Well, I've recently been away on the EMM 2026 trip with a few pals from the UK and on the day we arrived at our EMM hotel location at Besse et Sainte Anastaise, Auverne, Rhone, on the 22nd June, we stopped for fuel at a local fuel station. When I opened the fuel filler cap to re-fuel, my goodness the pressure release added together with fuel spray over the screen area, caused me rather a lot of shock I have to admit, instantly necessitating pretty prompt closure of the cap! I then released the fuel cap very slowly indeed, allowing the tank pressure to dissipate gradually for about 10-15 seconds and then was able to fill the tank again. The tank expansion was quite extreme, causing the tank cover to crack at the top cover fixing mounts, as well as making the telephone pocket expand likewise and totally change shape. I managed to 'deal-with' the issue, after some advice, which continued throughout the remainder of the trip, having began in France on the 20th June and ended when back in the UK on the 29th June. No apparent issues with the tank for the 1st 2 days or so. I released tank pressure every time I stopped the bike for a break or to re-fuel, meaning all in all circa 40-50 occasions. This approach seemed to keep things under control to a greater extent and certainly reduced my initial concerns. The bike didn't falter in any other way at all and as we headed north towards Calais via Luxembourg & Belgium, where the daily temperatures reduced to about 28-30C, the tank pressure problem, seemed to disappear altogether. Temperatures throughout France during our trip were frequently in the 36-40C area and my bike certainly seemed to run very hot, which I do appreciate is a V4 trait. We did a similar trip last year, in similar temperatures, with no issue whatsoever. However, this time, I did see the temperature head to 108C on the bike and on at least 2 separate occasions the fans cut out at 104C, also rather strange as they are set, I believe, to cut out at 99-100C. I did speak with a very helpful guy called Barry @ Riders, Bridgwater, on the 24th June, who indicated he hadn't heard of this before and that on looking online, found that reactivity of E10 fuel in high temperatures was a known issue, suggesting I ought to opt for E5 for the remainder of the trip. I did try to do this, however, found that not all fuel stations had this available. I would say I managed to utilise E5 for about 60% of refills after this issue first came to light, but that it seemed to make no discernible difference at all. The bike is booked into Riders for detailed exaamination on the 28th July and still has 80% of its final year warrranty. I'm anticipating that whatever the issue might be, this will be fully covered by warranty, including the tank cover damage caused by the significant tank expansion. If anyone has any useful thoughts about this problem, they may well be helpful.
Mine pressurised once, it was from over filling and blocking stupid charcoal canister thing, I just got a Y connector, cut the pipe and joined it into the other overflow pipe that goes to the ground, no issues since, even if I over-fill.
I took my 24 plate to Southern Italy last year, where temperatures reached 42degC and had no such problems. There should be some kind of breather/overflow pipe and maybe this has become blocked. It was certainly a problem on the Z1000SX, with the pipe becoming pinched.
I was on the same trip as Tony and whilst my V4 had some issues it was considerably less. This was taken the next day And this was Tony’s the same day
i had the same on my trip to France and Spain last week. Fans will cut out at 100 if the bike is moving or engine running, if stationary with engine is off the fans will cut out closer to 103 or so, presumably to minimise battery drain. Don’t think it is anything to worry about.
I'd certainly be suspect of the evap, as mentioned above, brimming often leads to blocking of the buggers. https://smartmoto-electronics.com/evap-canister-removal-kit-pve-082 I've done it on my 1260 and it may not help, but harmless and cheap.
Notwithstanding that this 'over-filling' potential may have contributed to some extent, this isn't something factually stated by Ducati anywhere as I see it within their motorcycle documentation, unless anyone could point out otherwise. Also reference is made to the suitability of both E10 & E5 fuel and as far as I have always understood the design of the motorcycle re-fueling mechanisms, they have the precise facility to deal with any fuel discharge potential in and around the fuel cap area, a drain, which I have seen functioning on bikes, doing exactly what it is supposed to do. I've owned a 2-year old 2nd-hand 2010 1200MTS in 2012, a 2015 Pikes Peak from new, a 2018 1260S from new and never once had this or any other associated issue, so for me this is an entirely new and totally unexpected experience. I'm not that enthusiastic to make any of the modifications suggested by other well meaning responders to this post, as were this really warranted then I have little doubt that Ducati would have made this a necessary recall. That said, I do appreciate that Ducati are not always that responsive in such situations, however, we will see and I will ensure I update this forum further........ Really interesting to note the statement made by the supplier of the kit you've provided a link to: "Legal Notice! Installation of this kit is intended for closed circuit competition purposes only. The purchaser of this performance kit acknowledges that it is not intended for street use." Your call of course!!
Refuelling gets a mention in the RS owners manual, sure I also noticed this in the V4 PP manual. That said I brim my tank every time and have never had your issue
Thanks for your reply Kartman: I need to correct the statement I've made above, as it wasn't sufficiently clear or indeed adequate. I do acknowledge and appreciate that the manual does make some limited reference to refuelling requirements (page 187), however, it doesn't go much further than to clarify that "fuel should never be touching the rim of the filler recess", something that as far as I know, hasn't ever occurred. It makes no statements beyond this, as to the potential negative impacts therefrom or thereto and certainly not to the extent that I have been experienced. I am well used to there frequently being a relatively shallow 'burp' when opening the tank fuel cap, however, nothing more than this. What can be somewhat difficult, indeed virtually impossible to stop or manage, is the differing fule pump filling pressures, that can cause blowback when filling the tank. I virtually always fill to below the visible inlet level, keeping a small gap.
