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2004 R1150R with all vent hoses looped

onasteelhorse

New member
I have a 2004 R1150R that's new to me since last fall. I've slowly tackled a bunch of maintenance and finally got to refurbishing the gas tank seals/o-rings as I often noticed a fuel vapor smell with a full tank. Pulled the tank off and both the drain and vent hoses were looped to each other on the underside of the tank. Pulled out the filler lock and no hoses on the drain or vent. Removed the fuel plate under the tank and both the drain and vent had also been looped together there. So essentially the drain and vent were plugged from both sides. What logic could someone possibly have for doing this? Any ideas? My plan at this point while I'm in there is to replace the fuel filter, the internal vent/drain lines inside the tank and install new vent and drain hoses down to the area near the right footpeg which is the way I understand it would have been from the factory. Any other advice? Much appreciated!
 

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From the factory for the US models, there would have been a charcoal canister. Your plan to run both down to the footpeg is sound. Mine ran happily that way for a decade. The way it is rigged, it is venting through the overflow port in the gas cap recess. I imagine that it has no rollover vent protection either.
 
The way it is rigged, it is venting through the overflow port in the gas cap recess. I imagine that it has no rollover vent protection either.

At first I wondered why the lack of venting wouldn't have caused problems but you're right that it would currently be venting through the drain port. The biggest downside to leaving it this way is that fumes and even gas (when the tank is very full) could backup through that same drain port and come up between the gas cap and collar - which is likely what I was smelling. The other potential issue is any rain that finds it's way between the collar and the tank recess will get into the tank through the drain hole. I'm still not sure what advantage some previous owner would have seen in doing it this way.
 
At first I wondered why the lack of venting wouldn't have caused problems but you're right that it would currently be venting through the drain port. The biggest downside to leaving it this way is that fumes and even gas (when the tank is very full) could backup through that same drain port and come up between the gas cap and collar - which is likely what I was smelling. The other potential issue is any rain that finds it's way between the collar and the tank recess will get into the tank through the drain hole. I'm still not sure what advantage some previous owner would have seen in doing it this way.

Looks like an imperfect charcoal canister delete project. It would have been significantly less work to do it correctly because no changes are needed inside the tank. Is the charcoal canister still attached to the bike?
 
Looks like an imperfect charcoal canister delete project. It would have been significantly less work to do it correctly because no changes are needed inside the tank. Is the charcoal canister still attached to the bike?

Yes, the canister is gone. I know the m/c was in storage in Arizona for quite some time and I suspect the hoses inside the tank were rotten so someone decided to not replace and do the next best thing? It turns out it may have been beneficial because investigating this weird bypass caused me to pull the fuel plate/pump assembly out only to find lots of peeling inside the tank. Are the tanks factory coated with something? Regardless, it's peeling off in large sheets. I'll clean out what I can for now and do a more permanent Caswell epoxy tank coating project over winter.
 
There was no lining that would have peeled that I can recall. If you are replacing hoses inside the tank bear in mind that hoses submerged in fuel must be fuel rated internally and externally. "Normal" fuel rated hose is only internally rated for fuel contact.
 
"Normal" fuel rated hose is only internally rated for fuel contact.

Yup - ended up with Gates 4219 with the following description:
(Product type 4219)

The Gates submersible fuel line hose is no ordinary fuel line hose. An ordinary fuel line hose is designed to handle fuel on the inside only. The Gates submersible fuel line hose exceeds the SAE 30R10 rating and is capable of handling petrol, alcohol extended petrol or diesel fuel in fully immersed, mobile, stationary and marine applications.

Engineered for constant contact with petrol (and other liquid petroleum distillates) on the inside and the outside
Exceeds the SAE 30R10 specification for submersible fuel line hose applications
Fluoroelastomer (FKM) tubed cover resists gas and fuel permeation and retards ageing
Aramid fibre reinforcement – the same fibre as the one used in bullet-proof vests – pound for pound stronger than steel
 
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