Fuel line popped off inlet on carb. Easiest way to reconnect it?!

[bushido]

So I accidentally tugged on the fuel line that feeds into the carburetor in between the 2nd and 3rd cylinders on my 1980 GS550E and it came off the inlet on the carbs.

It's super tight and the fuel inlet is inaccessible with the air box in the way. I can touch the nipple with the hose, but i cant get a good enough grip to stretch it on.

It seems to me I have to remove the air box in order to reconnect it... Is it necessary to move the panel which the fuse box is attached to in order to get the air box out of there? it's butting right up against it.

Or should i remove the air box to carburetor couplers to gain wiggle room that way?

any advice is appreciated!

[Dave8338]

Try removing the air box tubes to the carbs (#3 and #4) and see if you can gain a little more room from the right side of the bike. Also, how old is the fuel line? Now might be a good time to replace it, if it's been on there a while. Also...I dip the tips of my lines in a cup of hot water from the microwave and they slide right over.

[bushido]

so you mean remove the two right side air box to carburetor couplers?

i'll give that a shot in the AM.


Good idea with the hot water on the tube, thanks.


Also, is vinyl tubing suited for this application?

[chuckycheese]

Search

Try the search feature. I've described a way that works well using a gutter spike and other members have used other methods. It's there, so there's just no reason to go through the whole thing again.

[bushido]

just found your post chucky.

great idea about sticking a thin rod through the hose and into the fuel inlet to use it to guide the hose.

i'm gonna give that a try. thanks

[chuckycheese]

just found your post chucky.

great idea about sticking a thin rod through the hose and into the fuel inlet to use it to guide the hose.

i'm gonna give that a try. thanks

You're welcome! I hope it works. When I did it, it was kind of frustrating but well worth the effort, considering that the alternative is removing the carbs......UGHHHHHHH!!

[JEEPRUSTY]

Long reach needle nose pliers are wonderful.
Dipping the tube end in boiling water helps.

[Steve]

Using the proper hose would be the BEST thing you could do.

OEM hose is 7mm, which is in between the 1/4" and 5//6" sizes you will find at an auto parts store.

.

[bushido]

man... i hate my life right now.

been sweating my ass off in 100 degree 90% humidity mosquito infested swap that is gainesville trying to get this effing hose on there.

what were the engineers thinking when they designed the inlet to be in such an inaccessible place? on the CB550 its perfectly easily assessable, without even removing the tank.


well i guess im going to try and source some metric tubing... always a hassle to get metric things around here. why america doesn't join the rest of the world's system of measurement i have no clue.

[bushido]

I finally managed to get the hose on!

man what a complete pain in the ass, I ended up giving up on the 3/16 vinyl tubing and used 1/4in automotive fuel hose...

the previous owner of my bike ran a hose from the petcock to a shut off valve, through a inline fuel filter then to the carb. I suppose there is a problem with the petcock as I can't switch it from prime to on or reserve.

Is there any downside to this setup other than having to remember to shut the gas off every time i start the bike?

[FlyingSteve]

I would try a few local motorcycle dealerships in your area to find metric hose... I use "I think" 5/16" fuel hose for when I need to run the fuel tank from the bench and that works perfectly fine on the carbs.

An easier way to get the fuel hose back on is to switch over to pod filters

It's nice to be able to actually get your hand in there and easily work on things with out having to fool with a stupid home depot insulation aisle rigged stock air box!

[Steve]

Sourcing metric tubing is no problem at all. Just look at any of the sites that are in BassCliff's welcome page where he lists vendors and gives some ratings about most of them.

I don't know why you would even consider using 3/16" hose. The next size larger, 1/4" is too small, so why would an even smaller hose work?

The OEM fuel hose (the 7 mm stuff) appears to be rather expensive when you look at it on any of the parts fiche, but you get about 4 or 5 feet of it and you only need about a foot, so you get enough for several applications.

The same thing applies to the breather hose from the top of the valve cover to the airbox. It is 11 mm hose, which is close to 7/16", but any 7/16" hose you will find in an auto parts store will be pressure-rated for use as a heater hose, and will be much thicker than you need. When you order breather hose, you get about 6 feet and you only need about 10 inches.

I used to fight the hose thing, too, then I just gave up and ordered some of the proper stuff. Now, if I have a bike to work on, it automatically gets the proper stuff installed before it leaves my garage.

.

[chef1366]

5/16 with a hose clamp.
remove the carbs

[FlyingSteve]

5/16 with a hose clamp.
remove the carbs

No hose clamps were necessary for me with 5/16"