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Blisters in paint on gas tank??

NJNorge

Just got it firing!
GT di Razza Pura
Joined
Jan 23, 2016
Messages
21
Location
Northern NJ
I was messing around in the garage this morning, and noticed a bubble in the paint on the left side of the gas tank on my 2015 Norge. As I looked further, I found a much bigger blister further forward, under the fairing. When I press on them, they definitely feel like there's some pressure, like the tank is leaking, and the paint is holding the gas in! Anyone else have a similar issue or am I the lucky one??
 

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Is the replacement tank made something different? Ethanol has been a Federal requirement for a long time...you'd think they'd make the gas tank out of a material that can safely hold gas! :)
I don't know how long the warranty would be on something like this...my luck, I'm probably out. I'll call the dealer on Monday....
 
If the tank isn't replaced under warranty you can dry the tank out then coat the inside with an ethanol resistant coating.
 
Hopefully this will be covered...if not, I'll still need to get the paint fixed. Normally no big deal, but I'm told you can't get paint codes to mix the paint. I dropped it in the garage a few years ago, causing a few good scratches. I found out my options to get it fixed were to either have to have a body shop get it as close to possible, or remortgage the house and buy new bodywork, which comes painted from the factory. The scratches are still there. Very frustrating....
 
Automotive paint shops (paint supplier such as Dupont or Dirzler) can computer match the paint color. Just bring them a sample (small body work piece). It does take a good shop to paint plastic. It will take longer for the tank to dry out and shrink back to original size than to coat the inside and get the tank painted.
 
Question...is it likely that there is actually gas inside those blisters, or just vapor? With winter coming, I'm wondering if it would be worth emptying it out and letting it shrink back to normal size before having it lined? I just assumed the tank was metal...never heard of a tank swelling before, but now I'm noticing what look like stretch marks on the top of the tank!
 
As to gas in the blisters, I can't say for sure. I would empty the tank and remove the fuel pump and filler assembly to aid drying. An incandescent bulb trouble light inside the tank might speed up the process.
 
Hopefully this will be covered...if not, I'll still need to get the paint fixed. Normally no big deal, but I'm told you can't get paint codes to mix the paint. I dropped it in the garage a few years ago, causing a few good scratches. I found out my options to get it fixed were to either have to have a body shop get it as close to possible, or remortgage the house and buy new bodywork, which comes painted from the factory. The scratches are still there. Very frustrating....
i reached out to moto guzzi. never got a response. im going with a leather tank bra. not happy at all
 

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The consensus I've seen in various forums is that the blisters are actually water leaching through the tank wall due to ethanol. Draining the tank and letting it dry thoroughly (months?) returns it to normal, at which time the tank can be sealed on the inside.

My V11 Sport has a rash of tiny blisters on the bottom edges of the tank. When I get a chance, I may attempt this drain/dry/seal procedure.

__Jason
 
why didn’t guzzi address this problem? they must know in the usa that ethanol is used as a filler. going to put the tank bra on and be done with it. totally not cool
 
why didn’t guzzi address this problem? they must know in the usa that ethanol is used as a filler. going to put the tank bra on and be done with it. totally not cool

This was not Moto Guzzi’s fault.

They procured their fuel tanks from European parts manufacturer Acerbis, an respected Italian company in Bergamo, Lombardy. Even Acerbis didn’t know this would happen as they bought the raw plastic material from another manufacturer.

The issue rarely occurred in Europe, but mainly in North America where ethanol use is ubiquitous.

The problem manifested in all of the Italian motorcycle manufacturers and not just Moto Guzzi. Even the super expensive MV Augusta’s had the problem.

BMW dodged the bullet because they procure their tanks from a Slovakian supplier that didn’t use the nylon based material in their manufacturing process.

As far as I have been able to tell, the new plastic tanks no longer suffer this issue as they use a different formulation of plastic.
 
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It's just unfortunate that the Ducati customers were able to get a class action suit going and get satisfaction from the company, while Guzzi owners that had the exact same problem were left hanging in the wind. I wonder if there's still a possibility of a class action for Guzzi, or if that legal door has closed already.

As far as I have been able to tell, the new plastic tanks no longer suffer this issue as they use a different formulation of plastic.
Yep. Likewise, the half metal / half plastic fuel filters that Guzzi used for a while (and known to swell and sometimes burst) have been replaced with 100% plastic version in the current crop of bikes, and... they have no such swelling problems. Plastic does not mean "bad"; its the type of plastic that is key.

__Jason
 
a bitter pill to say the least. when i get my leather tank bra, i’ll post some pics. i have 2020 aprilia dorsoduro with a plastic tank. guess i will have to keep a eye on it.
would be nice if guzzi would redo the tank with a different formulation of plastic that’s a pipe dream
 
New Moto Guzzi motorcycles are warrantied for 2 years unlimited mileage. No vehicle is warrantied forever and certainly not to each subsequent owner, years down the line.

I think your expectations are completely unrealistic but I feel for you all the same. It is frustrating, but not a deal killer. Once you put a bra on it, you will never notice it again. The pleasure of the ride will smother this little speed bump...

The Honda Civic I bought my son several years ago, had issue with their grey metallic paint. It was water based, and they all had clearcoat failure and massive fading of the color paint, It was unique to this specific color paint.

Some times fortune favors us, other times, not so much.
 
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