How to change fuel hose?

[Spiff]

Hi all,

I was riding my bike to uni today and at a set of lights, smelt the strong fumes of fuel. Looked beneath the bike and - - fuel was spewing. Had to shut things off immediately. When I turned it back on to doublecheck, it spewed again. Made a decision to ride home (abt 2km) whilst swearing at my dollars spewing away.

Managed to take a closer look tonight and seems like I've got a fuel hose that needs replacing. As I'm new to bikes and have never done this before, can ya'll check my assumption that it is a new hose I need and what do I need to be aware of?

Have already seen the manual so I'm confident I can lift the tank up. Doubt my hands would be able to fit under to replace the hose otherwise.

Also have a bunch of questions.
- Do I need to remove the tank or just lift it up? It's about 2/5ths full atm.
- Do I need to empty the tank? I don't mind losing a bit of fuel, but I don't want the tank to empty onto me or the floor.
- What type of hose do I need? Do I just go to Supacheap and ask for a fuel hose? Are there thicknesses or ratings I need to know?
- Do I need to disconnect anything else? Manual for removing tank also says to remove vacuum hose. Not sure what that is.

Anyway, good learning opportunity though.
Any other advice much appreciated.

Pics:

Left side of the bike


Ride side showing the fuel hose (is it the fuel hose) going to the whachamacallit


Close-up of where the fuel was spewing from

thanks in advance

[St Ives]

Removing the tank shouldn't be a problem, even if it was full. Fuel tap off, as it is, keep it level just in case your filler cap doesn't seal or in case fuel leaks out of the breather. Looks like there's a spring clip where the hose joins the tap assembly.

Don't know anything about the fuel hose itself but you might be able to obtain one that isn't a specific part as described in the workshop manual.

[Falcore]

As long as its the right size any fuel hose will do. It's not under pressure (efi) so your right there.

Just use reasonable hose clamps, not the cheap shitty ten for four bucks sort of thing.

Best way to get the right size would be take it off then go to Malz. (supercheap can die in a fire)

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[Captain Starfish]

You could get away with only lifting the tank, but on most older bikes by the time you've taken the bolts out to lift it you can just pick it up and take it off anyway (the only thing stopping you is the hose!) You don't need to disconnect the vacuum line unless you want to take the tank off completely. I probably wouldn't bother unless I was struggling to get my hands into where they needed to be. You'll have a lot more room to work with with the tank off.

Don't worry about emptying the tank. These ones have an ON, RESERVE and PRI position on the tap (maybe an OFF, but not usually). In the ON and RESERVE positions, there's a secondary valve behind the tap which is opened by vacuum from the engine. So if the engine ain't running, the fuel won't flow.

Petrol's a particularly aggressive solvent. You want to make sure you get the right type of tubing for it. Take the hose to an auto shop, tell them it's for fuel and get it size matched. I'd also take the opportunity to replace the fuel filter and have one nice whole little set ready to pop back on the bike. Malz, Supercrap, Auto 1, Repco, whoever's closest. Just the tube and the filter, you can re-use the hoseclamps that are there already.

Finally - don't stress. This is a pretty easy fix and hose splits do happen occasionally. And you've gotten away ok so far. My old SRAD managed to burst the hose between the high pressure pump and the injector, it was spraying petrol everywhere and refusing to run and I had to walk 3km to the nearest Supercheap for parts

[agrid]

As above. Nice photos. I'd try and do it without lifting the tank, looks like both ends are easy to get at. Those clamps are good to reuse, just don't go crazy tightening and crush the new hose. Cut the daggy end off so you can check the internal diameter and.buy the correct size.

[Spiff]

agrid, thanks. i was impressed with the quality myself, considering these were taking in the wee hours of the night.

CS, is the fuel filter the 'whachamacallit' plastic yellowing thing?

i just have to declamp the bottom if that's the case, and unhook the spring clip and take them to malz's to sort out replacements yea?

[g0zer]

go kart shops are good places to get thin walled fuel lines

[Captain Starfish]

is the fuel filter the 'whachamacallit' plastic yellowing thing?

i just have to declamp the bottom if that's the case, and unhook the spring clip and take them to malz's to sort out replacements yea?

Yep, that's the filter. And you're right - disconnect the line from the tank and the carbies and you can take the whole thing in.

[Spiff]

alright. gonna do that now and see if i can get all this sorted before evening class.
wish me luck.
will report back later.

[Spiff]

done! i think
went to malz, but they didn't have the type of fuel filter, so had to get it ($10) from two wheel wreckers in osb pk. got some new grommets ($5) cos the old ones for the tank were disintegrating. since i had some extra hose ($5.50) and clamps, i decided to replace the lower portion [from filter to the engine]. my god. that was a bitch to get off and on! mini pliers would have been handy. after fluffing around for nearly an hour, gave up using original spring clamps and went with the screwtype. at least my longer screwdriver could get in where the pliers couldn't.

while inserting, i felt the nozzle bend inwards and i thought - f**k me, i've bent it - so i gently bent it back out and it felt like it was rotating, so maybe it's not bent, but just loosened? not sure what it looks like in there. may have to ask the mechanic to look at it at next time.

the rest of it was just fitting, clamping and screwing things back. ah.. first diy. feels good and dirty (and hot - stupid heat).

thanks for the help all.

[Captain Starfish]

And have we got it all back together and started yet?

If this is a first DIY, there's nothing like the feeling you're gonna get when you're up to your elbows in grease and shit, but you hit the button and your poor sick baby roars back into life because you were awesome!!!

[darkfibre]

Dont forget to check the filter is connected the right way around

Should have an arrow showing flow or an 'in' marked on it.



And well done!

[Spiff]

yeah. she roared to life! looked around and sniffed around (heh).. no fuel smell. only area i can't really check is the lower nozzle at the engine end. it's blocked from sight.
yeah. the arrow's the right way. it was easy for me, cos i broke off one end of the old filter as i was pulling it out. it was dead stuck to the hose. also the reason why i decided to replace the shorter length of hose from filter to engine - all the grip marks from the pliers trying to get the plastic out.

thanks!!

[Falcore]

Well done, a mechanic would have charged at least 50 bucks for labour probably

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[Captain Starfish]

Haha, and half of them would have charged another $200 for an oil change he didn't need and $87.30 for new headlight fluid too.

[agrid]

Well done. Sometimes when the hose is a bastard to get off slitting it longways with a pocket knife near the end and wriggling makes it easier. Best to have the clips well away from the end when you push the hose on and then slide the clips over ther pipe end once its in place.