[DucGasm]

Well, I droped my bike (2002 S4) of for the battery switch-aroo yesterday. And got a call today. Service guy says gas tank is leaking from the hinge.

I am going to go up there this afternoon and check it out. I have a feeling it maybe the overflow hose that went to the emissions can. Well, the lack of the overflow hose.

Anyway, Service guy said he put in an order for a new tank and it should be here next week. Yeah right, I am guessing I will be sh!t-outta bike for a solid month if the tank is leaking.

But, I might get a new tank, and maybe even a color change. The only thing left on the bike grey is the tank, so maybe I can get something besides the "metallic grey." I wonder how Red would look with red wheels? Or maybe black.

Anyway, I will keep ya'll posted on the problem. What you wanna bet, when I get it back I will still have the GS battery.

Later,
Chris

 

[Retro]

Red tank with red wheels sounds good to me....

 

[atatinen]

if u dont want to be with no bike for a month depending on the extent of the leak go to a local welder.. they should be able to fix it in a couple of hours. and ur back on the road in a day or 2. then when u get the new tank... ur dandy again

 

[cyclepup]

Those red wheels have a little orange. Check to see if Ducati red is close enough. I like the black S4s a lot and I've never seen black with red wheels.

 

[Norm]

Have someone weld or braze the hinge area, it won't even screw up your paint. After the welding, treat the inside with POR-15. It shouldn't take more than 2 days & $50-60. A new tank from Ducati is $1600+

 

[Herb]

Should still be under warranty.

 

[DucGasm]

Talked to Service this afternoon. I suggested the overflow hose thing, so he let me take a look at it. Honestly, it must have been something they done in the shop. It was a very prominant drip. I park in the same spot in a stairwell on concrete every night, and there is no way I could have missed it. Although, I really don't know how to accuse them since I can't prove it wasn't leaking before.

This is what I saw. At the back of the tank, the hinge is attached to a square metal peice that is welded to the tank. The left side of this square is where the leak is.

Anyway, service guy said it will be a warrenty thing. Since I had a rock under my tank bag the other day, a new tank sounds good. But, I wonder about changing the color. I think I like the black with red wheels idea.

What would be the best way to go about requesting a color change? Should I contact DNA? Does anyone have a pic of a black monster with red wheels?

 

[desmoworks]

Tell them you want a CF tank ;D

 

[atatinen]

Talked to Service this afternoon. I suggested the overflow hose thing, so he let me take a look at it. Honestly, it must have been something they done in the shop. It was a very prominant drip. I park in the same spot in a stairwell on concrete every night, and there is no way I could have missed it. Although, I really don't know how to accuse them since I can't prove it wasn't leaking before.

This is what I saw. At the back of the tank, the hinge is attached to a square metal peice that is welded to the tank. The left side of this square is where the leak is.

Anyway, service guy said it will be a warrenty thing. Since I had a rock under my tank bag the other day, a new tank sounds good. But, I wonder about changing the color. I think I like the black with red wheels idea.

What would be the best way to go about requesting a color change? Should I contact DNA? Does anyone have a pic of a black monster with red wheels?

When my tank started leaking.. it wasnt very prominent in the beginning so I dint notice... but when I rode it to the shop due to the heat (i guess) I think by the time i reached the shop it was very prominent.

 

[TX907]

My S4 tank is leaking also - apparently in the same area. Although I am past warranty, the local shop is going to try to get it replaced anyway. Sounds like this may be a more common problem so that might help me get it replaced.

 

[Norm]

See if you can keep the old tank, & fix it for a back-up.

 

[TedR]

Unfortunately the leaking gas tanks are a common problem. At least they were with the older bikes. I thought they changed the design to strengthen the hinge attachment on the tanks, but maybe not.

Apparently the hinge is not strong enough to support the tank when it is raised with gas in it! It even states in your owners manual to empty the tank before raising it!

Mine had a slow leak, only when the bike was running. I could only tell it was leaking because it left varnish trails on the under side of the tank and the frame. I was going to fix it with the two part epoxies that are poured into the tank. They looked like the ticket. I did some research on the web only to find horror stories of the products failing after a year or so. I finally decided to d it the cheap way and bought a two part flexible epoxy made to fix fuel tank leaks. You can find the stuff in most auto supply stores. I rolled the stuff into

 

[Matt13]

When you guys had this leak did you notice you weren't getting as far on a tank of gas?

 

[TedR]

Between leaking and being fixed I did not see an improvement in gas mileage. I don

 

[T-BOOGIE]

TedR your avatar is making me dizzy. i had a similar problem with my tank, it was leaking right by the hinge. sent it off to be welded and its been good ever since, no need for a new tank unless its a warranty item.

 

[Matt13]

I'm pretty sure mine is leaking. I'm going to stop in and have em look at it.

 

[DucGasm]

Tell them you want a CF tank ;D

Man, I thought black was a good idea, but CF sounds great!