Yes most stations have "up to 10% ethanol". Shell stations have no ethanol in only their premium gas. This is stated right on the pumps. I try and use Shell premium when ever I can.

 

It wasn't. There are metal spacers inside the holes that the screws go through. The gasket material is swelled around them, and they're not crushed. I used a torque wrench, and torqued them to the spec in the factory service manual.

Cheers!

 

That does definitely blow having that happen to your paint job. Something that I was curious about. Since you followed every thing to the letter when you replaced the gasket and it still caused this much damage to your paint job, I was wondering if you went back to the dealer and jacked them around about what happened, if they would be able to do anything to help repair the damage. Who knows, it might have been a faulty gasket to begin with and maybe you could convince them to help with the repairs, just an idea.

 

I thought about that, but as soon as you do any work yourself, they won't accept any responsibility, even for defective parts. I'm friendly with the staff there, though, so I'll run it by them and see what they say. I'm not expecting anything other than a "sorry, you're on your own" response, though.

Cheers!

 

Well good luck to ya and I understand where you're coming from but maybe this time your luck will get better.

 

When was the last time the torque wrench was calibrated?

Another common mistake is to use ft. lbs instead of in. lbs.

 

I'm kind of OCD about torquing things to spec, so I always make sure I double check, and do it right.

I have a few torque wrenches. The one I used was a 3/8" drive, in-lb scale. The spec is 18 - 22 in-lbs. I set it to 20 in-lbs. I don't know when it was last calibrated, but it doesn't get lots of use, so I doubt it's so out of calibration that it would cause this to happen. Plus, as I said earlier, there are metal inserts in the gasket that the screws go through, and the gasket swelled around a few of them, causing the leak.

Cheers!

 

Man that really sux. I'd have big tears in my eyes over that one!

 

Seems like every rubber part I have bought from the dealer recently has been made in Taiwan . Really no suprise that gasoline would attack that gasket like that. It is heartbreaking.

 

For those with smart phones, there's an app called "Pure Gas"; it was developed by riders and shows where 100% good stuff is available in your area or on your travels.
Sorry about the paint, bud.