New Buddy 125 with metal gas tank - FYI

BigColdMartini · Post by **BigColdMartini** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 10:54 pm

We just picked up our new Buddy 125 from East Side Scooters in Nashville yesterday and the owner gave me a tip regarding the new metal gas tanks that are now being used. He said that with the older plastic tanks the walls of the tank could expand and contract as the gas vapors changed. However, with the new metal tanks the Buddy could develop a vapor lock and thereby lose performance or even stall. He suggested I drill a 1/16 inch hole in the bottom and top of the gas cap to allow proper venting.

I went ahead and did this when I got the Buddy home and hope that this will prevent any vapor lock problems. We live in a hot and humid area so I'm sure that a vapor lock would be a real possibility.

Perkussion · Post by **Perkussion** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 11:07 pm

Do you store your helmet under the seat when not in use?

If so, I would be curious to know if the helmet picks up a gasoline odor
after a while.

I haven't had a stall problem after the PGO or dealer-filled tankful was used up
but I don't know if it was really caused by vapor lock or not.

I want to drill holes as suggested but I don't want my helmet to smell like gas.

Has anyone done this and if so what were the results on things you store under the seat?

justscooten · Post by **justscooten** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 11:20 pm

i really dont think that the hole is needed it should be vented anyway if not i still dont think it would be a problem my old yamaha qt50 had a metal tank and had no probs. the temp changed would have to be great from high to low and fast.

anndelise · Post by **anndelise** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 11:33 pm

i don't know anything about vapor lock, but i was wondering if it could be prevented if as part of the pre-ride check, if you unscrew and lift off the gas cap and then put it back on (allowing any current vapors to be released)??

Ronin · Post by **Ronin** » Sun Jun 22, 2008 11:51 pm

This is a known issue that many of us have unfortunately experienced. Genuine had instructed my dealer to drill the holes mentioned when I had taken the scoot in with a similar issue.

The full thread of this issue can be seen here.

viewtopic.php?t=4628&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

edit: FYI - I store my helmet in the pet carrier and haven't had a noticable gas odor on it yet. It's been a few weeks now.

robtaylor · Post by **robtaylor** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 12:08 am

the tank is vented but the vent is apparently in the wrong place, i've also heard of gas leaking out of the vent when you fill the tank too full or tilt the bike too much for too long.

sotied · Post by **sotied** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 12:48 am

As people have mentioned, this has been covered in a different thread.

I was the first person to drill...I mean somebody broke into my basement and drilled two holes in my gas cap.

The understorage area has not smelled like gas. There has been no dripping. And there has been no stalling.

Here's the photo link. The burglar said to drill the holes in different areas so that only vapor and not gas is allowed to escape.

sotied wrote:
pocphil wrote:I might be inclined to drill a very small hole in the bottom of my gas cap (metal gas caps only) on the inner round surface adjacent to one of the tabs that interfaces the cut-outs in the filler neck. I might be inclined to make sure that I didn't drill that hole all the way through the gas cap and out the top.

I might then flip the gas cap over and drill in from the side where your thumb leverages the cap to make it tight. In theory this would keep any gas splashing around inside your tank from going straight out the hole and any that splashed into the inner cavity of the hollow (now ventilated) gas cap would drain out the hole you just made in the bottom.
I found a masked man who would only answer to the name Cheese Rider. He took these photos from his lapel camera when he infiltrated the gas-cap-modification base.

He said it was a three-minute job and now his scoot is more torquey and his mind is at ease.

Photos are only here as hypotheticals....

*edit* photos added

anndelise · Post by **anndelise** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 2:44 am

did the burgler drilling those holes affect your warranty?

SA_Pamploma · Post by **SA_Pamploma** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 3:24 am

I have 300 miles on my pamploma 150....it has stalled 3 times...twice in one day, about 10 minutes apart...then another day....all occurred during the hottest part of the day...the first and last time it happened, I quickly pulled over and opened the tank to listened for pressure..I did not hear any...the second time it happened, I kept moving the throttle and it came back to life...the sale guy mentioned drilling the hole in the cap...I will try it this week to see if the problem goes away...

Joel

OKBubbles · Post by **OKBubbles** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 3:30 am

When we gathered at our local scooter shop last Thursday for the regular dinner ride, someone noticed a drip coming from my scooter. Upon determining that the drip was gasoline, I grabbed one of the mechanics, who took a look and told me this was a regular issue they had been dealing with, and that he now drilled the holes in ALL new Buddys before they went on the sales floor. I took mine in the next day, he did the fix -- no charge -- and I was on my way. Took maybe 15 minutes.

runtotorun121 · Post by **runtotorun121** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 4:04 am

I know this is probably a stupid question, but I am under the impression there are gas caps having some kind of venting mechanism in them, and if this is the case why isn't Genuine just getting a freakin' gas cap that will work appropriately on the tanks and then sending them out to all '08 owners free of charge???

Hmmm. . .is that rhetorical since they haven't gotten around to making a few corrections to the Owners' Manuals so they make sense?

voodoosix · Post by **voodoosix** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 10:23 am

my Malaguti has a vent hole in the top of the cap (that way from the factory)- ive had no gas smell ever.

sotied · Post by **sotied** » Mon Jun 23, 2008 12:57 pm

anndelise wrote:did the burgler drilling those holes affect your warranty?

From what everyone has said in the other post and elsewhere, Genuine knows of the issue and is instructing dealers to drill holes just like the burglar did to my tank cap.

I'll be headed down to RI for my first service this Thursday and will maybe explore the issue verbally with the mechanic before letting him see the cap.

I'm guessing it won't hurt things, but one area I'm definitely going to have him glance at is the fuel vapor recovery area.