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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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#77 ·
Thanks for this valuable info. My 02 had wear on the outer cover of one line so I put a couple of rubber lined "P" clips on them and fastened them down with the allen screws on the covers. Unfortunately, sod's law took over and I dropped an allen key. It went between the fuel tank and the metal front cover, of all places! I suppose I'll now have to remove the fuel tank to get it out. Quite a job unless I can just loosen it and fish around with a magnet.
 
#80 ·
theo said:
Did anyone of y'all ever think off getting another brand of bike without all this trouble?
I sold mu H_D and got me a honda: no more problems for me :kaz:
Yea but, its still a honda :yak:

AJ
 
#81 ·
theo said:
Did anyone of y'all ever think off getting another brand of bike without all this trouble?
I sold my H-D and got me a honda: no more problems for me :kaz:
Funny. I sold my Honda and got the V-Rod! Both are good bikes, but it had a few issues as well. It's nice to have choices..... :ride:
 
#84 ·
Ricky G. said:
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 ....
Thanks for the chuckle...
 
#88 ·
i liked my h-d too, but didn't like the probs, and now i have a modern engine with double the power of my h-d wich was double the price of my honda, and the engine of h-d has been the same for more than 40 years, except for the v-rod, but that in fact is a german engine, so not realy h-d.
And shure: there is the choice, and i sold mine, but to be honoust: i got a fairly good price, one of the advantages of selling a h-d.
i didn't even had to spend all of the money to get a brand new fireblade with 172 horses. :D
 
#89 ·
theo said:
i liked my h-d too, but didn't like the probs, and now i have a modern engine with double the power of my h-d wich was double the price of my honda, and the engine of h-d has been the same for more than 40 years, except for the v-rod, but that in fact is a german engine, so not realy h-d.
And shure: there is the choice, and i sold mine, but to be honoust: i got a fairly good price, one of the advantages of selling a h-d.
i didn't even had to spend all of the money to get a brand new fireblade with 172 horses. :D
You mention problems but are not specific, you mention 40 year old engine except the v-rod and yet this is really a v-rod only site. You compare a fireblade to a v-rod, since I own a blade I can tell you it is a completely different kind of bike. You get 172 hp out of your blade, wow they average about 146 you must have a killer blade. Sounds like your full of it.

There is nothing wrong with product loyalty however just because you decided you wanted a different kind of bike doesn't make the v-rod bad. I think that you hanging around here proves that even you feel as though you may have made a mistake getting rid of the v-rod.
 
#90 ·
#91 ·
sxrxrnr I think you missed the point of his post. While I really like my blade and ride it often and I have an 04 just like yourself there is no way the blade and a v-rod are even in the same class of bikes. I also never refer to crank ratings since they just aren't real.
 
#92 ·
Max said:
sxrxrnr I think you missed the point of his post. While I really like my blade and ride it often and I have an 04 just like yourself there is no way the blade and a v-rod are even in the same class of bikes. I also never refer to crank ratings since they just aren't real.
True Max, ask any guy and he'll tell you his crank is bigger than it really is. :laugh:
 
#94 ·
Max said:
sxrxrnr I think you missed the point of his post. While I really like my blade and ride it often and I have an 04 just like yourself there is no way the blade and a v-rod are even in the same class of bikes. I also never refer to crank ratings since they just aren't real.
I did not mean to say the bikes were even close in being the same, they both have their reasons for loving and or hating, that is why we have one of each. Also my point on crank horsepower was the man(Theo) who said 170 hp on the 1000RR was not full of it, he had gotten his info from legitimate sources. I agree with you that rear wheel hp is what makes the ground move under your wheels.

One serious reservation that I have had with the 1000RR was their moronic lack of turn signal auto cancelling. I just installed this device on mine(of course had to tear the whole front end of the bike off to do so and was quite a task for me in my first adventure into the Japanese mind on bike building). I like it a lot except for one pitfall that you do not discover until you install and use it. If you pursue this, post me and I will give you the details on the pitfall that is not discussed in the marketing. Perhaps you will be able to click and read this link that I posted on the 1000RR website that covers the installation of this device.

http://1000rr.com/ipw-web/bulletin/bb/viewtopic.php?p=34641&highlight=#34641

Here is the link to the Kriss site(they build the device).
http://www.kriss.com/tscancel.htm

I like the product very much. I have found myself several times on the 1000RR after making a turn and 2 miles later the turn signal would still be flashing--very dangerous and embarrasing--. The reason is that I ride the HD a few days, get spoiled and then would forget the Honda was different. This device solves that at a low cost.
 
#95 · (Edited)
Well I checked my 2002, it has worn through the braid on the bottom, seems that the bolt is doing the damage, the other one is so tight that I cannot get a good look under it but the little twist I can do of it is seems fine. I am bringing it in tomorrow for a check up, Is this covered under the Extended Warranty? I will mention it to the supervisor, although this is my first time dealing with this dealer I will see how they handle it. Will keep you posted.
Well within two days this forum has not only Paid off monetarily (saving me $70.00 on the install of my belt guards by telling me just how easy it is) but now perhaps saving me, my lap my hospital stay and my bike in the future by showing me something I had no idea was there and would have never looked for.
Thanx again
DMC
 
#97 ·
luxlamf said:
Well within two days this forum has not only Paid off monetarily (saving me $70.00 on the install of my belt guards by telling me just how easy it is) but now perhaps saving me, my lap my hospital stay and my bike in the future by showing me something I had no idea was there and would have never looked for.
Thanx again
DMC
Perhaps a contribution to the forum is in order?
 
#99 ·
Well I went to the dealer, he claims the the engine is rubber mounted so that vibration is normal. What? Said that its normal. Its normal that my gas line is wearing out. Excellent, I will be getting some hose and zip ties today. Also claimed my pipe and fuel are noy Syned $200 for up date and move a modual. WOnder if I wait till I change pipes and get Gils box take care of it myself. He said it will run a litle rougher than normal. I dont know what "Normal \" is so I am leavingh it.
 
#100 ·
Well the Fuel line took all of 6 minutes to do, found some high Temp plastic conduit left behing by the house previous owners (must have been a carpenter and electrition cuz there was lots of stuff left behind). Well I have had the bike 2 weeks now, and saved myself arguing and dollars by not depending on my "Dealers" service. I find it starnge too, when ever I bring my auto in for warranty service or otherwise I am treated like a king and after the service is done and I leave the service MGR calls me a few days later to find out how I was treated and if I was happy. Oh well I will enjoy doing things myself.
 

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