Gas leaking from fuel drain hose [Problem Solved]

[hawangatang]

My monster 620ie keeps leaking gas through the fuel drainage hose when i fill up. It happens every time i fill up and i don't overfill or top off at all. In fact, just right now i filled it half way and it still leaks. can anyone tell me if this is a simple fix that i can do at home or do i really have to take it to a mechanic?

everything runs just fine though nothing is wrong with it. no mechanical issues at all. just the fuel draining problem. i mean if it's just a few drops it's fine but i'm talking about drainage. it's kind of embarrassing and not to mention dangerous to stop at a light and my bike is leaking gas.  

[Speeddog]

Most likely it's one of the rubber hoses that connect from the hardlines in the tank to the filler ring.

May have come unhooked or disintegrated due to sitting in stale gas for a long period of time.

How mechanically inclined are you?

[hawangatang]

on a scale of 1-10, 10 being expert... i'm probably a 3. I can do my own oil/oil filter changes, basic engine checks, installing parts etc.

I can take off the filler cap/ring and take a look. what should i be looking for?

thanks speeddog for your help, i really appreciate your prompt response. 

[Speeddog]

There's a set of *very* small set screws that hold the filler ring to the tank.

Remove the filler cap, it's the allen bolts at 12, 5, and 7 O'clock, plus the one under the cap.

See if you've got a metric allen wrench small enough for the set screws....

[hawangatang]

yup took everything off, i see that there are two hoses connected to the ring and one of them has indeed deteriorated and has a giant gash in it. I'll replace that tomorrow.

i did however, accidentally drop the bolt under the cap into the tank   don't really know how to get it out anymore...   I just went from a 3 to a 2 on my mechanical inclination scale lol

[Howie]

Try fishing with a magnet.  If the screw is steel you could get lucky.  If not, either remove the tank or buy a new screw.

[hawangatang]

Try fishing with a magnet.  If the screw is steel you could get lucky.  If not, either remove the tank or buy a new screw.

unfortunately, i think it's actually stainless steel  i'm going to have to take the tank out and shake it out...

[Howie]

unfortunately, i think it's actually stainless steel  i'm going to have to take the tank out and shake it out...

See if a magnet sticks to one that didn't fall in the tank..\

[hawangatang]

See if a magnet sticks to one that didn't fall in the tank..\

yeah it won't stick...  damn...

[Speeddog]

yeah it won't stick...  damn...

I'm pretty sure the one small screw under the cap is steel.

The top ones are stainless.

[hawangatang]

I'm pretty sure the one small screw under the cap is steel.

The top ones are stainless.

I'll definitely try the magnet fishing again. Thanks so much speeddog.

You're going to have to suck the gas out and remove the tank to fix the hose anyway.  You can get the screw then.

If you know someone that has a boat with an outboard motor/portable tanks you can use the fuel line with the pump ball to drain your tank.  You just need to take the QD fitting off the end.

Make sure the replacement fuel (vent) line you install is rated for immersion. 

Also a great time to replace your fuel filter.

I'll keep that in mind if I can't fish it out. Thanks a lot guys I'll keep updating. 

[ducpainter]

...and if you don't get the screw out don't sweat it.

It cant hurt anything.

[Ddan]

I donated a 7mm deep socket to someones tank I was working on, I haven't heard of any problems.  I just tell her the rattling is normal valve noise    

[hawangatang]

Problem fixed: like speeddog said it was the deteriorated fuel hose that was the problem. I ended up NOT buying a new hose but just snipping off a part of the original hose and reattaching it. If it ends up deteriorating more then I'm just going to have to buy a new one. Plus it wasn't hard to take off the cap/ring. I just have to be careful not to drop more bolts in there 

Thank you guys so much for your help. really appreciate it. I'm going up to Malibu, CA (Rockstore) tomorrow morning around 8 (6/3/2011) hope to see some of you up there as well!