Went for a ride and got left to the side

[nutz4spd]

Took the bike out yesterday after replacing a carb and adjusting a few things. Bike seemed to run decent although the throttle seemed flat when you really got on it. After about 20 miles I left from a green light and the minute I gave it some gas, it died. Fast forward a little. After 10-15 minutes of fiddling with it she finally started back up. Ran ok. Got 1/4 down the road and it dies again. Not long after getting it back home I heard a bubbling/hissing sound coming from the gas cap. The tank was pulling quite the vacuum. Is this normal? Could it be causing not enough gas to flow to the carbs and starving them? I'm at a loss with this thing. This is the 2nd time this has happened. Bad part is it doesn't do it until after you've been riding for a bit. I let it idle in the garage for about 10-15 minutes before I rode it. Not one problem. I'm stumped.

[bull958]

Just a guess, but sounds like your gas cap is not venting properly.

[bwringer]

Just a guess, but sounds like your gas cap is not venting properly.

Yep. This is very clear-cut. Your gas tank should not be pulling a vacuum!


The fix is fairly simple and close to free. Remove your gas cap, get some good lighting and a clean surface, and take it apart carefully. There's an air path in there that's blocked for whatever reason. Sometimes it's just gasoline residue, sometimes there's residue from a tank lining attempt, and sometimes there's just something weird a previous owner did.

Be careful in your choice of cleaning potion -- carb cleaners can damage the plastic bits.

I don't know of a tutorial with photos, and my memory of this is a little hazy, so all I can say is taking apart a GS gas cap is pretty straightforward with a wee bit o' mechanical aptitude.

And if you can, take some photos of the process and your findings! You could contribute to ensmartening the GS world!

[nutz4spd]

Yep. This is very clear-cut. Your gas tank should not be pulling a vacuum!


The fix is fairly simple and close to free. Remove your gas cap, get some good lighting and a clean surface, and take it apart carefully. There's an air path in there that's blocked for whatever reason. Sometimes it's just gasoline residue, sometimes there's residue from a tank lining attempt, and sometimes there's just something weird a previous owner did.

Be careful in your choice of cleaning potion -- carb cleaners can damage the plastic bits.

I don't know of a tutorial with photos, and my memory of this is a little hazy, so all I can say is taking apart a GS gas cap is pretty straightforward with a wee bit o' mechanical aptitude.

And if you can, take some photos of the process and your findings! You could contribute to ensmartening the GS world!

I had a feeling that wasn't normal. I will take it apart later this evening and include pictures in my report. As a side note, I did notice gas/liquid weeping out of the key hole the other day. I KNOW that isn't supposed to happen and the tank wasn't even completely full.

[bobgroger]

The gas cap is amazingly complicated. There are 2 metal balls in there so take a picture . Very common problem, I have been stranded as well....