The other day, I got caught riding for 10-15 mins in the rain. I got soaked and so did the bike.
The next day, the bike was dry and it was a nice day, so I went to the service station to fuel up for a ride. When I opened the tank cap, there was quite a resistance and "sucking" sound as I overcame the vacuum to get the cap open.
Then I noticed droplets of water in the fuel. I took a closer look at the cap mechanism, its a tapered plastic bung with a rubber seal at the bottom, all covered by the cast metal cap on top. It appears to me that water can make it's way past the clearance gaps in the metal cap and sit in the wedge area, only stopped by the final lower seal.
The problem is, even knowing there may be moisture sitting there, you can not do anything about it because as soon as you lift the cap, the seal is broken and the water falls in. The significant vacuum present only helps to suck it in. You can't get a rag or anything in there before the water drops in.
To me, this is a poor design issue. For now, I'm thinking the best way to get the moisture out of the fuel is to let the bike sit in the sun to heat up, and open the tank to let the condensation out. Base on my experience with aircraft, water usually sinks to the bottom of a fuel tank, and you can drain it off if there is a valve in the right place. I haven't yet had a close look at where the fuel lines attach, and they may be slightly above the lowest point of the tank meaning any water going into the tank could sit there for years condensating and eventually rusting the tank.
In the longer term, I'm wondering what to do apart from devising some kind of cap cover when it's likely to be subject to rain.
Any thoughts?
The next day, the bike was dry and it was a nice day, so I went to the service station to fuel up for a ride. When I opened the tank cap, there was quite a resistance and "sucking" sound as I overcame the vacuum to get the cap open.
Then I noticed droplets of water in the fuel. I took a closer look at the cap mechanism, its a tapered plastic bung with a rubber seal at the bottom, all covered by the cast metal cap on top. It appears to me that water can make it's way past the clearance gaps in the metal cap and sit in the wedge area, only stopped by the final lower seal.
The problem is, even knowing there may be moisture sitting there, you can not do anything about it because as soon as you lift the cap, the seal is broken and the water falls in. The significant vacuum present only helps to suck it in. You can't get a rag or anything in there before the water drops in.
To me, this is a poor design issue. For now, I'm thinking the best way to get the moisture out of the fuel is to let the bike sit in the sun to heat up, and open the tank to let the condensation out. Base on my experience with aircraft, water usually sinks to the bottom of a fuel tank, and you can drain it off if there is a valve in the right place. I haven't yet had a close look at where the fuel lines attach, and they may be slightly above the lowest point of the tank meaning any water going into the tank could sit there for years condensating and eventually rusting the tank.
In the longer term, I'm wondering what to do apart from devising some kind of cap cover when it's likely to be subject to rain.
Any thoughts?
My fuel tank lid opens with no effort, and have see no signs of water.
