My NEW buddy drips fuel

[bfreed]

I dont like this statement at all, what happened back then to a certain bike was pure accident, anyone would just assume it was bad gas/vapor lock and try turning the bike on again, it's just human nature. If I would have known it was oil originally, of course I wouldnt have started the motor on the bike. But I think bringing this event back into discussion to help defend yourself is very childish when it has absolutely nothing to do with the matter. Also, my age has nothing to do with this topic, so just because I may be much younger than most members, it doesnt mean I dont have common sense.

+1!!!

Come on, man, that was clearly a low blow. I've read the other thread before, and
1) When someone burns an engine up, that's enough injury without Monday morning quarterbacking
2) jfrost explained the situation quite well. To phrase it "he starts motors without oil to see where the leak is" implies that they knew there WAS an oil leak, which was NOT the case - if you want to bring up a really old mistake to go after credibility, please at least phrase it accurately

I'm not interested in getting into a war of words - late night, we all get cranky. Let's just let this thing drop here, ok?
I'm with illnoise - there's no point in hammering on this thing anymore.

EPA mandate>>Vapor Recovery hose
Overfill Fuel Tank>>submerge hose>>Vapor Lock>>stall.

It's not rocket science.

[illnoise]

(Argumentative git role off, moderator role on:)

That personal attack was entirely uncalled for. We all make mistakes, and there's no reason a 17-year-old is any less qualified than anyone else, in fact, Daniel Rieke at Sportique was arguably the best scooter mechanic in America well before he was old enough to drink.

[kziemer]

I had some leaking gas today (same place as everyone else). Curious if the tank was too full, I measured to see how much room was left. I had 1.75" from the neck of gas entrance (2.75" from where the cap screws on). Is this too full? According to the manual it isn't. Anyone know how much room you have to leave (and how big this ends up making the gas tank)? I only put 1 gallon in (it was close to being empty).

[SarahScoot]

Kziemer, did you buy your Buddy at Ducati? If so, you may just want to take it in there. Mine was leaking gas directly onto the exhaust (smoking, funny smells) on Wednesday, and I took advantage of my free roadside assistance to have the Buddy picked up from work and taken the couple miles to Ducati. They said it was definitely warranty work, and when I went to pick it up today it didn't cost a dime. They worked on the problem with a seal on the fuel line near the carburetor, and put on the new gas cap that everyone's talked about. Also said Genuine is aware of the problem. Some people don't think it's dangerous, but I just wasn't that comfortable seeing so much fuel dripping onto my hot exhaust pipe... plus, gas is too expensive to be wasting it like that!

[runtotorun121]

I had some leaking gas today (same place as everyone else). Curious if the tank was too full, I measured to see how much room was left. I had 1.75" from the neck of gas entrance (2.75" from where the cap screws on). Is this too full? According to the manual it isn't. Anyone know how much room you have to leave (and how big this ends up making the gas tank)? I only put 1 gallon in (it was close to being empty).

Very good question, and I am waiting to hear what everyone has to say about this since there has been a lot of assertion that the problem may be operator malfunction.

[ericalm]

I had some leaking gas today (same place as everyone else). Curious if the tank was too full, I measured to see how much room was left. I had 1.75" from the neck of gas entrance (2.75" from where the cap screws on). Is this too full? According to the manual it isn't. Anyone know how much room you have to leave (and how big this ends up making the gas tank)? I only put 1 gallon in (it was close to being empty).

How full was the tank when you originally filled it? If the tank is overfilled to begin with, it could basically force gas into places that will drip later.

I know the manuals are being updated by Genuine (not PGO!). I don't know if the manuals for the 150s were updated, though, with info specific to the new tanks. Maybe the same manuals as the 125? So the info on gas levels may not be up to date.

[BuddyRaton]

When I dripped "fuel" a shot of penicillian cleared it right up!

[kziemer]

SarahScoot - I did buy it from Ducati. Funny enough, both people I talked to there (one in the service department, one in the main shop) acted as though this was the first they have heard about it. They will be picking it up from me (I live in West Seattle) on Tuesday.

ericalm - I don't know exactly how full it was originally. Wife filled it up, but I had told her ahead of time not to fill it too full 'cause I had already read about this problem here. I haven't put any more fuel in since and it continues to do this (when starting out with 1.75" of room), so I am done riding until it gets fixed.

[ericalm]

Good to know you're working with the dealer on it. It could be due to a number of things—loose part, whatever. For some reason, a lot of people are hesitant to make use of their dealer and the warranty. For this kind of thing, they can better diagnose something like this than all of us taking stabs at it over the Net.

[kziemer]

I just wanted to give a quick update. The dealer was unable to reproduce the problem, but changed a hose clamp and put on the new vented gas cap. The problem has not occurred since (and we have refilled the tank even fuller than before... though still a little ways left to the top).

[jfrost2]

Keep the gas 1-2 inches below the neck, you've been lucky so far, but over filling still causes a form of vapor lock to occur. As long as you're vented, and keep it low, you'll be ok.