Gas Leak adventure!

[Sunfire]

This past weekend, while plotting a ride through the Pine Barrens (NJ), I felt my right leg just above the knee getting wet, but I kept riding. I kept looking down and finally saw drops of "water" flying off from just above the right injector, so I decided to stop and investigate where the strange liquid was coming from; never knew my R had a radiator!

I guess everyone can guess what the liquid was - yep, gas! I thought gas would explode on contact with a hot engine and exhaust, but the truth is that it doesn't. The reason I know is that huge drops of gas were landing on the hot exhaust and engine, and simply evaporated. The road I stopped was in the middle of nowhere, just Pine trees and nothing else, so I waited awhile to see if the bike would explode so I could bolt, but none of that happened. I got on the bike again, turned it on, and immediately gas started spraying out, but I decided to risk it all and ride home. Every time I stopped at a red light I would look down and kept my right leg away from the engine/injector, ready to hit the kill switch and run. Finally got home safely, parked the bike, and stepped away as fast as possible.

Today, I got on the bike and nervously rode the bike to Desimone (Mt. Laurel) to have it repaired. They found out that the fuel quick-connectors had cracked! I guess they used to use cheap stuff then, but I still love german stuff!. They replaced them with new OEM metal ones, and I'm good to go!

I'm again ready for Johnson City, Tennessee!!!

Paul

[Flashdog]

After two quick-connect coupling failures I got rid of them. I now keep a couple of hose clamps, a bit of hose, and hose barbs with me. My question is where are the fuel stains coming from on the right side of almost every R1150 I see? My own included! I can't seem to find the leak anywhere. I was wondering if it's coming from the fuel overflow in the top of the tank after filing up and then riding.

[sweatmark]

Paul - now you can really feel part of the oilhead group, having earned your Rockster stripes with gas-soaked right leg.

Steve - the fine fuel mist can be hard to see aside from the tell-tale right side stain.

[Flashdog]

So where's it coming from? I don't have qd connectors and the stains look more like a drip. I almost wonder if the fuel pump seal on the fuel tank may be the culprit. Nothing is wet though.

[Sunfire]

Paul - now you can really feel part of the oilhead group, having earned your Rockster stripes with gas-soaked right leg.

Steve - the fine fuel mist can be hard to see aside from the tell-tale right side stain.

Ah thanks! Next I'll atempt to remove the tank, as I was slightly aprehensive before knowing that the quick connectors were going to be a problem. With these new metal ones I shouldn't have any more problems.

Speaking of fine mist, I did notice that once I started the bike, instead of drops I was having a large amount of fine mist coming off the connectors. How much pressure is the fuel under?

Paul

[mjcraft]

After owning my 2002 R for almost a year now, I finally broke down and replaced the quick disconnects about a month ago. Interestingly, the hose on my bike was actually the cause of the original leak. I bought new QDs but only replaced the cracked hose at first. Rode about ~50miles more (although many of these miles were during a rider training class!) and soon after the QDs started leaking. Now I have changed everything and have no more leaks and maybe it's just me, but my mileage seems to be improved, too!

So, make sure you check (and probably replace) all of your fuel line when you change your QDs!

-Michael

PS: Paul: The pressure of most fuel injection systems is typically a couple hundred psi, but I'm not sure about these bikes... Regardless, misting is a problem...although maybe you could turn it into an oil-mist system for those pesky tailgaters! Like Spyhunter...

[riceburner]

So where's it coming from? I don't have qd connectors and the stains look more like a drip. I almost wonder if the fuel pump seal on the fuel tank may be the culprit. Nothing is wet though.

have you removed the tank in the past?

Could be the breather pipes are loose?



oh - petrol doesn't "explode" - it will burn quite nicely - but it's only a correctly mixed volume of fuel AND oxygen (air) that will burn fast enough to appear to be an "explosion".