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Fuel Line Damage - WARNING

100K views 206 replies 130 participants last post by  SmokeyGold04 
#1 ·
I'm passing on this info. to make others aware of a potential serious failure mode. It only takes about 5 minutes to investigate and could save your a$$.

I smelled raw gas on Friday morning just after I got off the freeway on my way to work. I assumed it was from the old beater pickup in front of me at the light... didn't give it a second thought. Went to go for a spin at lunch, put her into neutral, turned on the key, and my left leg got soaked with gas. Upon further inspection I found that the high-pressure fuel line (approx 60 psi) had worn through due to abrasion on the connector attached to the frame on top of the rear cylinder, under the fuse block (see photo). It unnerved me a bit; I had a bad visual of my bike going up in flames while I was riding! :eek: Fortunately that didn't happen.

The best part is that I had it fixed that day. Glad I got the extended warranty! I called the dealer, they drove out to my work, picked up my bike, took the bike and me to the service department and replaced the fuel lines immediately. The whole repair took about 30 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised they had the parts in stock. Apparently, HD had them buy a bulk lot of V-rod parts and these fuel lines were included.

The new fuel lines are shaped much nicer, they are low against the cylinder head and there's plenty of room between them and the connector. In the photo, I was pushing them down to get a good view of the damage. FYI, My bike is a 2002, ser. no. ending in 801910, so it's one of the earlier ones. Perhaps they realized this problem and changed the shape of the hoses. BTW, these hoses are about $22.00 ea. Has anyone else had this or similar problem?
 

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#56 ·
Thanks for the heads up...! I have an '03 born in July, '03, I think. But, even though I've not read of someone's bike from that vintage expereincing this problem, I'll indeed look this evening and post my results. It maybe of help to all of us - and the MoCo, too, if they'll listen - to narrow this problem down to some specific manufacture dates, s/n's and so on. My personal opinion is they need to be listening to the 'web hysteria' before something worse happens... :hitfan:

If MY bike catches fire due to this after it's been reported to the MoCo...you'll all be ridin' bikes from "Fred's Motorcycle Company" when my estate gets through with 'em... :biker:
 
#57 ·
Flyin_Freddie said:
My personal opinion is they need to be listening to the 'web hysteria' before something worse happens...
You are absolutely correct in this.

Unfortunately there is a certain amount of "The little boy who cried Wolf" in this. Technical services gets hit with so many silly, frivolous complaints, that it does make it difficult for them to separate the serious issues from the ridiculous, and the widespread problems from the "one in a million" occurences.

IMHO the way this was initially reported by bikerdave should be a lesson in the right way to handle this sort of problem. Calm - but with sufficient detail that readers can examine their own bikes and decide for themselves if they need to take action on it or not. No excessive exclamation points or threats of instant death, etc.
 
#59 ·
Check my '03 Anniversary Edition...

I checked my '03 Anniversary Edition bike last night and found no chaffing or wear on the two lines depicted in the photographs. Both my fuel lines lay between the cam covers running front to back and down in the 'valley' between the cam covers, well below the hex head bolts. My bike has a July '03 manufacture date. Can't say for sure, but if there was a problem, just from looking at my bike it appears to have been fixed before 07/03.

Is there any chance someone at the assembly plant could have misrouted
the lines while mating the engine to the frame? Sorta like the ol' "Monday morning or Friday afternoon" quality control issues?
 
#61 ·
I'm glad I checked mine, There is some wear on both lines on the top and bottom. Then I also seen that my overflow hose was off and looked closer and the nipple broke off the lid of the resivor in the from right. I will be calling the dealer on these things now.

SKI, did you find anything from the MoCo yet?
 
#63 ·
My '04 with 8000 mi. is worn through the mesh in two places. One next to the coil bolt and the other toward the front near the connection to the injector tubes. Use zip ties to secure the lines and will keep my eye on them.

Thanks a bunch.

Rob
 
#64 ·
Flyin_Freddie said:
...Both my fuel lines lay between the cam covers running front to back and down in the 'valley' between the cam covers, well below the hex head bolts.
I'd bet that the hoses are supposed to be routed in this manner and if they are, there will be no problem for the life of the bike. That's what my new ones are like. As to why some fit and some don't, it may be an issue of training, or lack of detail on the manufacturing drawing for the fuel line manufacturing personnel at the MoCo or subcontractor that makes these hoses. :confused: When I saw the replacement hoses as compared to the damaged ones, they were significantly different. The new ones had a purposeful shape to them, the original ones looked "approximate". My guess is that they've changed something along the way. If the ones that are now installed from the factory are as nice as the ones I now have, they've addressed the problem and we may never hear of it again. However, if it was a problem once, it may be again. I base that on my 15+ years in manufacturing where "forever" is rarely longer than 2 years. :ithappen:
 
#66 ·
Checked my 02 20,000 miles today. No wear yet but ziptied to keep it that way. Where else would we get this kind of a heads up. thanks everybody.
 
#67 ·
This is why we have this site, to help keep each other informed. :barf: I have 378 miles on my new ride and checked it out today. fuel line is making contact with frame and connector. Zero damage because it was detected so early so I just cushioned it with some dense foam padding I have lying around and will inspect periodically. Thanks for the info that prevented immanent damage to what is fast becoming my most favorite bike ever. :D
 
#68 ·
By the way, this is the type of dangerous problem that is a real candidate for reporting to the NTSHA. If mine had actually leaked fuel I would have made the call. :blahblah:
 
#69 ·
My '02 had the same wearing as most others here, braid worn through with some wear into the hose itself. I zipped it up away from the coil bolt but am concerned about the zip strip causing wear - what do you think??
 
#70 ·
This is exactly the type of stuff one would hope for in a site such as this! Thanks for the warning. I spent the couple of minutes required and checked my '03, and found very minute indications of rubbing. Nothing worn through, so I simply added a small piece of 'sticky-back' rubber foam tape between the lower/right hose and the bolt.

This brings up another question, though. Would it be worthy to have a link (if there isn't one already) for some "must check" safety issues for our bikes? I'm sure some of the 'veterans' of this site have heard most everything and would have some great suggestions to every new V-Rod owner. Just a thought....as I'd hate to be the guy broken down on the side of the road just because I didn't check something simple like this.

Thanks again for info.
 
#72 ·
It winter --check this!!!

My '02 had definite wear, with only 3K miles on the bike. Anyone with an '02 or '03 should do this.

A cabletie looped around the wiring harness and the lines, tightened just enough to lift the lines off the coil mounting bolt, does the trick very nicely. Takes 5 minutes.

Damn, I'm tired of winter.....
 
#73 ·
Whitelighter said:
My '02 had the same wearing as most others here, braid worn through with some wear into the hose itself. I zipped it up away from the coil bolt but am concerned about the zip strip causing wear - what do you think??

Todfather and I both avoided the zip tie cure and used padding instead. if you use tie wraps be sure to cushion the contact area with tape or some other shielding so the ties dont break or wear thru what they are trying to protect.
 
#75 ·
Checked both lines ...No wear at all.....03 with 7800 miles ...Dam guys now I want to spend a little more time in the living room cleaning on it ....

Yes I said living room ....Its big enough and at least the wife can be with me in the same room ..... O well I know I have issues ....
 
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