Bike soaked in gas, need advice

[Aerodawg]

This morning went on a group ride, at the start of the ride we stopped to get gas and was putting gas into the tank and the handle somehow became stuck and wouldnt release and kept pumping gas, overflowing over the top of my tank so i yanked the gas handle out of the tank spraying my bike and myself (my thinking was to get the gas away from the engine, pipes), finally after many squeezes on the handle the trigger released and the pump stopped. I had plenty of witnesses and the clerk got us a bucket of water and some towels and 3 of us cleaned the bike as best we could, and I cleaned myself off, the clerk at the gas station took an incident report, took pictures once the bike had been washed down and said to call the incident hotline number tommorow. I now have a few discolored spots on the front of the bike, if you didnt know what to look for you wouldnt see it, next week putting on a windshield that should cover this area, should i contact my insurance tonight or wait and speak with the hotline tommorow and what paint/leather or other damage can be done long term? My clothes I can wash and luckily nothing splashed into my face. My buddy said I got lucky that I didnt get a flash fire when it overflowed onto the pipes. I ride a 2010 Glossy Black FatBoy Lo. All comments appreciated! Thanks!

 

[ProF]

I don't want to seem a smart alec, but I have to ask:
Did they charge you for all the gas that spilled?

Any time I've spilled gas on the tank, a wipe-off with some water has been sufficient to avoid problems. Good luck.

 

[Aerodawg]

Lol... no they gave me back half of the amount charged to me.

 

[SilverFoXD]

Work with the hotline people. You've got photos, witnesses, incident report, and the clerk's statements as to what happened. Be sure to tell them all the facts, what damage you see, the fact the bike is almost new, and your concerns.

They will probably send you to the dealer for an estimate on refurbishing/replacing. They may want to see your photos, etc., at some point but probably will work from the incident report (which they may not have received yet). Keep it friendly but businesslike.

You might want to give your insurance agent a call, just to let them know what happened and that you are working with the gas station people. You are not filing a claim at this time, just getting the incident on record in case there is a problem down the line.

Keep us posted. It may come down to having the bike detailed, and new plastic if the windshield was etched.

 

[gator508]

Aerodawg,

Glad you didn't go poof!! (wish I had Glider's animation). Anyway, I would think if you took your bike to a good detail shop they could make it look like new. If you got all the gas off pretty quickly I don't think there will be any damage. Maybe a good leather conditioner, a good wax job, and don't forget the pledge, will have you back and running. Good luck!

 

[R_W_B]

Glad you were not burned ! Could have been bad with a crazy situation like that. So far sounds like they are working with you on it which is good.

It could have been worse for them also if someone had gotten burned. I imagine it will all work by the numbers though so cover your bases. Something like this a company has to follow certain legal procedures even if they are intent on doing good will.

This whole thing has really made me think about what if it happened to me. Only thing I could think of was maybe try shoving the hose handle back into the pump cradle since on most setups that shuts down the fuel.

 

[Billbo]

also happy to see NO FIRE!! That happened to me when filling my PU truck last week. I put the nozzle in and set the "keeper" and it did NOT auto shut off when full - kept pumping gas - fortunately, I was standing there and at the most, about 1/2 gal of gas spilled down the side and underneath the truck.

BTW - when filling my bike, I never use that "keeper" - just do it all by hand and by looking inside the filler neck. one more thing, you can not just pull the trigger on the nozzle - some have way too much pressure and you will overflow and spill gas. I use my fingers to just barely open the nozzle - almost like a drip - to top off the tank without spilling.

Bill

 

[HDDon]

Aerodawg, if you haven't already done it contact your insurance co. You might also want to call the fire dept. closest to the place where this happened so they can check out the pump. Some one else might not be as quick as you and have gas pouring all over the place.

 

[Iceman24]

Definitely a bad situation that, luckily, didn't go terribly awry. Give the bike a good wash & wax w/tons of rinsing. Definitely treat any/all leather & plastic w/conditioner(s) & careful washing/drying your clothes. Gas dryers have been know to explode w/clothes that were doused in fuel (former firefighter).

Oh, by the way, never use the catch when filling bike - I'm sure you know this now...:s

 

[deucedog]

I agree with others, give your insurance company a call. Find out what you'll need if you do submit a claim.
Also, whatever the 'incident department' tells you, get it in writting.
Make sure to keep all original photos and documents.

Ever since that same thing happened to me years ago when the little spring was missing, I not only no longer use the keeper latch but I use one finger under it to hold it up.