GAS LEAK

[rhunt4]

Does anyone know cause the gas tank to leak around the lid I am filling to just below the tube inside the tank. Any Ideals or help appreciated

[ells]

I'd guess bad gasket, its come up here before.

[macmac]

Seems right.... Try this, take a drop of engine oil and rub it on the metal filler neck, all the way round.. be sure the cap is clean and dry and close it. Just close it once and then open it again and see if you have oil all the way around the seal.

[AlabamaNomadRider]

When I fill I only fill to just above the metal you when you are looking in the tank. I fill about 1/4" above the metal you see. Also, I only fill with me on the bike and the bike vertical. If you fill too much with the bike on the side stand, when you hold the bike vertical the gas level will rise in the filler section. Possible overfill.

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by AlabamaNomadRider

When I fill I only fill to just above the metal you when you are looking in the tank. I fill about 1/4" above the metal you see. Also, I only fill with me on the bike and the bike vertical. If you fill too much with the bike on the side stand, when you hold the bike vertical the gas level will rise in the filler section. Possible overfill.

I believe Kawasaki recommends filling the bike on the sidestand to get the correct level.

[bobhamlin]

I just posted pics in the thread about "Whistling." BD's surgery stopped this exact problem on my bike.

[macmac]

Get OFF the bike! when you fill it! If it catches fire you are not going to be a happy Camper.

Thje way I fill up is ride to the pumps so the side stand is away from ther pump. I get off either side as I please and stuff the key in the cap and pop ot open. I make sure to touch the cap and the handle bar not at the grip, so I hit steel, so I reduce the chance of a spark. Then I do the pump bits yada yada..

After I fill to just over the filler, a bit too much, I lock the cap and set the trip meter to 0.

Now Bob The Yellow Jacket did some testing, and he found that a vertical fill leaves a fillable void you don't need tio have unless the bike is made up into a trike. The ampint lost, (what you can't get vertical is apx 1 gallon. Add that to the sort of depends 1 gallonish we can't get with out a war dance to get it, this has to limit your range to just about 2.5 gallons of usable gas..

Most of all do not sit on the bike and don't let anyone else sit on the bike when you fill it up!!!!!!!!

And then with all the poly clothing most people wear it is a mirical more don't go poof in a ball of fire!

As a working tech i refused to wear the uniforms based on the fact they were polyester... That stuff causes sparks in the first place, and melts when on fire in the 2nd place.

I have personally stripped two techs right out of their uniforms as they ran by me. It doesn't work very well because the glom mess is melting, and so they get burned up good and so do I.

When I git ta' be KING, I am going to BAN poly clothing.....

[ells]

Yeah, what the manual and the Man (Mac) says - not good to fill tank in the vertical position, especially with you on it. There was a nice pic of a flamed out '99 Nad at the pump here a few weeks ago.

[rhunt4]

the oil shows that itis sealing but it is leaking. FIlling on the side stand to the bottom of tube

[dogdoc]

never fill gas vertical, only side stand up to the plate. You will be thankfull and correct.

[macmac]

If you fill to the bottom, and or just a smidgen over the plate, then close the cap does it leak right then? Before you move the bike 1 inch?

Just for kicks fill to the correct level the right way and before you close the cap stand the bike up. Try to do this standing to the side with the side stand down still.

If the seal is good then somehow??????? something else might be leaking. Maybe there is a fluk bad weld at the filler cap neck or something, and one of a kind flaw.

Another thing I might look into is pulling the filler neck water (car wash and rain) tube from the right front of the tank down low of course.

That tubing had a pre bent curve heading west (left). Slip that off, and give it a sniff test, which will do what??? since it will now have drained fuel instead of water anyway, but do it just once for a hoot.. Don't get carried away either...

I know some tanks do have bad welds, but near the seat and under the tank bottom. Never heard of a leak where you have one before.

[Yellow Jacket]

I would suggest just replace the gasket. Shouldn't be worn out yet on a 2007 but maybe it was a poor one to start with.

Also, there should be some resistance when closing the gas cap as it compresses the gasket.

P.S. If you fill the tank on the sidestand and then stand the bike up with the cap OPEN you will dump about 1 gallon of gas all over the place!

[macmac]

That much Bob? WOW, I gotta try this myself.. I do believe every word, but you know seeing is beliving.. I am very aware you did do this... I didn't understand the spillage would come close to that much fuel.

So the cap when closed is holding back the fuel directly

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by Yellow Jacket

I would suggest just replace the gasket. Shouldn't be worn out yet on a 2007 but maybe it was a poor one to start with.

Also, there should be some resistance when closing the gas cap as it compresses the gasket.

P.S. If you fill the tank on the sidestand and then stand the bike up with the cap OPEN you will dump about 1 gallon of gas all over the place!

I can vouch for this. On the Tuesday Devil's Tower Ride during the Custer Rally we pulled into a gas station in Sundance WY, we had 38 bikes and 4 gas pumps, I think. When it was my turn, I rolled up to the pump, set the bike on the sidestand and filled it while straddling the bike to save time. Get in, get fuel and get out. Well I topped the tank up to my normal level and was in a hurry to get out of the way and stood the bike up before I closed the gas cap. A fair amount of fuel spilled down the right side of the tank.

It was washed off a few minutes later by the downpour we rode through on the way to Devil's Tower. :(" title="" border="0"/>

[Cajunrider]

I fill mine on the sidestand to about 1/2" from the top. If I go any higher, it will drip out of the overflow tube below the engine. I have stood the bike up vertical before closing the cap when in a hurry and did spill some on the right side of the tank as CJ stated. If I had to estimate how much, I would say about 1/2 a coffee cup. As high as I fill my tank, it never leaks around the cap once it is closed.