After it died did you try restarting it? What happened?

 

Would cough but that's it. Would die immediately if it ever caught. When I got the old gas out and new gas in it coughed a bit and came to life.

On the side of the road I considered pumping gas out with my allen key shoved in my quick-connect method (that incidentally dumped gas all over my hands, and the bike, and everywhere, and I still smell like gas) and running the starter like that, but I stopped b/c I felt it was stupid... because it was, and I didn't want to run the battery dead and then have another issue on my hands.

I'm so mad right now.

And the only possibility I can think of is that the drain hose running through the tank (from that little pinhole in the gas cap) somehow came dislodged... or I installed something wrong (I followed the service manual).... and also the gas cap was 98% closed but not 100% closed.... but the bike was covered while it was raining.



I'm so unbelievably mad right now; these past couple of weeks I've several times now been dragged, against my volition, into some godforesaken dirty job (and not b/c of something I did)

 

Are you sure you didn't put diesel fuel in it? Drain the tank and put fresh gas in from a busy gas station.

 

Are you sure you didn't put diesel fuel in it? Drain the tank and put fresh gas in from a busy gas station.

Costco doesn't sell diesel

 

Sounds like off fuel, weird that Costco doesn't sell diesel. Id ask thst outlet where you got it from when they last had their tanks checked, you may have gotten the dregs from the bottom of the tank.

 

This is increasingly my suspicion... the only thing throwing me off is my self doubt, having just dicked with the fuel tank, maybe I did something wrong... not connecting the inlet drain hole properly (that runs through the tank), the gas cap somehow being open... although the bike was covered??

I've noticed: fleetingly few people here pump premium gas... and I imagine costco is used to a clientele/customer base that pumps more premium gas. Possibly they oversized their premium gas tank, and it went stale. Especially in the heat. Also ethanol is often used to raise the octane (dirty cheaters), and that really likes to absorb water. The humidity here is like a million billion on the Lambert scale.

 

Yup, that's sounds reasonable, thats why you always go to a station with a high turnover of all fuel types.

I think its unlikely that a few drops of rain, IF they got in at all would affect your fuel. The cap, when sitting closed but not locked still seats against the filler neck, plus any water that could have gotten in would run to the outside and down the spillage drain hole.

By the fact that you could feel the consistency of the fuel on your hands was different, and that it didn't have the usual strong smell of petrol, leads me to think you either picked up the dregs from the tank, or that fuel they sold you is stale.

Can you still get a sample of whats in your tank, or is it now mixed in with the 8l (2 gallons) you added?

either way, like any product you buy, you should have the right to a refund if its not fit for purpose.

Also check the premium pump at Costco you got it from, they should list the total dispensed volume, then compare that against the pumps dispensing regular fuel, if its a huge difference, then you know that the fuel in their premium holding tank will have been there quite a while.

Good luck buddy

 

Yup, that's sounds reasonable, thats why you always go to a station with a high turnover of all fuel types.

I think its unlikely that a few drops of rain, IF they got in at all would affect your fuel. The cap, when sitting closed but not locked still seats against the filler neck, plus any water that could have gotten in would run to the outside and down the spillage drain hole.

By the fact that you could feel the consistency of the fuel on your hands was different, and that it didn't have the usual strong smell of petrol, leads me to think you either picked up the dregs from the tank, or that fuel they sold you is stale.

Can you still get a sample of whats in your tank, or is it now mixed in with the 8l (2 gallons) you added?

either way, like any product you buy, you should have the right to a refund if its not fit for purpose.

Also check the premium pump at Costco you got it from, they should list the total dispensed volume, then compare that against the pumps dispensing regular fuel, if its a huge difference, then you know that the fuel in their premium holding tank will have been there quite a while.

Good luck buddy

I have a sample in my brake fluid flush sucker machine, but it's mixed/contaminated with idk what.

There's no point in pursuing it further except to submit a complaint with the authorities, with whom I've already been in touch simply b/c I want to know for diagnostic purposes if I screwed up the gas tank job on the bike.


Yeesh; the heat here's getting to everything I think

 

For this problem in general there is a water finding paste, you put a smear on a stick and swab the bottom of the tank. Will change color. Used to use it when ever we took fuel at a new dock (ferry boating). Runs less than 10$. Sure sounds like water contamination.

 

That brings back memories. From the mid-70's I worked at a USAF base at RAF Upper Heyford and I was a fitters mate working on oil-fired domestic central heating.

Each property had what we called a daily service tank which held a small amount of diesel (or 35-second gas oil) via a ball valve which was fed from a 3,000 gallon tank.

We often used to dip the tank to check levels and used a green paste that we smeared on the end of a brass dip rod before lowering it into the tank.

If water was present the green paste used to turn purple and the dip rod indicated the amount of water in the tank.

A contractor used to come in and suck the water out of the tank and as a fresh-faced 16-year old I used to wonder why he started with his hose way off the bottom for a while before lowering it to where the water was at the very bottom of the tank?

Mystery was solved when I saw him giving the fitter a £20 note at the end of the job!

Guessing he used to go back to his depot, drain the water off from the bottom of the tank on his lorry and decant the fresh diesel into a holding tank before either selling it or running his lorries on it!

Anyway sorry for the hijack and back to the thread proper...

-=Glyn=-

 

Can only speak from UK experience, but I've had bad petrol from a supermarket petrol station. Had loads of water in it- FROM THEM. So tank off and drained. I'm much more discerning about where I buy from now.

 

If I have to purchase fuel from a questionable source I buy regular and not too much. Then find a proper gas station and top up with premium. Doesn't happen too often any more.

 

COSTCO!

 

First thing I would do I put a bottle of dry gas in and see if it will run. If that doesn’t work, do you have a GS-911? That will tell you if the fuel pump controller died. It will also let you actuate the fuel pump and injectors. If the module is bad, it’s a $350 part from BMW or $200 from Euromotoelectrics.com

there is also a bypass cable available online to put power directly to the pump without the module. There is another thread here with all the specifics.

 

Well, my bike stranded me too. But it was in the driveway. The alcohol in the fuel and me letting the bike sit to long seized up the fuel pump. I thought it was the controller again, but when so I ordered one. When I got it and pulled the bike apart to replace it I hooked up my bypass cable to test the pump and it did not turn, but the wires heated up really quick. So now I’m waiting for the pump to arrive from Euromotoelectrics. I went for the motor assembly minus the flange. $200 vs $760. I need to ride it more.

 

Can you see the inner workings? I once had a pump die but on a truck. Brushes had worn commutator so thin the copper caught brush and folded over in a spot. But it had pumped 5000 plus gallons.

 

I discovered bad gas is remarkably common in some areas of USA. I was riding east from Utah to Wisconsin & soon after entering South Dakota my K1200RS started running very poorly.
I decided to stop at the BMW dealer in Sturgis of all places & described my bike's symptoms to the service manager.
He didn't even bother to walk out to the bike & simply said, "You got shit gas in Wyoming.
Go across the road & fill up with good gas, you'll be fine!"
I couldn't believe it, he was right!
How many folks must end up with bad gas if it becomes diagnosed that easily, without even looking at the machine? Unbelievable!

I should add that in Costa Rica where I live most of my time, getting bad gas is completely normal. The octane probably varies with every tank fill. I don't mean to suggest dodgy gasoline is a uniquely "USA problem". I was just surprised it happened there often as well.
Is taking care of gasoline so difficult that it's a problem everywhere?

 

I discovered bad gas is remarkably common in some areas of USA.

The U.S. makes a lot more sense when accept the reality that it's a 3rd world country with 3rd world country problems. Once I figured this out, I was able to adjust my expectations and make things work properly.

 

The bad gas I referred to was the old crap sitting in my tank too long. The alcohol makes it corrosive and it killed my pump motor. Partly my fault. But we didn’t have this problem back when we had pure gas.

 

This is the issue with ethanol in fuel summed up. Ethanol absorbs water until saturated, the water then corrodes all the fuel system parts not suitable for water immersion, ergo lots of problems.

So glad we still have "pure gas" (i.e. non ethanol containing fuels) here in Oz.

 

Lots of suggestions mentioned but not the one I discovered. I'd had the tank off (I have metal QD's and was trying to confirm a faulty pump, I had the old pump and a new replacement. During course of testing the new pump wouldn't run and deliver pressure to the rail. I went back to the original pump same thing. I eventually found the problem was caused by an air lock in the fuel hoses I don't know why the pump refused to run but it did. I carefully opened the output hose and poked the end of the stop valve holding the QD over a bucket until some fuel came out in a continuous flow. Reconnected the hose and no problem afterwards.

 

Well found and thanks for sharing. I think these pumps are a pressure loss type pump, so will only run if the internal pressure switch detects a delta-P between inlet and outlet, even if connected to power, (as the contacts from the PS close the circuit to run the pump). Seeing you had an airlock in the line, there was no dP and therefore the contacts didn't close.

 

Thks. I didn't know that. At the time I couldn't work out why the pump wouldn't even try to run. I assumed the pump was faulyt and bought a replacement clone which did the same thing until I purged air out. Thinking some more, how could air get into the system in normal use? Low fuel, QD leak, bike standing a long time?

 

All of the above. Mind you I still need to confirm the pump operation principle, bur seems to make sense. My water pump in my caravan operates on that concept, wont run even with power connected unless there's a pressure drop. Maintains line pressure which I believe is what the fuel rail sees.

 

Safety mechanism to not flow after a crash.?

 

Does the 1300GT have a charcoal cannister for emissions? I know if one constantly over fills their tank to where it flows into the recovery hole at the filler, the gas will slowly fill up the cannister and with cause a vacuum lock in the tank, restricting the fuel flow. You can really tell when you open the filler car and there's a suction sound. Filling it up before storing it for a period on hot day will do that too because of fuel expansion in the heat. Just a thought from a flying brick owner. Mixing up the vacuum lines can do that too.

 

I think only the US spec ones had/have the cannister. Stricter emissions regulations i guess.

 

Weirdly the charcoal canister actually increases fuel mileage as it releases the vapors back into the system to be burned. The thing that sucks is they are sealed canisters so if they get flooded, there is no way to drain them and dry them.