strong gas smell when done riding
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strong gas smell when done riding
I don't know if this is a problem or not but I'll try to explain the best I can. I noticed this before but today it seemed worse. I rode my bike home from work today and took the long way home so was riding for about 40 minutes. When I got home, parked the bike outside for about 10 minutes while I got in and opened up the garage door (garage is underneath the house). Then I pushed the bike in and closed up the garage door. I immediately notice a gas smell coming from the bike that's not as noticeable outside. I've noticed this before somewhat but usually I leave the garage door open for a while so I'm guessing the air moves the smell out. But for whatever reason it seemed really bad today. I checked the bike out good and there's absolutely nowhere that gas or anything else leaking for that matter. I had a little less than a half tank left when I got home and hadn't gotten gas in the bike for a week or more. This mixture of gas/fumes smell (reason I say mixture is because it's different than if I just opened up a gas can and took a smell of it, but it's pretty damn strong). The smell seemed the strongest if I smell right at the very back of the tank on the right side of the bike, actually right by the battery cover it seemed the worst. Does anybody know what in the hell is causing this or is this normal? I don't like leaving my bike outside to "air out" when I'm done riding with the vandalism going on around here lately but with the garage under the house I don't want this **** coming into the house either. Well I ended up opening the garage door back up for a while. After the bike cools off then the smell is pretty much completely gone. Oh yeah the bike is a 09 street bob with only about 1000 on it. Does anybody have any ideas on this?
Last edited by welder; Aug 9, 2010 at 09:08 PM.
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This is pretty common, expecially in hot weather. When I first noticed it on my bike last year I thought maybe there was a gas leak somewhere. Couldn't find any. Next, I suspected a rubber o-ring was bad in one of the injector ports. Nope. After worrying about this for at least a couple of months it suddenly dawned on me that when I rode into the garage after a hot ride and before I turned the ignition off, I usually goosed the throttle, at least a little. This put an amount of raw gas into the injectors and because I shut it there was no time to suck up (and burn) all the gasoline. Thus, what I was smelling was unburnnt raw gas. Not a lot, just enough to be noticable for awhile. When I quit goosing the throttle before shutoff, the smell was no longer there. Not saying this is your problem, just be aware of it.
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From: Maine
Not up on fuel injected systems. Had the same stink coming from my carbed bike. It was first the petcock leaking, then the accellerator pump diaphram leaking.
In my experience, if the smell is bad/strong and gets worse, you have a gas leak somewhere. The gas will evaporate quickly, so you may not see a pool, but the stink stays and stays.
In my experience, if the smell is bad/strong and gets worse, you have a gas leak somewhere. The gas will evaporate quickly, so you may not see a pool, but the stink stays and stays.
Big Kahuna HDF Member
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From: USA
Let the bike cool off completely. Then go see if it smells. If not turn on the ignition and stop/run switch so the fuel pump pressurizes the fuel system and do not start the engine. Then check for smell. Might just be gas fumes coming out the vent because it is hot outside and the engine heat combined.
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You know, I did eat a ton of beans the night before but I figured I was moving fast enough to clear any of that smell out when I was ripping ***.
Guys thanks for the ideas, I'll check it out some more tomorrow, didn't get a chance to get the bike out today.
Guys thanks for the ideas, I'll check it out some more tomorrow, didn't get a chance to get the bike out today.
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Cruiser
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 141
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From: At home
I just got used to the gas smell on mine, figured it just ran a bit rich when really hot (I know, absolutely no scientific evidence for such a conclusion). I took the dash off when I was cleaning it the other day and the hose that goes to the vent was torn. There was a small puddle of gas in the valley in the top of the tank.
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