B
BUBBAZANETTI
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While the "external fuel filter modification" has been around for a while, I haven't been able to find any specific tips with relation to the S model, so after some experimentation, here ya go:
after scouring around different sites, i came across an article written by Rob Lentini on the IBMWR "R1100" tech pages. this article was the inspiration for this mod. i figured, well, if you can do it on an RT or an RS, than why not an S. i'd never heard of anyone doing it before on the S model, but i figured i'd give it a shot.
here is the original piece:
Mounting Your Fuel Filter Externally
so yeah, thats the basic idea of what i'm about to show you, getting the fuel filter out of the inside of the tank and to a more "user friendly" place on the bike. a basic parts list includes:
5-7ft of 5/16" high pressure fuel injection hose (lenght varies accorinding to model) yes, its expensive at 5 bucks a foot, but you need it, regular hose will not cut it.
8 screw type fuel injection clamps, i used 13-15mm clamps
2 8mm bolts (for plugging fuel lines after draining and avoiding excess mess)
2 ft of 5/16" tubing and a 5/16" hose coupler (any hose will due this is just to make draining the tank easier, if you have to)
a hose clamp or small needle nose vice grips (wrapped in tape to avoid damaging hose)
So here's what you do, i'm gonna skip a lot of the model specific dismantling/reassembling skips. what i do on my bike may be different on an R, RT, RS, GS, etc...............
ride the bike around till its on fumes, or siphon, or, if you're like me, try siphoning, get a facefull of gas, get mad and proceed with a half full gas tank (you can get the fuel out later i found)
1. remove faring and gas tank. to remove gas tank, remove mounting screws. STOP veeery important! DISCONNECT NEGATIVE BATTERY LEAD IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE SO, no sparks ok!!! also remove any air tubes to the air filter/stuff that is in the way. then locate (2) 5/16" hoses on the right side just above and ahead of the throttle bodies. mark them somehow so you can reconnect them properly later (i used wire ties on one) the top hose is the "return" hose and the bottom one is the "supply" hose. put your clamp on the top hose ahead of where it is clamped to the feed pipe. disconnect the top hose from the plastic or metal "pipe" that travels between the 2 cylinders above the transmission (you'll get what i mean when you see it). direct the fuel stream into a proper container (using that extra hose and coupler i mentioned). you won't get much out of this hose, esp if you do things right and your tank is empty. plug hose with 8 mm screw i mentioned above. now its time for the bottom hose, again pinch the line ahead of the "pipe" and then loosen the factory clamp on the pipe and remove hose from pipe. now direct the stream into your container and remove your vice grips or whatever you decided to pinch the line with. if you're like me and you left 2-3 gallons of gas in the tank, you will now get most of it out. let it drain as much as possible. while this is happening, you may notice two smaller hosese leaving the plate in the tank where the fuel lines come out of. these are vent hoses. they can be disconnected at an place you find convenient, i disconnected mine at the hose couplers near the seat and left the rest on the tank. lastly, you will want to find and disconnect the electrical lead that runs the fuel pump. lift the tank away.
i appologize for doing that all in one step, but its just the basic removal procedure, i figured i'd give you my own ham-fisted "didn't take the gas out" version
some pictures:
how your bike will look after removing tank/faring:
these are the plastic "pipes" i described so well above. near/above the right TB:
here is what the "plate" on the bottom of the gas tank will look like the 2 small hoses are vent lines, the "upper" large hose is the fuel return and the "lower" large hose is the fuel supply (to the tbs and eventually the engine)
1a at this point, you might still want to get more gas out of your tank, what i did was set mine agains the wall with the "front" of the tank facing the floor, do this on a workbench. now, you'll find a piece of smaller hose that leads from one side of the tank to the other, this is a balance hose that allows the 2 "sides" of the tank to drain at the same time. get as much fuel into the left side of the tank as possible, but sloshing it over there. disconnect this "balance hose" on the right side, and put that end into a gas can on the floor. gravity will take care of most of the gas left in the tank. reconnect when finished.
2. remove plate: remove the six allen screws holding the plate to the bottom of the gas tank. using whiteout or equivalent, mark the plate before removing so it can be properly realligned. once the six screws are out, carefully wiggle out the fuel pump/filter mechanism. you'll need to cut the little clamps on the inside vent hoses. mark these again to tell them apart, then cut the clamps and remove hoses from inside of plate. the mechanisim should now come out freely it is a little fragile, just be careful:
the silver canister on the bottom is what were after. that is what is comming out!
3 remove filter: remove filter by breaking factory clamps holding the small piceces of tubing connecting the filter to the pump and plate. this way, you only have to deal with two of the kind of PITA factory clamps. i tried cutting them like suggested but actually snapped a pair of pliers in half!!! instead of cutting, insert a small screwdriver in the little "crimp" and just wiggle them back in forth (taking care not to damage the fittings the hose is on) untill they are loose enough to slide around (again, you'll see what i mean when you're in there). now remove the filter and the two small pieces of hose attached to it. in it's place, you will install a 10-12" piece of that high pressure hose you bought. this will go between the pump and the plate, replacing where the filter used to be. this will act as a by-pass, since the filter will now be outside the tank. here's what you should have, make the arc generous, bent line means no fuel to the engine:
4 reinstall plate on tank, reversing the procedure above. when reattaching vent hoses that are in the tank, use 9-11mm fuel injection clamps.
5 install new "return" and "supply" hose. take the remaining length of high pressure hose. cut a piece the same lenght as the "return" hose currently on the plate. remove that piece of hose and replace with new high pressure hose and a new clamp. remove the old "supply" hose and attach the rest to that outlet with a new clamp (this may be 4 or 5 feet of hose, which is just fine)
with new hose:
6..now, resettle tank on bike, you can reconnect the vent lines at this point if you'd wish, or you can do it at the end. regardless, reattach the "return" hose to the "pipe" with a new clamp, like so:
7. feed that long tube below the "return" line you just conneced, down past the TB and under it, make very sure it does not interfere with the throttle cable opperation. this is where your filter will now be located, i was a little worried at first, but it really isn't very noticable, and if you have an RT, it won't be noticable at all. cut the hose at a place where it provides a gentle arc to the new filter without "pinching" then install a new filter (bmw or other compatable steel bodied filter) with the flow arrow pointing FORWARD.
8. now this is important, take the rest of the hose and attach it to the front of the filter with a new clamp. feed this hose up around the front of the tb (so that it is touching the cylinder fins) and back to the "supply" pipe so that there are no pinched areas or abrupt bends. this part is probably different for each bike and the hose should be cut to accomodate different set-ups. i was worried about the hose touching the engine cooling fins, but after 50 miles today, there was no noticable marks on the hoses.
hose exiting the filter, prior to being attached to the "supply" pipe:
hose attached to "supply" pipe, note careful bends and avoiding the telelever attachement point, again, this may be different on your model:
9. attach electrical connector for fuel pump with dielectric grease
10. secruing filter is up to personal preference. i wire-tied mine to the throttle body inlet tube, but you may have a better way.
completed job:
11. secure tank, reattach battery lead and airbox do-dads. replace faring............or don't, i rode mine around for a few miles in "street fighter" mode to check for leaks before putting the faring back on. no leaks and ready to go!
i will keep you updated, the only part i'm a little worried about is the hose touching the fins.........
happy wrenching..............and if anyone notices anything i forgot, plese, speak up..........use this in conjunction with the Lentini article since it is more thorough!
after scouring around different sites, i came across an article written by Rob Lentini on the IBMWR "R1100" tech pages. this article was the inspiration for this mod. i figured, well, if you can do it on an RT or an RS, than why not an S. i'd never heard of anyone doing it before on the S model, but i figured i'd give it a shot.
here is the original piece:
Mounting Your Fuel Filter Externally
so yeah, thats the basic idea of what i'm about to show you, getting the fuel filter out of the inside of the tank and to a more "user friendly" place on the bike. a basic parts list includes:
5-7ft of 5/16" high pressure fuel injection hose (lenght varies accorinding to model) yes, its expensive at 5 bucks a foot, but you need it, regular hose will not cut it.
8 screw type fuel injection clamps, i used 13-15mm clamps
2 8mm bolts (for plugging fuel lines after draining and avoiding excess mess)
2 ft of 5/16" tubing and a 5/16" hose coupler (any hose will due this is just to make draining the tank easier, if you have to)
a hose clamp or small needle nose vice grips (wrapped in tape to avoid damaging hose)
So here's what you do, i'm gonna skip a lot of the model specific dismantling/reassembling skips. what i do on my bike may be different on an R, RT, RS, GS, etc...............
ride the bike around till its on fumes, or siphon, or, if you're like me, try siphoning, get a facefull of gas, get mad and proceed with a half full gas tank (you can get the fuel out later i found)
1. remove faring and gas tank. to remove gas tank, remove mounting screws. STOP veeery important! DISCONNECT NEGATIVE BATTERY LEAD IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE SO, no sparks ok!!! also remove any air tubes to the air filter/stuff that is in the way. then locate (2) 5/16" hoses on the right side just above and ahead of the throttle bodies. mark them somehow so you can reconnect them properly later (i used wire ties on one) the top hose is the "return" hose and the bottom one is the "supply" hose. put your clamp on the top hose ahead of where it is clamped to the feed pipe. disconnect the top hose from the plastic or metal "pipe" that travels between the 2 cylinders above the transmission (you'll get what i mean when you see it). direct the fuel stream into a proper container (using that extra hose and coupler i mentioned). you won't get much out of this hose, esp if you do things right and your tank is empty. plug hose with 8 mm screw i mentioned above. now its time for the bottom hose, again pinch the line ahead of the "pipe" and then loosen the factory clamp on the pipe and remove hose from pipe. now direct the stream into your container and remove your vice grips or whatever you decided to pinch the line with. if you're like me and you left 2-3 gallons of gas in the tank, you will now get most of it out. let it drain as much as possible. while this is happening, you may notice two smaller hosese leaving the plate in the tank where the fuel lines come out of. these are vent hoses. they can be disconnected at an place you find convenient, i disconnected mine at the hose couplers near the seat and left the rest on the tank. lastly, you will want to find and disconnect the electrical lead that runs the fuel pump. lift the tank away.
i appologize for doing that all in one step, but its just the basic removal procedure, i figured i'd give you my own ham-fisted "didn't take the gas out" version
some pictures:
how your bike will look after removing tank/faring:
these are the plastic "pipes" i described so well above. near/above the right TB:
here is what the "plate" on the bottom of the gas tank will look like the 2 small hoses are vent lines, the "upper" large hose is the fuel return and the "lower" large hose is the fuel supply (to the tbs and eventually the engine)
1a at this point, you might still want to get more gas out of your tank, what i did was set mine agains the wall with the "front" of the tank facing the floor, do this on a workbench. now, you'll find a piece of smaller hose that leads from one side of the tank to the other, this is a balance hose that allows the 2 "sides" of the tank to drain at the same time. get as much fuel into the left side of the tank as possible, but sloshing it over there. disconnect this "balance hose" on the right side, and put that end into a gas can on the floor. gravity will take care of most of the gas left in the tank. reconnect when finished.
2. remove plate: remove the six allen screws holding the plate to the bottom of the gas tank. using whiteout or equivalent, mark the plate before removing so it can be properly realligned. once the six screws are out, carefully wiggle out the fuel pump/filter mechanism. you'll need to cut the little clamps on the inside vent hoses. mark these again to tell them apart, then cut the clamps and remove hoses from inside of plate. the mechanisim should now come out freely it is a little fragile, just be careful:
the silver canister on the bottom is what were after. that is what is comming out!
3 remove filter: remove filter by breaking factory clamps holding the small piceces of tubing connecting the filter to the pump and plate. this way, you only have to deal with two of the kind of PITA factory clamps. i tried cutting them like suggested but actually snapped a pair of pliers in half!!! instead of cutting, insert a small screwdriver in the little "crimp" and just wiggle them back in forth (taking care not to damage the fittings the hose is on) untill they are loose enough to slide around (again, you'll see what i mean when you're in there). now remove the filter and the two small pieces of hose attached to it. in it's place, you will install a 10-12" piece of that high pressure hose you bought. this will go between the pump and the plate, replacing where the filter used to be. this will act as a by-pass, since the filter will now be outside the tank. here's what you should have, make the arc generous, bent line means no fuel to the engine:
4 reinstall plate on tank, reversing the procedure above. when reattaching vent hoses that are in the tank, use 9-11mm fuel injection clamps.
5 install new "return" and "supply" hose. take the remaining length of high pressure hose. cut a piece the same lenght as the "return" hose currently on the plate. remove that piece of hose and replace with new high pressure hose and a new clamp. remove the old "supply" hose and attach the rest to that outlet with a new clamp (this may be 4 or 5 feet of hose, which is just fine)
with new hose:
6..now, resettle tank on bike, you can reconnect the vent lines at this point if you'd wish, or you can do it at the end. regardless, reattach the "return" hose to the "pipe" with a new clamp, like so:
7. feed that long tube below the "return" line you just conneced, down past the TB and under it, make very sure it does not interfere with the throttle cable opperation. this is where your filter will now be located, i was a little worried at first, but it really isn't very noticable, and if you have an RT, it won't be noticable at all. cut the hose at a place where it provides a gentle arc to the new filter without "pinching" then install a new filter (bmw or other compatable steel bodied filter) with the flow arrow pointing FORWARD.
8. now this is important, take the rest of the hose and attach it to the front of the filter with a new clamp. feed this hose up around the front of the tb (so that it is touching the cylinder fins) and back to the "supply" pipe so that there are no pinched areas or abrupt bends. this part is probably different for each bike and the hose should be cut to accomodate different set-ups. i was worried about the hose touching the engine cooling fins, but after 50 miles today, there was no noticable marks on the hoses.
hose exiting the filter, prior to being attached to the "supply" pipe:
hose attached to "supply" pipe, note careful bends and avoiding the telelever attachement point, again, this may be different on your model:
9. attach electrical connector for fuel pump with dielectric grease
10. secruing filter is up to personal preference. i wire-tied mine to the throttle body inlet tube, but you may have a better way.
completed job:
11. secure tank, reattach battery lead and airbox do-dads. replace faring............or don't, i rode mine around for a few miles in "street fighter" mode to check for leaks before putting the faring back on. no leaks and ready to go!
i will keep you updated, the only part i'm a little worried about is the hose touching the fins.........
happy wrenching..............and if anyone notices anything i forgot, plese, speak up..........use this in conjunction with the Lentini article since it is more thorough!
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