fuel tank overflow?

ok, keeping in mind I have an 05 bandit 1200s K5....

in the morning when I have to fill up i always stop at the same BP. Most mornings after I fill up I ride between 25 and 40km's before stopping depending on work or uni.

Except, this morning I had to stop at the physio. i parked the bike on the footpath like i always do. Except this morning after the appointment (about 11am) I came out to the bike to see fuild dripping from the chain guard area. I touched it, sniffed it, and it was fuel.... weird. Before I rode off I dispersed it with some water (fire hazard). I opened the fuel tank, still full, and not a problem this arvo...

So, my theory is, tell me if I'm right or wrong...
I filled the tank to the absolute maximum (whoops). It was a cool morning. The bike sat in the sun for an hour heating up. The fuel expanded as the temp rose and started to leak out of an overflow somewhere on the bike?

If this isn't the case, then wtf?

you are correct Chips

Is the bike black ?

gus wrote:Is the bike black ?

Yes?

sounds about right to me

Send me $1 every time you fill up instead of wasting it
Is it necessary to cram every last drop in?

We have a black Triumph it does the same thing .We both fill up ,black tank heats quickly and over flows ,pink bike no problem .

gus wrote:We have a black Triumph it does the same thing .We both fill up ,black tank heats quickly and over flows ,pink bike no problem .

ah, okies, makes sense

and yes, I have to shove every last drop in. There is no excuse for the bandit to have such a small tank. I know it is big by bike standards but my gs500 had the same size tank.

No reason why suzuki couldn't fit 25-30Lt tank if they wanted....

Now we're talking .You can never have enough .

Back in the days of Proddy Endurance Racing we used to fill the tanks to the gunnels (with BP Race Fuel or Avgas 115-130) then plonk the tank into a tub of crushed ice. Just before the race lineup we would bung the tank back on the bike and top it up - the cooling always allowed an extra 3 or 4 litres to be added. This gave a real advantage in allowing us to stay out longer than the competition and thus gain distance when they pitted for fuel. One year (at Oran Park if memory serves) on a GPz900R the weather was scorching hot and during the early part of the race the ice-cold fuel warmed and expanded faster than the bike was using it. The tank swelled and the bottom sides of it lifted outward from the sidecovers - made it a bugger to swing off the sides of the seat on the corners!!

Al Fentanyl wrote:Back in the days of Proddy Endurance Racing we used to fill the tanks to the gunnels (with BP Race Fuel or Avgas 115-130) then plonk the tank into a tub of crushed ice. Just before the race lineup we would bung the tank back on the bike and top it up - the cooling always allowed an extra 3 or 4 litres to be added. This gave a real advantage in allowing us to stay out longer than the competition and thus gain distance when they pitted for fuel. One year (at Oran Park if memory serves) on a GPz900R the weather was scorching hot and during the early part of the race the ice-cold fuel warmed and expanded faster than the bike was using it. The tank swelled and the bottom sides of it lifted outward from the sidecovers - made it a bugger to swing off the sides of the seat on the corners!!

fascinating.... I mean seriously, great story.... How big were the tanks to allow for the extra 3-4L?

chips wrote:

gus wrote:We have a black Triumph it does the same thing .We both fill up ,black tank heats quickly and over flows ,pink bike no problem .

ah, okies, makes sense

and yes, I have to shove every last drop in. There is no excuse for the bandit to have such a small tank. I know it is big by bike standards but my gs500 had the same size tank.

No reason why suzuki couldn't fit 25-30Lt tank if they wanted....

Can you imagine the weight of the pig with 30lt on board!
And the front end dive would be more frightning.

I try to commute with no more than half a tank. Much better balance like that.

Repeat after me. "Must leave room for expansion, must leave room for expansion"

2wheelsagain wrote:

chips wrote:

gus wrote:We have a black Triumph it does the same thing .We both fill up ,black tank heats quickly and over flows ,pink bike no problem .

ah, okies, makes sense

and yes, I have to shove every last drop in. There is no excuse for the bandit to have such a small tank. I know it is big by bike standards but my gs500 had the same size tank.

No reason why suzuki couldn't fit 25-30Lt tank if they wanted....

Can you imagine the weight of the pig with 30lt on board!
And the front end dive would be more frightning.

I try to commute with no more than half a tank. Much better balance like that.

Meh, I weight 115kg. I have about 15-20kg of gear on the bag of the bike most days. an extra 10L/10kg of fuel ain't going to bother me. If I only every put half a tank of fuel in the bike I would be filling up every 2-3 days. As it is a full tank I can sometime push to 6-7 days but mostly I'm filling up every 5..... a fill being 14-16L. I know I could go longer but the flashing fuel light really starts to piss me off....

How big were the tanks to allow for the extra 3-4L?

Chips, IIRC, they were a 22-odd litre unit, which could be filled with a little more than that. The chilling really did make a big difference to the volume by increasing the density.... as long as you used it quick enough Kept ya nuts cool too

Anyone who used to watch the Castrol 6-hour may have seen the refuel systems or the drums of race fuel sitting in ice tubs just before pit stops.

Castrol 6 hour. Now there was a race worth watching.

The same thing happens to me. I just put up with it, or just ride the bike for 20-30km before parking it in the sun.

What is annoying is when people say, "hey you've got fluid leaking out of your bike, oh and only one headlight is working"

Kaupy1962 wrote:Castrol 6 hour. Now there was a race worth watching.

To re-live a few of those moments I bought Jim Scaysbrook's book. It is a great read and I'd recommend it to anyone. On-line or in any good bookshops as they say.

saw this on you tube & thought it`s worth a look https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u2tR6Rl_Y8 ( click on part 1 then 2 etc after this one is finished )

b12mick wrote:The same thing happens to me. I just put up with it, or just ride the bike for 20-30km before parking it in the sun.

What is annoying is when people say, "hey you've got fluid leaking out of your bike, oh and only one headlight is working"

yea, normally after filling up I have to ride 20-30 k's before stopping. This morning was different..... And yea, I'm over the one headlight thing too...

The 'one headlight' thing worked for me last year. I took the bike to a car mechanic to get the pink slip done. He said that only one headlight was working, I demonstrated that the other one is the hi-beam. He then went to the back of the bike and said that only one tail light was working, I demonstrated that the other one comes on when the brakes are applied. He passed the bike.

b12mick wrote:The 'one headlight' thing worked for me last year. I took the bike to a car mechanic to get the pink slip done. He said that only one headlight was working, I demonstrated that the other one is the hi-beam. He then went to the back of the bike and said that only one tail light was working, I demonstrated that the other one comes on when the brakes are applied. He passed the bike.

I only have one tail light at the moment but both brake working, I must get around to changing the bulb....