First Ride...Gasoline Smell????

Hey Y'all, I need some help...

I'm a new VFR owner. I went on my first ride today on my newly acquired 93. I loved it! Ran well, no problems...very exciting.

When I got home, put the bike back in the garage. I came back out into the garage a few minutes later and WOW, gasoline smell!! It was very strong, so I went into disaster mode, inspecting every inch of the bike. I couldn't find any leaks anywhere...stumped.

Later this afternoon, I took the bike out for another spin. After riding for a while, I stopped, and there was the smell again. I just got home, and it is sitting in the garage right now smelling of gasoline. Again, no visible leaks.

Any suggestions? Do these bikes just smell like this? Thanks.

 

Never had a problem with the vfr but had atv's leak a small amount through the overflow tube. In an enclosed area a little fuel could give you the smell. Does the 93 have a petcock you can turn off. Just a thought. If you have a strong odor of gas there is a leak somewhere.

 

Ditto. On my atv, the needle would get a little gunky and as a result would not seat. As a result fuel would drip from the overflow tube. Quite smelly, but not real visible. I do not believe this is a normal condition for a vfr. (Rest assured, our highly qualified staff here will offer some real, sound advice!!)

 

Run the bike in your garage for a couple of minutes, and see if there is any fuel leaking directly under the bike. If there is, its coming out of the overflow tube, which means you could have a stuck float. If the bike has been sitting for extended periods of time (months), then you might have some dirty carbs.

Go down to NAPA and get some seafoam, and run it through the system. It might take a couple of tanks before it starts to have an effect...if thats the problem in the first place.

I have dealt with bad carbs on my 96. Now that they are clean, I would never let a tank of gas sit in the bike for longer than a month, and I usually add a little seafoam every 3 months. Carbed bikes need a little more TLC when it comes to this.

 

great, I'm gonna run the bike and see if there are any leaks while its running.

I'll also try seafoam.

You guys rock!

 

Marvel Mystery Oil is just as good also if you can't find Seafoam.

Also, if you have not done this already, take the side fairings off, start the bike and shine a flashlight in there, looking in the area of the carbs. You should be able to see the float bodies. Check where parts are sealed together, and make sure there is no sign of leakage. Previous carb work, not done properly could lead to leakage, if new seals / o-rings were not used.

If your float valves are stuck, its most likely due to the bike sitting for extended periods of time. If the bike has not been run, the gas in the float bowls evaporates and leaves behind a tarry substance, that sticks the float valve in the down position. The idle jets will most likely also be gunked up because of this.
They can also be stuck, from dirt and crap that gets in your fuel, and / or rust from the tank, which gets sucked up by either the idle jet or the main fuel jet. The best way to fix this is pull the carbs and start cleaning.

How many miles does the bike have?

 

My bike smells a little of gas after I shut it down hot and park it in the closed garage.
The hot engine causes the fuel in the tank to expand and is vented out through one of the rubber hoses down by the center stand (left side). I took a piece of tubing and made a poor man's stethoscope, put it near the outlet and I could hear it hissing. The tank cap seals tight so all the venting is through this hose.

I had a leaking petcock a while back that would drip maybe 5 drops overnight and even though there was no visible puddles under it, it smelled very strong.

Pull some body panels and see what you dealing with.

 

A tiny amount of gas can really smell, but a little gas can also BLOW-UP!!! Don't give up until you find the leak! Until then, I might let it sleep outside.

 

I almost hate to mention this, but my '83 1100F was doing the same thing, and I finally found that the gas tank had rusted through in one spot. I had just accepted the fact that it smelled more like gas than other bikes I had owned, and I did not find it until it started seeping enough to stay wet (took about a month, if I remember right). You might try running it down on fuel and shining a bright flashlight down through the gas cap opening to see if there is any rust anywhere.

 

Dude, way to go Powderrecon, I knew you'd have something to say being you just went through this. What he said.

 

My VFR does the exact same thing, right down the bike needing to be very warm. I removed every stitch of plastice, ran the bike while inspecting fuel lines, carbs etc. NOTHING leaked, not even damp. Replaced the valve needles thinking this was the problem, same result. Finally figured out that it was venting fumes down by the center stand on the left side.

Thinking about it makes sense (to me anyway). I think the V-Four design with the fuel tank directly above (as well as the fairings holding in heat) makes it more succeptible this issue........character?

 

Wow...Thanks for all the info...

The bike has 23k miles on it...

So it sounds like it could be anything from faulty carb stuff, rusted gas tank, or could just be designed to vent this way..

Tomorrow (hopefully) I'm gonna pull panels and see what I can see.

Btw, I'm impressed with this community. Thanks again.

 

Thats low-ish miles for a 93. Might have been sitting a while...who knows. See if the previous owner can fill you in, on what he did in the winter with the bike. Did he add any stabilizer to the gas? How long did it sit for at any given time. More than a month, and I would be a little worried.

However from what I have read, alot of VFR's seem to do this. The engines run extremely hot, and now that I look back, its only on the warmer days we have had in the last 3 months, that mine has produced a little gas type smell, and its usually only at stop lights.

Keep us informed on the progress.

 

A good portion of my knowledge comes from this guy, who also owns a 4th gen, that is supposed to be pretty tricked out. He is a VFR fan for life, however dreams about 1098's. Know him?

 

So I talked with the previous owner (buddy of mine), and here is what he said.

He never noticed a strong gas smell...

The bike did not sit for long periods of time...

He used seafoam (though I'm not sure when he put it in)...

He theorized that the gas smell may be from when he delivered the bike to me, he filled the tank...topped it off. He said maybe he overfilled it or something...you guys ever heard of that with VFRs?

RS

 

oh yes.. as well as filled it up to much, then the sun came out and expanded the fuel. wa la, it went potty on me. well through the over flow that is. LOL so now I keep it like a 1/2 inch from the top just in case.

 

You're to kind, I'm just older, been around the block more than once, and to think he says this and we haven't even rode yet :wink:
Yea that 1098 Oooo

 

Investigation update...

I removed the side fairings, thoroughly inspected everything I could see. Nothing..the bike is in great shape. No gunkyness, leaks, etc...

So then I fired her up like powderrecon suggested. I looked very closely while it ran, no leaks.

So then I went for a short ride to get the bike hot (warm). Came back and did inspection, no leaks.

So far so good. I think it the smell is coming from the overflow (pic below). I can stick my nose in there an really smell it.

So I'm encouraged since I can't find any leaks or anything suspicious. I guess there could be something going on in the carbs, so I'm gonna try seafoam for that.

Anything else I should look at?

RS

 

Petcocks are notorious for emitting fumes. My '94 CBR1000F always smelled like raw fuel after a ride, never could figure that one out...

 

Mine always smells like fuel after a ride also. I looked for leaks but never found any. No rust holes in the tank... I never found the cause, and eventually quite looking. It still does it.