Ducati Monster Forum

Today was my first ride on the Monster this year!  Unfortunately, it resulted with a fair amount of gas pouring all over the ground. 
The bike: 2000 Ducati Monster 900ie Dark
The situation: I performed the 18,000 mile service on the bike myself.  This includes replacing the fuel filter inside the tank.  Bike starts, runs and feels awesome.  I went for a ride and stopped by the gas station and filled up the tank.  Up to this point, I never had more than 2 gallons in the tank.  Once the tank was almost full is when gas started flowing from the vent hose spigot on the underside of the fuel tank.  It really flowed a lot with the bike up right, but after about a gallon of gas was all under the bike, the flowing stopped.  When I leaned the bike to the right, more gas would spill.  So, at this point lean left, nothing, up right, nothing, lean right, gas flowing.  Anyway, the previous owner removed the emission tank and did not replace the hose or "t" in to the gas drain hose.  Just left the spigot with nothing on it.  So, gas was pouring all over the back side of the bike.  After a bit, I was able to ride the bike home without trouble.  Still runs great, I just can't fill up the tank. 
So, I haven't searched the forum or looked in the FSM that I have yet, but I feel like I will be fishing in the tank again.  Any thoughts?  Also, was is the size for the drain line for the gas vent and over flow lines? 
I should also mention that the over flow line is clear as I was able to test that out last year. 
Thanks,
Blue

It sounds like either the vent hose came off the plug in the top of the tank or the hose has a split in it.

Sometimes you can trim the hose back and reinstall.

That hose is 1/4" and must be submersible fuel line. I don't think there is an aftermarket source for it.

Good luck.

+1   I haven't had a problem using 5/16 line and giving the clamp a few extra turns.

Good to know

Thanks for the information.  While I was standing at the gas station, watching gas run all over my bike, I did pop the filler lid and look for the obvious loose hose but did not find it.  Is the vent line the hose that runs to the filler lid with the black rubber tube on the top?  I was able to reach inside and wiggle the rubber hose that connects to this and it was firmly attached but had quite a bit of extra line.  I know the other shallow hole in the filler is for the over fill.

And by fuel line, I meant the line coming from the underside of the tank that would have connected to the breather.  Do you know what size this line would be?

Yes it is.

Most likely there is a crack/split in it.

The hoses under the tank are the same 1/4", but are not submersible.

I just want to make sure that this post means that you are using 5/16" submersible fuel in place of the 1/4" line that is factory.  Correct?

I found the source of my problem.  The vent line is split and actually tore completely off of the bottom fitting on the tank (not the cap) when fiddling with it.  I think I am going to replace the whole line instead of shortening it hence the clarification of the 5/16" vs. 1/4".

Thanks for all of the help!
Blue

It doesn't exactly make sense from your previous posts, but it doesn't matter.

Dan is saying he uses the 5/16" line in place of the 1/4".

You'll save half the money.

Thanks for the help with this; I am planning on picking up the replacement line tonight. 

I know that it doesn't really matter, but I would like to clarify my posts as they are a bit confusing and perhaps someone may find this thread useful one day. 

First issue was gas flowing out from under the tank via the vent spigot on the underside of the tank.  While this was happening, I opened the gas cap and checked to make sure the rubber line for the vent was still connected.  It was so there was probably a split or crack in the line allowing gas to exit the tank (as you suggested).  Two days later, I finally checked the line again inside the tank and it is now completely torn in half, probably from me wiggling the line and tearing where it was already split.  Smoking gun!
The other issue was that the spigot on the bottom of the tank for vent was not connected to the overfill line (as is common when the emissions are removed via a "T" fitting) and there is not a hose attached to the spigot either.  This allows gas to run all over the back of the bike.

Thanks again,
Blue

I was calling local autopart stores for replacement submersible fuel line and one has 1/4" line that is used inside snowmobile gas tanks.  He described it as clear/yellow Tygon type fuel line.  Does this sound like it would work?  I am planning on picking up a foot of line as it is only $3.00 per foot.
Any thoughts on this?

These guys have the 1/4" Tygon fuel grade hose for $1.85/ft.

http://www.hoseline.net/hose/fgpvc.htm (http://www.hoseline.net/hose/fgpvc.htm)

Tygon should work.

are the 2 overflow hoses under the tank necessary to have?  I mean providing nothing gets overfilled up top and there are no split or cracked hoses inside the tank, I really don't see the need in having them.  I've removed mine to clear up the clutter of hose and have had no problems.

As long as fuel doesn't flow out and on to the hot exhaust...

You can use a y connector and have one hose headed down.

+ 1 on the Y connector:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#barbed-tube-fittings/=6cjeii (http://www.mcmaster.com/#barbed-tube-fittings/=6cjeii)

hmmmmm, hot exhaust.  Never considered that since my pipes have header wrap.

I am happy to report that my repair was a success.  I bought yellow 1/4" tygon fuel line that can be submersed in fuel.  My local autoparts store sells this line mostly to snowmobile enthusiasts. 
I posted my repair in the Tutorials section: Removing and refitting the gas tank filler cap (2000 M900 ie) (http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=36513.msg640946#msg640946)

As for whether the lines should be there or not.  In my experience, when the bike was on its side stand, the fuel would pour on the rear header causing a sizzling sound.  Had my bike been really hot (I started and rode to the gas station first and it was about 45 degrees) it could have been a different and sad story.  I added another line for the gas tank vent instead of a "T" for troubleshooting purposes.