Yesterday I was out for a ride and was fortunate that my bike didn't catch fire. I had just left home and was proceeding through town, making my way to the highway. I noticed that the bike was hesitating a bit while accelerating but it wasn't terrible so I didn't think much of it. I pulled up to a stop light and notice smoke rising from the left side in front of my leg. I looked down and gas was spilling out everywhere, and was smoking on the hot exhaust pipes. My left leg was also wet. I immediately shut off the engine, got off the bike and pushed it into a parking space. The gas stopped flowing but was still dripping on the exhaust. Fortunately it did not ignite. I looked back to where I sat at the traffic light and there was a huge dark spot of gasoline. I assumed the gas line had either split or loosened enough to allow gas to spill out. Turns out it was neither of those things - it was the fuel filter. Last year I installed a high-flow inline filter. It's a glass tube with a replaceable filter media inside. The glass tube cracked and that's all she wrote. I resigned myself to the fact that I would be doing the "push of shame" to get home, but then thought I'd take a crack at a roadside repair. Fortunately I still have the stock tool kit, so I popped the seat, removed the tank bolts and raised it up with a rock. I was able to remove the broken filter and had enough slack in the fuel line to reconnect it to the petcock. Quick and easy, and I was on my way. I ended up having a nice ride on a beautiful day.
I lost a lot of gas in the 5 minutes from the time I left home until I discovered the leak. I started with 3/4 tank and had only 1/4 when I got back on the road. I retraced my route and at every stop there was a dark spot with several smaller ones from when I pulled away. When I got home from the ride I trimmed the fuel line and cleaned up the repair. I won't be installing another fuel filter. I ran with it all last season and it's as clean as the day I bought it, so I don't think it's necessary.
I feel fortunate that the bike and/or my leg didn't catch fire. Regardless, it turned out to be a nice ride on a warm, sunny Southern Ontario day. Even better after a couple of post ride beers in the sun on the backyard deck!
Cheers!
K
I lost a lot of gas in the 5 minutes from the time I left home until I discovered the leak. I started with 3/4 tank and had only 1/4 when I got back on the road. I retraced my route and at every stop there was a dark spot with several smaller ones from when I pulled away. When I got home from the ride I trimmed the fuel line and cleaned up the repair. I won't be installing another fuel filter. I ran with it all last season and it's as clean as the day I bought it, so I don't think it's necessary.
I feel fortunate that the bike and/or my leg didn't catch fire. Regardless, it turned out to be a nice ride on a warm, sunny Southern Ontario day. Even better after a couple of post ride beers in the sun on the backyard deck!
Cheers!
K
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