Commando Fuel Tank Huge Problem.

9

961Story

Joined
Oct 30, 2014
Messages
71
Just posted about the re map but thought I need to share this information.My fuel tank is also leaking from around the fuel pump on the left hand side of the tank,bit of a fire risk.
I have asked a lot of people and this seems to be a bigger problem than I first thought.There is not enough material around the base of the tank where the pump sits it warps and fuel leaks,Ducati had the same problem.Depending on the age of your bike,some people I have spoken to have had to pay over £1000
For a new tank other £500 ??? I wonder if this is going to be a bigger problem in the US ????
 
Mine was also replaced a few years ago (warranty). Shutting the engine off, hearing tsss.... tsss... tsss..., and then seeing drops of fuel dropping on a cylinder head is scary. Norton should recall the bad tanks. This is a dangerous problem.
 
961Story, just a quick question, do you run on any part Ethanol fuel?

Im no expert but I keep hearing what Ethanol can do to plastic tanks. I have a friend who races an Aprilia RSV Mille, hes had to make a metal plate and insert it in place of the fuel pump seal, as it kept failing.
 
It has been an ongoing thing with Ducati's, I only use non ethanol blended fuels in my Hypermotard but some fuel stops only have E10 type fuel.
Surely the 961 has an alloy fuel tank.

http://deformedfueltanks.com/
 
The 961 has a plastic tank, the Domiracer has an alloy tank.

When I got my Sport in Sept 2014, Phil at Krazy Horse told me under no circumstances use any Ethanol based fuel, especially as here in the UK the percentage of Ethanol in unleaded 95 has just been raised to E10 this year. However, most super plus unleaded is Ethanol free I believe.
 
There is an optional aluminium tank available for the 961 if you want to pay £1680.

imho, that is just stupid. Would it weigh less than plastic? i guess not. So Norton asks nearly £1700 for a product that does nothing more than actually doing what it is designed for.

I did hear there were regions where plastic tanks are forbidden for street bikes. So they could be standard somewhere.
 
Hi, I produce hand-made aluminum tanks , I put a couple of photos of some works I made
Commando Fuel Tank Huge Problem.

Commando Fuel Tank Huge Problem.

Commando Fuel Tank Huge Problem.

Commando Fuel Tank Huge Problem.

Commando Fuel Tank Huge Problem.

Commando Fuel Tank Huge Problem.
 
Anyone who puts Ethanol in a plastic tank Ducati, Aprillia, BMW, Triumph, MV Augusta, Norton without an Ethanol stabilizer is asking for trouble!!!
 
BPHORSEGUY said:
Anyone who puts Ethanol in a plastic tank Ducati, Aprillia, BMW, Triumph, MV Augusta, Norton without an Ethanol stabilizer is asking for trouble!!!
Click to expand...
I would say it's the manufacturer asking for trouble selling a motorcycle with a tank that is not suitable for holding the fuel its designed to run on. Part of the reason I sold my 961 was when the tank started to distort around the filler cap.
 
So pipistrel:

Very nice pictures

1. Are your alloy tanks pressure tested?
2. Are your tanks coated internally?
3. Are your tanks guaranteed?
3. Are your tanks designed for efi fuel pump application?
4. Have you built any for use as replacement for plastic Norton 961 tanks?
5. Your estimate of what an alloy replacement tank for 961 would cost.
 
BritTwit said:
So pipistrel:

Very nice pictures

1. Are your alloy tanks pressure tested?
2. Are your tanks coated internally?
3. Are your tanks guaranteed?
3. Are your tanks designed for efi fuel pump application?
4. Have you built any for use as replacement for plastic Norton 961 tanks?
5. Your estimate of what an alloy replacement tank for 961 would cost.
Click to expand...

The tanks are all controlled with a machine certificate, since we also manufacture tanks for Ducati Moto GP, Ferrari.
The tanks manufactured by us are not coated inside.
The tank holds exactly all the features of the original.
The price of the tank is 1500 Euros including shipping and Monza cap
 
if a tank is properly made it will NOT need any type of coating. IMHO all the coatings are destined to fail, maybe not in a year but WILL fail. I have even seen harley ferguson tanks with a factory coating fail.if a tank has too have a coating in it I will not waste my money on it.

BritTwit said:
So pipistrel:

Very nice pictures

2. Are your tanks coated internally?
Click to expand...
 
pipistrel said:
BritTwit said:
So pipistrel:

Very nice pictures

1. Are your alloy tanks pressure tested?
2. Are your tanks coated internally?
3. Are your tanks guaranteed?
3. Are your tanks designed for efi fuel pump application?
4. Have you built any for use as replacement for plastic Norton 961 tanks?
5. Your estimate of what an alloy replacement tank for 961 would cost.
Click to expand...

The tanks are all controlled with a machine certificate, since we also manufacture tanks for Ducati Moto GP, Ferrari.
The tanks manufactured by us are not coated inside.
The tank holds exactly all the features of the original.
The price of the tank is 1500 Euros including shipping and Monza cap
Click to expand...


Do you build the alloy tanks that Ducati sell as an option for their 1098's and 1198's?
I have seen these tanks up close, with brushed finishes. They are sensational!

Can the Norton tanks be had with the standard fuel cap setup, or is the moinza cap the only option?
Do you have a web site?
 
BritTwit said:
pipistrel said:
BritTwit said:
So pipistrel:

Very nice pictures

1. Are your alloy tanks pressure tested?
2. Are your tanks coated internally?
3. Are your tanks guaranteed?
3. Are your tanks designed for efi fuel pump application?
4. Have you built any for use as replacement for plastic Norton 961 tanks?
5. Your estimate of what an alloy replacement tank for 961 would cost.
Click to expand...

The tanks are all controlled with a machine certificate, since we also manufacture tanks for Ducati Moto GP, Ferrari.
The tanks manufactured by us are not coated inside.
The tank holds exactly all the features of the original.
The price of the tank is 1500 Euros including shipping and Monza cap
Click to expand...


Do you build the alloy tanks that Ducati sell as an option for their 1098's and 1198's?
I have seen these tanks up close, with brushed finishes. They are sensational!

Can the Norton tanks be had with the standard fuel cap setup, or is the moinza cap the only option?
Do you have a web site?
Click to expand...
In the norton tank i can mount any other fuel filler cap, I do not have any limitation.
for any further information you can contact me at the email info@tecknorace.it
 
I have one of the Tecknorace.IT/pipistrel alloy tanks for my Ducati Sport Classic. It was one of the very early tanks they produced for MotoWheels in the USA. The finish was "brushed" but it was more like sanded with 150 grit paper on a circular sander and sent to me that way... very rough. I spent a lot of time sanding, Scotchbrighting and polishing to make it presentable. Then I tried to fit it and found it was too narrow to fit over the frame and on my tank mounts. Ironic in that the reason I needed to replace the stock Duc tank was that the ethanol fuel (the only thing available where I live) had caused the plastic tank to spread out so wide it wouldn't stay attached to the mounts. I returned the tank to MotoWheels for replacement and after 2-3 months they sent it back, unchanged, with a set of cobbled together narrower tank mounts to hopefully make it fit. I will be trying to fit it this winter while the bike is out of commission. I'm not terribly confident it is going to work but have no recourse, just a very pretty to look at piece of art work that won't fit on my bike properly. Other than the rough finish and too narrow size, the craftsmanship on the tank is quite good. He obviously knows what he is doing and makes pretty pieces. I don't know if Pipistrel didn't have a frame to test fit the tank to, or if it shrank during welding and that wasn't addressed, but I think it is unacceptable business practice to sell a part that will not fit properly without other modifications. I was told it was a direct replacement part and it is not. It is also my bad to some extent for polishing it before a test fit then perhaps I could have gotten a replacement that was made properly. Anyway even though he is talented, I would suggest caution on using his services.
Terry
 
flyboy49 said:
I have one of the Tecknorace.IT/pipistrel alloy tanks for my Ducati Sport Classic. It was one of the very early tanks they produced for MotoWheels in the USA. The finish was "brushed" but it was more like sanded with 150 grit paper on a circular sander and sent to me that way... very rough. I spent a lot of time sanding, Scotchbrighting and polishing to make it presentable. Then I tried to fit it and found it was too narrow to fit over the frame and on my tank mounts. Ironic in that the reason I needed to replace the stock Duc tank was that the ethanol fuel (the only thing available where I live) had caused the plastic tank to spread out so wide it wouldn't stay attached to the mounts. I returned the tank to MotoWheels for replacement and after 2-3 months they sent it back, unchanged, with a set of cobbled together narrower tank mounts to hopefully make it fit. I will be trying to fit it this winter while the bike is out of commission. I'm not terribly confident it is going to work but have no recourse, just a very pretty to look at piece of art work that won't fit on my bike properly. Other than the rough finish and too narrow size, the craftsmanship on the tank is quite good. He obviously knows what he is doing and makes pretty pieces. I don't know if Pipistrel didn't have a frame to test fit the tank to, or if it shrank during welding and that wasn't addressed, but I think it is unacceptable business practice to sell a part that will not fit properly without other modifications. I was told it was a direct replacement part and it is not. It is also my bad to some extent for polishing it before a test fit then perhaps I could have gotten a replacement that was made properly. Anyway even though he is talented, I would suggest caution on using his services.
Terry
Click to expand...

Terry,

Sorry to hear the problems with your Sport Classic. They are great looking bikes. I hope you find a solution to the tank problem.
The Norton 961 is the first bike I have owned with a plastic tank. In NYC I have not been able to find any stations that carry anything other than ethanol contaminated fuels.
I appreciate your honesty and caution, since I am entertaining the thought of replacing the tank on my 961 with something more substantial, and resistant to ethanol.
 
I think all manufacturers that use plastic tanks are having issues with Ethanol. Here in UK, the glorious governing body that is the European Union has stated that all unleaded petrol will, from May 2014, contain 10% Ethanol.

Apart from my bikes, Im into air cooled VWs, and its causing problems there too.

Ive heard this is causing major issues on bikes, with Aprilia and Ducati being particularly affected. My friend races an Aprilia RSV4 which hes had to manufacture an alloy plate to sit the fuel pump on as the plastic seam has warped. Im not aware of many Nortons that have had issues yet, possibly as weve only had 10% Ethanol for 6 months. The advice from Krazy Horse was ' Same as any bike with a plastic tank, don't touch Ethanol, use super plus unleaded only, as it wont like it'.

Just as an aside, I live on a barge, as of this year the Boat Safety Scheme, which is like the MOT test for boats, has been altered so that all fuel lines on boats are Ethanol proof as they have been causing leaks and fires. There is a new BS number (British Standard) for all fuel lines and tanks now, which is now Ethanol proof.

It isn't going to go away, so we will just have to deal with it. I now run all my bikes and VWs on super plus unleaded.
 

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