', we have heard a number of incidents, where people have tried to start their engine after they have been left standing for a number of weeks; only to discover that the petrol has 'gone off', & has to be changed before the vehicle can be started. Once again there are solutions. One solution is to use an additive for your fuel. Additives can both extend the 'life' of the petrol, where machines are left standing unused for long periods, as well as protecting against rust & corrosion forming.
my old peg bought from new and apparent from new would not start if left for more than 5 or 6 days.wind over flatten the battery,charge wind flaten the battery before i would start. took me a season to sus out if i drained the carbs before i attempt to start it would fire up every time. one week to go off in the carbs?
bit drastic there,, just sell the fuel and store the bikes until a definitive conclusion has been reached..
Actually, my SF would look good with a polished aluminium tank. And no more swelling problems. Shame they cost £2500 and I bet a standard Ducati crappy-placcy tank won't be far behind.
But some say leaving the tanks empty and open is the best way to store to prevent problems, others say they should be brimmed and closed....
