Background:
I went for a ride a few weeks ago and put the bike away with very little fuel in the tank, then went to France for a couple of weeks.
I got back and went for a ride last week, so I popped to the local petrol station, put fuel in, and found it pouring out from around the access panel.
Action taken:
I got home asap and siphoned it until it stopped leaking, then left it for 5 days while other stuff took priority. Now, I know that the O-ring seals the access panel by swelling in the presence of fuel vapours, but it appears to have ‘dried out’ and shrunk when left almost-empty for a month. When it’s wet with fuel, it can’t swell but here’s the weird bit… I removed the tank this afternoon and filled it with the fuel I’d siphoned out last week. No leak…
Conclusion:
The remaining fuel I’d left in there was enough to make it swell again once the wetness had evaporated.
I went for a ride a few weeks ago and put the bike away with very little fuel in the tank, then went to France for a couple of weeks.
I got back and went for a ride last week, so I popped to the local petrol station, put fuel in, and found it pouring out from around the access panel.
Action taken:
I got home asap and siphoned it until it stopped leaking, then left it for 5 days while other stuff took priority. Now, I know that the O-ring seals the access panel by swelling in the presence of fuel vapours, but it appears to have ‘dried out’ and shrunk when left almost-empty for a month. When it’s wet with fuel, it can’t swell but here’s the weird bit… I removed the tank this afternoon and filled it with the fuel I’d siphoned out last week. No leak…
Conclusion:
The remaining fuel I’d left in there was enough to make it swell again once the wetness had evaporated.
