Hyperstrada fuel tank capacity

zippy49 said:

There is no way to fit 6 gallons under those stock covers. Even one more gallon would not be easy! If it could be done, Ducati would have already.

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4.2 to 6 gallons is easy. Take out the airbox and put pod filters on the throttle bodies, then grow the tank down to fill the new void. The "urban myth" of increased performance of the pods is mitigated by putting them right on the throttle body, removing any flow advantage with the sharp turn.

Chris

A buddy and I rode 1200 miles total to the WSBK races at Laguna Seca on various back roads, at a good fast pace. Passing cars on Hwy 1 was a hoot. We got 200+ miles out of one fill, with the low fuel light on for the last 10. A couple of observations:

It's not easy to top the tank off, but it makes a big difference. Half a gallon, easy.

My buddy's 848 Streetfighter consistently used more fuel, mainly because he does not have any electronic aids other than traction control. I run on Touring all the time, and the smaller "hit" off the bottom improved the mileage by about 10%. This was in spite of carrying all our gear on my Strada as there is just barely enough room for a credit card under the SF's rear seat!

And finally, I am putting pods on another buddy's old HawkGT. I took 9 pounds of smog stuff off of that project! But not on my Ducati, as they will likely impair the throttle response and I don't want the increase in noise. Plus if you want them to keep the dirt out they need regular maintenance. That's one thing on an MX bike, another on a Strada. I'd rather ride than wrench.

YMMV.

zippy49 said:

A buddy and I rode 1200 miles total to the WSBK races at Laguna Seca on various back roads, at a good fast pace. Passing cars on Hwy 1 was a hoot. We got 200+ miles out of one fill, with the low fuel light on for the last 10. A couple of observations:

It's not easy to top the tank off, but it makes a big difference. Half a gallon, easy.

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Either I ride WAY too fast, or something is wrong with my bike. My light comes on between 120 and 130 miles usually, and i haven't tried to push much further than 40 miles on the light. I usually run in Touring, but I've changed the engine settings to full power as well. I'll try changing it back to medium and see what happens.

monocog007 said:

Either I ride WAY too fast, or something is wrong with my bike. My light comes on between 120 and 130 miles usually, and i haven't tried to push much further than 40 miles on the light. I usually run in Touring, but I've changed the engine settings to full power as well. I'll try changing it back to medium and see what happens.

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On a lot of the back roads a pace of 20 over was possible, but I am not admitting doing so on a public forum! We also did some stop-and-go traveling to and from the races. That sure kills the mileage! On the slab we ran 'just a bit' faster than most traffic and I averaged about 50 mpg, the SF 45.

I get a better fill with the bike on the centerstand. Some nozzles are hard to control, but when I need range I get the level right up - and then shake the bars gently to bleed out excess air, maybe twice. And depending on how much your speed varies, Touring can make a pretty decent difference. As do headwinds, etc. We might have had a good tailwind when we got 200+ out of a tank.

Also, others on this forum have reported actual capacities somewhat less than the rated 4.2 gallons...more like the high 3's.

zippy49 said:

On a lot of the back roads a pace of 20 over was possible, but I am not admitting doing so on a public forum! We also did some stop-and-go traveling to and from the races. That sure kills the mileage! On the slab we ran 'just a bit' faster than most traffic and I averaged about 50 mpg, the SF 45.

I get a better fill with the bike on the centerstand. Some nozzles are hard to control, but when I need range I get the level right up - and then shake the bars gently to bleed out excess air, maybe twice. And depending on how much your speed varies, Touring can make a pretty decent difference. As do headwinds, etc. We might have had a good tailwind when we got 200+ out of a tank.

Also, others on this forum have reported actual capacities somewhat less than the rated 4.2 gallons...more like the high 3's.

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I might try putting a few tanks through it without the windscreen (I have a larger one) and see if that makes a difference. I've already gotten used to rocking the bike on the centerstand while filling. That usually gives a few sighting looks at the gas station.

Our years of experience contradict your assumptions about pods performance. Ducatis don't care about whether there are pods or not and always want the effect of an infinite airbox. I talked to a few tuners about the newest engines, too, and universally, they don't notice or care about pod filters.

As far as "dirt" and filters, I found that's a personal and philosophical discussion between a person and their perceived higher power. Like oil, no one bothers to concern themselves with other peoples' experience.

Chris

zippy49 said:

And finally, I am putting pods on another buddy's old HawkGT. I took 9 pounds of smog stuff off of that project! But not on my Ducati, as they will likely impair the throttle response and I don't want the increase in noise. Plus if you want them to keep the dirt out they need regular maintenance. That's one thing on an MX bike, another on a Strada. I'd rather ride than wrench.

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That's fine Chris, if really I needed more range I would be a customer. No plans to ride to Alaska, though. I'm old school, only have 50 years of riding on as many bikes and had half a dozen Yamathumpers where I yanked the airbox first thing. It always increased intake noise, which is not what I want for the Strada. I'd rather spend the bucks on a Monster 821 clutch pack...

Just got back from 1200miles of northern New England backroads- hard riding fully loaded. The more I ride this damned thing, the more I love this damned thing - wouldn't change a damned thing at this point.