Streets of Willow May 3rd cancelled.
May 14 – Big Willow is ON.
New NGK spark plugs
Just installed a fresh new set of plugs. The old ones look good. They had the slight burnt-orange / light black look on the electrode.
Now that I am using the Sta-Bil Marine fuel additive, I’m going to keep an eye on the way the fuel burns.
*Track day coming May 3rd at Willow Springs. I’ll look at the plugs there, too.
Fuel Stabilizer (update)
So far, it’s working. I rode around and didn’t notice any loss of performance.
Along my ride, I stopped by SoCal Ducati’s 10th Anniversary Open House where I met up with JC of JC PakBikes. He showed me how he was able to remove the tank and have the inside of the tank lined with a special coating that protected the tank from spreading. Cool stuff!
Fuel Stabilizer
The biggest known issue with the SportClassic line of Ducati motorcycles is the “spreading tank”. This is where the fuel tank, made of a plastic/fiberglass material, starts to slightly get larger when ethanol is present in gasoline. California has been using ethanol in your regular gas station fuel in order to curb vehicle emissions. However, this wrecks havoc to non-metallic fuel components like plastic or fiberglass.
The boating and marine industry has been battling to maintain the reliability of their boats by adding fuel additives in order to stop the effects of ethanol on marine fuels systems.
So I thought – why don’t I use it, too?
STA-BIL 22239 Marine Fuel Stabilizer
So far, it’s working. It has been two days in the tank and so far. The tank has stopped spreading and is going back to its original shape, little by little. The front rubber snubs are starting to seat into the mounting cups.
Engine performance has not suffered.
‘ll be riding out in the sun over the weekend and I’ll report back on how the SoCal sun and heat affects the tank and fuel stabilizer.
Hopefully positive results.
Fun with helmet
Instead of a ride report, I have a full-face helmet report with a bit of fun mixed in.
I’ve always been impressed with AGV’s line of helmets but never could bring myself to own a second high-end Italian helmet since I already own a Suomy Spec 1R Extreme – Anthracite Flowers. I have a small entourage of Scorpion EXO-400 and EXO-700 helmets that are really nice however I’ve always been craving AGVs. So I decided to go with AGV’s K3 line of helmets.
Just because this is AGV’s second-tier line of helmets, don’t let that fool you. The finish and fit of the helmet is far superior and at the same price-break as Scorpion and HJC. Look out Scorpion and HJC – AGV is has it’s crosshairs on the $200 and lower market.
Again, the quality, fit, and finish is excellent. Ventilation is excellent as expected from AGV. One thing I noted was the smaller-than-usual neck roll at the back. It seems like this helmet was designed for the sportbike rider in mind. With my Ducati’s hyper-prone racing position (aka The Torture Rack), this helmet left me tons of room at the back of my neck to get into a proper racing position just like AGV’s Ti-Tech. That is a big plus!
Now that I have this excellent helmet, why would I want more? Well, the cafe racer in me was tapping on my shoulder saying “Psst. It needs a bit of flair”.
So with some checkered gas tank decals that I had laying around, I took the stock black AGV K3 and had a little fun.
STOCK:
AND MADE THIS:
… just a litte fun while I was bored. 🙂
Tales from the pilot seat of a Ducati SportClassic 