It will be interesting to see how it's handled in UK and the rest of Europe.
The lawsuit was just finalized here (rather, the settlement) and the result is that Ducati will be "modifying" bikes to allow for the deformation rather than replacing tanks with something that prevents it. This means new mounts, shorter seats and in some cases, a smaller tank so it can expand without hitting anything.
The details of the settlement are here:
http://www.girardgibbs.com/ducati-class-notice.pdf Please note that this settlement affects US owners ONLY, no one else.
Despite my and others' efforts, we were unable to get Ducati to implement some sort of barrier coating as a solution. Here in the US there are epoxy-based coatings available which are designed for use with polyamide plastics such as PA6/Nylon6 and are impervious to fuel or water. Acerbis did some testing on one of them and found it delaminated during testing, but no indication was made of how the tank was prepped or how the solution was prepped. There are literally 100s of people now with coated tanks in the US, some with 2+ years of use and showing no problems.
One thing to note: if you're experiencing tank deformation, you should fully drain your tank, wash it out with a cleanser appropriate for fuel and plastic, and let it sit in a dry place for a few months. It will return to its original shape. When storing your bike, do not leave the tank FULL as you used to with your metal tanks, you should drain it.
The problem is water -- ethanol attracts water and then the combined stuff sinks in the fuel and puts it into contact with the fuel cel wall. Nylon6 absorbs water aggressively to up to 10% by volume.
Here is one company in the US that makes epoxies for polyamides (nylons). I am sure you can find something similar in old Blighty.
http://www.reltekllc.com/adhesives-for-nylon.html The main issue is getting coverage. We mixed the epoxy with xylene to reduce it. Xylene is compatible with nylons and with adequate air supply, it just evaporates and doesn't affect the epoxy except to thin it during application. Two coats and you're done forever.
If you coat a tank that's had petrol in it without properly prepping -- completely rinsing out the fuel and drying it -- then it will not adhere properly. There are many water-based solvents on the market which are compatible with nylon and will handle the fuel.