hose

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painkillas

New member
hello. newbie here and mechanically challenged.

my "problem" is probably normal, but just checking to make sure...

I notice a small leak of what smells like fuel coming from one of the two black rubber hoses that point down under the bike. What is it? Sign of a problem? The leak seems to be occasionally and just noticeable drops on the parking lot.

Not sure if it's related, but the fuel economy is sucking bad. I assume it is because it's still in the break-in period. I have a new 2012.

thanks for any help.
 
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Crazywb23

New member
painkillas said:
hello. newbie here and mechanically challenged.

my "problem" is probably normal, but just checking to make sure...

I notice a small leak of what smells like fuel coming from one of the two black rubber hoses that point down under the bike. What is it? Sign of a problem? The leak seems to be occasionally and just noticeable drops on the parking lot.

Not sure if it's related, but the fuel economy is sucking bad. I assume it is because it's still in the break-in period. I have a new 2012.

thanks for any help.
Click to expand...
Take the bike back to the dealer where u bought it, sounds to me like a loose or missing line. If its still in the break-in they need to fix it for free. Sounds like a mistake when they assembled it.... That is not normal, and when your riding its hard to tell how much fuel is leaking. That would be my first action, before I did any work on it myself.
 
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mikefz8

mikefz8

New member
Crazywb23 said:
Take the bike back to the dealer where u bought it, sounds to me like a loose or missing line. If its still in the break-in they need to fix it for free. Sounds like a mistake when they assembled it.... That is not normal, and when your riding its hard to tell how much fuel is leaking. That would be my first action, before I did any work on it myself.
Click to expand...

I agree with this statement...my bike 2011 fz8 (still under warranty) just started doing the same exact thing as you described in your problem--fuel economy hovering around 27mpg *no bueno* for a bike that should get around 45. I have mine scheduled to have it checked out at the dealer later this week.
 
ZIA_Zen

ZIA_Zen

New member
I'm not sure of the exact purpose, but those lines are overflow from the Gas Tank. I've seen my bike do this after filling up and then sitting in the hot sun.

If it's a constant drip, I would say you have an issue.
 
lothodon

lothodon

Super Moderator
i had a harley (with fuel petcock) that used to DUMP fuel out the overflow valve whenever it was hot. fuel expands a lot when the tank gets warm.

does it do it both when the tank is near empty and full?

your mileage is a concern though, but don't go hoping for anything near 45. it's rated at 34 if i'm not mistaken and our speedos suck for accuracy so it's hard to tell. i'm averaging about 35-37 with the inaccurate speedo.
 
hypo

hypo

New member
yeah thats the overflow weeping line. I thought there were two of them, one for fuel and one for... coolant? What I always did on hangar queens (aircraft in the hangar) and my car/bike is I take some cardboard, locate it below the drip and make sure it doesn't move, and then check the next morning to see how large of a "puddlemark" it makes. if its larger than a silver dollar (fuel spreads faster through cardboard) you might want to take it in to the dealer and ask them why its weeping so much.

and if you're getting only 25mpg either you're doing your math wrong or you're beating her too hard in stop and go traffic. ;)
 
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painkillas

New member
thanks all. I was planning on making an appointment as soon as the shop opened. But I just went out to look at the bike like I did yesterday morning after coming into work on it. Today, though, no leak.

Will probably still get it to the shop re: fuel economy.
 
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painkillas

New member
so 4 days at the shop and they said nothing is wrong. first ride since getting it back and it's dripping.

they said i am overfilling the tank. but it has less than half a tank.

oh well.
 
hypo

hypo

New member
follow that gasline back through the body of the bike... if its what we think it is, it should go right into the tank. if it does, and since I am pretty sure its not 100 degrees outside in PA right now, I'd say there is some serious backpressure building somewhere... so lets try this. open the tank, lock the lock (so you can pull the key) and crank up the bike in the driveway. put your hand over the filler hole and feel for pressure either sucking or blowing. also check to see if the weep line is weeping or doing nothing.

seal the tank and repeat those steps. I'd say run it for 5 minutes open and then 5 minutes closed. see if you notice anything different between how it runs.

fuel pumps are a pain in the ass, fuel injectors are a pain in the ass... I'd probably run a quarter can of SEAFOAM through the fuel lines and see if you are able to clear out any crappy gas... are you using regular gas? what gas station do you fill up at?

I'd try to eliminate anything and everything and then I'd go talk to a DIFFERENT shop about the fuel injection/gas mileage/and weeping.
 
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