• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

  • Beginning April 1st, and running through April 30th, there is a new 2024 BMW MOA Election discussion area within The Club section of the forum. Within this forum area is also a sticky post that provides the ground rules for participating in the Election forum area. Also, the candidates statements are provided. Please read before joining the conversation, because the rules are very specific to maintain civility.

    The Election forum is here: Election Forum

95 R1100 Rs "spotting" the floor. Where does drain tube go?

A

airhead78

Member
Hello. After a week in the garage (on the sidestand), I went to take it for a ride and noticed a 5 in. radius spot on the right side of the bike. Smelled like gas,
(yellowish/brown), so checked the 3 drain tubes. The culprit is the drain tube that has a yellow line in it and is the widest of the three. Before I tear into it, anyone knows where this drain tube goes and what it does? Bike runs fine and had about 4 gallons in the tank. TIA.
 
Did you fill up before parking the bike for a week? Could be the fuel vent hose that normally goes to the carbon canister, if your bike has had a canisterectomy.

Could be the battery overflow hose, if you have an old style battery. But that wouldn't smell like gas.
 
Its the tank vent line. Most likely the hose inside the tank is starting to break down. It not an uncommon issue as the hoses age. It does mean removing the tank and pulling the pump and cap assemblies out to replace the hoses. There is a second hose that is a water drain for the recessed filler cap area. It could be either or both of these hoses that is the culprit.
 
Ed I think you are right. Now what should I do at the same time

Hi Ed and thanks everyone. I think you are correct based on other internet research I have been doing in the meantime.I think this is going to be a bit of a PITA taking the tank off and removing all the internals, just to replace a couple of hoses, Oh, well.
I have never been inside an oilhead tank. Is this something I can do myself? Opinions welcome. Also what other fixes/maintenance would make sense to do while the tank is off? Thank you all again.

Eduardo.
 
Last edited:
It's not a hard job, but getting the float arm for your low fuel light back in so it's free to move can be a little fussy. Just take your time and you'll be fine. Make sure to mark the orientation of the plate that you'll be removing to get access inside the tank before you take it off. And while you're in there, definitely replace the fuel filter.
 
As Chaz said, it's not too hard at all. And you can change the filter while you are there.
 
I have the same problem. Why is it necessary to remove the tank?
 
All the above comments are right on. I had the same problem on my '94 R1100RS last month. I removed the tank and put in new hoses inside the tank. All is well. Good luck.
 
Sometimes it is hard to get the (swelled with gas vapor) o ring back under the fuel pump plate. Having a new dry one on hand is a good idea. If you let the swelled one sit overnight, it will usually shrink to fit fine.
 
cjack said:
Sometimes it is hard to get the (swelled with gas vapor) o ring back under the fuel pump plate. Having a new dry one on hand is a good idea. If you let the swelled one sit overnight, it will usually shrink to fit fine.
Click to expand...

or put it in the freezer for 30 minutes.:thumb
 
Is it not possible to replace the vent hose from the top by removing the filler cap?
 
It would be very difficult to attach the hoses to the fuel pump plate that way if not impossible. The hoses have spring clamps on each end to ensure no leakage and those clamps are hard enough to deal with without trying to work through a 3" hole down in the bottom of the tank with the fuel pump, filter and sender unit getting in the way.

Its not really a big job to lift the tank off anyway. Just pull the side panels and the screws that attach the fairing panels (the ones with the RID and switches in them) to the tank. clamp and undo the hoses, undo the wires and remove the single bolt securing the tank on the bottom left side. Lift the tank off and you're ready to get to the vent hoses. Just remember to run the fuel down as low as you dare first to avoid having to drain off too much.
 
Bypass the filter in the tank while you're installing new hoses, then install the filter external on the right side. There is a nice write-up on ibmwr site.
 
Thank you everybody! Special tool needed?

Thank you all for your input. After I run down the tank I will get all the parts and give it a go, including installing the filter outside the tank. Is there a special tool to remove /re-install the "BMW" unique clamps outside and inside the tank? Any experience with more common clamps? Thanks again and I hope you all are not getting tired of all these questions:)
 
If BMW used crimp clamps in there, remove them with a little screwdriver, some swear words and patience, and replace them with normal fuel line clamps that can be removed with a screwdriver.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Emoto
Accessorizing the R1200GSW: AltRider Skid Plate and Crash Bars
Replies
17
Views
17K
Emoto
Emoto
B
A sweet modification.....with update!
Replies
6
Views
3K
BUBBAZANETTI
B
testinglogin
The woods are lovely, dark and deep
Replies
6
Views
3K
OHScot
OHScot
Back
Top