raw fuel odor when riding

gearhead1

When I put on the lower air deflectors on the front fairing I get a raw fuel odor some of the time. Its so bad at times it gives me a headache, and you can smell fuel on my cloths the next day.

2 service managers have checked the bike for leaks but can't find a problem. It is only with the lower air deflectors are on the bike. Fuel vent tube is inplace and ok.

Has any one else experianced this? If so, has anyone found the source of the odor. Kind of embarassing to go into a restaurant smelling like 93 octane gasoline. Glad I don't smoke anymore!!! (tried to find a flaming smiley)

glider

I have heard of 2 other bikes with this same problem that were newer bikes . I don't think they ever found the cause of the problem with the odor after many visits to the dealer. The dealer just looks over the obvious things and then rolls it outside. It's going to be difficult finding the cause of the odor because if it was a leak, you would see something wet, just an odor may not leave thing wet enough to see but still smell the fumes. Let us know if you find out where it's coming from.

With the deflectors on the air is being kept in behind the front end, that's why it is stronger.

Have you noticed this with anything less than a full tank of gas? Thinking about this, there may be a problem with the gas cap and it is venting fumes when it shouldn't be. Check the drain tube in front of the rear wheel and see if it is wet with fuel. Maybe replace or swap the cap with a friend to try it out and see if you still get the odor.

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gearhead1

I have noticed this at all fuel levels. The thing that stands out the most is I notice the odor when traveling 50-55 MPH with a strong tail wind. Changing direction seems to eliminate the odor and changing direction back to the tail wind make it noticable again.

I ask the service manager about remapping that RPM range a little leaner on the race tuner but he didn't seem receptive to that idea. He stated the map was dead in the middle of the range and he felt we shoud leave it there.

He did make an attempt to hook to their computer on the dyno to the bike, but it was down that day and they couldn't get another computer in the shop to open communications with the tuner.

That was last fall and I haven't had the bike back there since. Dealer ship is 60 miles away.

bikermonkey

I had a friend with this issue, he got some fuel die from a parts house and put some in the tank,,his vent showed the green die,, seems a vacum forms with the deflectors and pulls the fumes, mist, odor forward. Sniff your pants,, yea sounds weird, but if the odor is strongest on the back of your pants leg, that may tell you if it's the vent,,if that's the case you can lengthen the tube, fixed his.

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Zamadan

Kinda thinking your leaning the right way there Glider. At those speeds with a tail wind the vent line could be the cause of the gas fumes and the back draft is drawing it up towards the rider. Changing directions blows the fumes away from the bike. Could be a faulty gas cap, but to cause a headache there has to be a large quantity of vapours I'm thinking. Only other thing is could a exhaust leak be a cause ?

glider

Usually the process of elimination will lead to the cause but over the internet, it gets a bit harder. Every problem has a solution, but sometimes it takes a bit of reasoning and poking around to find it like the battery ground cable that lilrich2u had with the bike he bought. Simple reasoning and knowing where to look usually will fix a problem.

Exhaust fumes would have a different smell if you were familiar with the difference. Raw fuel is different in that it smells like gas and not exhaust. Sooner or later the problem will manifest itself and a proper fix will take care of it.

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Spade5

I had a gas leak - actually more like a seep on my 07 Wide Glide. It was coming from under the center console and going under the leather piece that goes down to the seat.

You could not see anything by looking at it but I would smell gas in the garage and on my pants leg after a ride. I could not figure out why the leather kept getting stiffer and more wavy after repeated leather care. I decided to take it off that is when I noticed the problem.

I guess my point is my leak was at the top of the tank not the bottom. The leather was so saturated with something from the gas that it smelled weeks later. It doesn't cost anything to remove the console cover and take a look.

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dan1551

I`m no doctor but as soon as I saw that head I knew you were gonna have trouble with it ! ( sorry could`nt resist)