okay Y'all...I got one for ya

[iba1990]

Okay Y'all...I got one for ya. I would like to say that I was an Auto/Truck mechanic for 36 years...Heavy line like engines, transmissions, differentials & other general repairs...almost everything mechanical on cars. I have worked for an automotive warranty company for the last 14 years. So, you say, where is this going? Right? Well, yesterday I rode the valk home from work, about 22 miles rode into my garage & turned off the ignition. While taking off my helmet & gloves I heard a violent gurgling noise. I said to myself, what the Heck is that? It was coming from the fuel tank. I asked myself if I should open it & look in or not. I did...open the fuel tank & saw the gasoling boiling...REALLY...boiling. I closed the tank cap immediately. Then I asked myself what would cause that? And, should iI ride it out of the garage in fear of burning down the house or blowing up the neighborhood. In ALL my years of working on cars & trucks & listening to about 100 phone calls a day for 14 yeas by people with one kind of mechanical failure or another I have never heard of this problem. All the techs that I work with at work are ASE Master Certified auto techs as well as me. None of them have ever heard of this kind of occurance either. I checked on it 15 minutes later & it was still boiling. I was going to take a large fan into the garage to help cool it down But decided not to becaus of the sparks that fly off electric motors. Later I checked on it & it had stopped boiling. I fired it up & it seemed fine. So, I rode it to work today & at about 4:40 AM this morning it stalled on me. I rolled safely off the road & turned the ignition key off. Looked inside the tank & it was way up. I turned the key on to the run position but not to the start position & I could not hear the fuel pump running. I have been hearing it ever since I bought the bike two weeks ago today. It would not start. So, a friend that I ride to work with let me ride her on her REBEL 250 to the one mile to work.Later this morning my boss drove me to the bike & it started right up. I rode it to work then had it towed to a bike repair facility & it is there now. So has ANYONE ever heard of this happening??? The fuel pump would really have to be super hot to boil the fuel...right??? Pretty long...eh???

[fudgie]

Well you lost me at fuel pump.  Gravity/vac feed fuel. Did you top the tank off recently? I know when HD's fuel up and then set in the sun they will leak fuel.  As far as boiling, I figure gas would ignite before it would boil. Its got a lower flash point of water, if I remember right. Have you had tank off recently and kinked a vent line? 

[Tundra]

Fuel pump??? Valkyrie???  Gravity fed, vacuum operated petcock diaphram. Maybe this bike has been modified?

[kickstand]

Do you have a belly tank? Could the fuel pump be blowing air into the tank so it would look like it was boiling

[Momz]

Dude,....Valks don't have fuel pumps!
Now ya might if ta got a belly tank or you have a supercharged and fuel injected motor.
You may have a problem with your petcock or an overflow problem that might be traced to your airbox.

[R J]

Does this happen to be a Gold Wing?

There was certain years the fuel pump laid about 3" from the exhaust pipe.

It would boil the gas and cause a vapor lock.

As soon as the gas cooled it would restart.

I had a 86 Gold Wing I think it was, the SEi, which was a fuel injection job.

It did that same thing.

My daughter rode with me then.

I got here a 10,000 shot water gun, and when it stumbled, I told her to start shooting water on the pump.

The worst place we had trouble was middle/central Florida.

Instead of traveling in the hot of the day, we slept in till the Motel told us we had to leave, then rode very easy till dark and then hauled butt for home.

Once the daughter had used any or all of her water we stopped and reloaded....

I think I still have the gun here at the house somewhere............

[iba1990]

Hey...It has been modified with a belly tank & a fuel pump. It may have been air but I cannot figure out why. It probably was NOT boiling because I did not smell gas fumes. Gasoline can boil without igniting but the fumes get heavy fast & hang towards the ground. It would then take a spark or flame to ignite it with the proper amount of oxygen. It was a HOT day for the Denver area. The shop I have it at has not been able to check it out yet...maybe tomorrow or Friday they say. There goes my IRON BUTT ride this week end. Oh Well! I have never run into this problem before. VERY STRANGE to say the least. I hope you all have a nice Labor Day week-end. Ride Safe. IBA 1990 tommy t.

[Daniel Meyer]

If you have a belly tank I'd guess you have a venting problem. Contact R&M and ask them what to check and how to properly operate.

http://www.rmworksinc.com/index.html

[Dogg]

I agree with
Daniel. since you have a belly tank, vent or fill tube is plugged or kinked and the tank wont fill up as fast s it should, giving you the bioiling effect. air coming up outa the belly tank...

[98 T]

I have a belly tank and right after I had it installed I had a problem with a "gurgling" noise from the tank sometimes.... I figured it to be air pockets or something... 'cause when I filled it at a gas station, you could fill it up and it would "gurgle" down several times and I could always get more gas in.

Once it only took about 2.5 gallons at a gas stop but I was on reserve at 90 miles and at the next stop it took over 7 gallons... so I guessed it had a HUGE air pocket or bubble in it that trapped the gas in the top tank and air in the lower?

About a year later I discovered (with Roger's long distance help) that he forgot to reverse the diaphram on the petcock and take out the spring and barrel inside.  Once that was done it stopped the vacuum issues.  The tank fills like normal... there is no bubbling any more.

Maybe there is some venting issue related to the petcock or reserve lines that are causing air to blow into your tank?  Boiling sounds scary and I can't figure how it could get hot enough... but air blowing or bubbling around in there might be what you saw/ heard??

I better stress here... I'm NOT a mechanic, just had a little experience with venting, petcocks, and belly tanks.

98 T

[iba1990]

I have been doing a lot of research on this problem now & I think I can fix the problem. Is the fuel pump supposed to be "Extremely Noisy?" On cars it would be no. I think I need a new fuel pump & need to take it all apart & start over & make sure it was installed correctly. That is a BIG problem when you buy a used vehicle that someone else has modified. I have all week-end to work on it, HOWEVER, the repair shop where the bike is has not called me as of yet. They promised to call me yesterday & they did not...SUPRISE, SUPRISE!!!  I have a root canal appointment with my dentist after work today & I may not be able to get to the shop to collect the Valk today. Maybe tomorrow. Hopefully. I pulled all the installion instructions off line so I will check it out step by step. By the way, is the fuel pump in the tank or is it outside??? I did not see any info on that...Oh well!!! I will have lots of time to
figure it out & work on it. I hope everyone enjoys their week-end. Ride Safe. IBA 1990 tommy t

[RLD]

The pump is noisy. It rattles like a ball bearing in a heavy can. I contacted R&M and this is normal. I believe the pump is on the outside, in front of the tank. I would agree that it is a venting issue. If the gas was boiling, you wouldn't be holding your legs against it while riding, guaranteed! Call R&M. They seem like very decent people. Pull the petcock and double check the mod was done properly. The instructions are on their website. Good luck!!

[iba1990]

Called shop to find out what they found out & they said one tech rode it 20 miles with no problem found. His boss called me & said he personally rode it 100 miles in traffic & could not duplicate the problem. WOW!!! Maybe I was dreaming when it stalled on me & would not restart till it cooled off. Typical fuel pump problem. This will happen a couple of times then it will go out permanently. So, I guess I won't plan any long trips & also not get on a freeway. DANG!!! I did not get out of the dentist' office till 5:00 PM so I could not go get it today. Maybe tomorrow...maybe not. Thanks to everyone who replied. I learned a lot about this belly tank thing. Still have a lot more to learn also. I am going to take it down one piece at a time till I figure it out. I like the idea of 3.5 extra gallons. I hate stopping on long timed events. But getting off the bike & stretching the old legs is nice too. Enjoy your week-end everyone. IBA 1990 tommy t