Silverwing Gas Odor

Hi all,

This is my first post. I purchase a 2004 Silverwing in April of this year with about 4K miles and have riden it about 500 miles so far after having the 4000 mile service done at a local Honda shop. Its been hot here in Albuquerque, NM at 5,000 ft above sea level. Bike runs great but sometimes while riding and always after parking, I get gas fumes that are pretty strong. Can find any evidence a leak. Seams to do it whether full or tank or not. Have used premium gas with each fillup. Has anyone had this problem or can anyone direct me on where to start looking?

Thank you,
Mike S.

Hello, Mike, and welcome!



I don't recall getting any smell of petrol fumes whilst on the move but invariably the garage stinks of it when I park the bike inside and close the door.

For me it's just one of those things and I don't worry about it.



Incidentally, Ed's 1150RT is just the same.

The silverwing was designed to run on regular fuel. Unless you have performed some mod on it that changes the fuel requirements, you are wasting your money on the premium fuel. I don't think it has any impact on the fuel smell after riding, but gas is expensive enough as it is without paying extra for premium fuel that won't help your performance.

It's your call...

The user manual in my 08 Silverwing specifically said to use premium fuel of 90 octane or higher, which I have always done.

As far as the odor from gas goes, I have no clue. Mine's never done that.

On many bikes, the octane rating in the owner's manual is written for the rest of the world. The USA uses a different method of calculating octane. Just look up octane rating on Wikipedia and you'll get get a good education on the subject.

The 90 rating you see in the manual is regular gas in Europe and Japan...and 87 octane regular gas in the USA.

I found a nice comparison someone else had come up with on a Triumph forum.

Quote :

This is taken from some Petro Canada literature.

Regular (octane rating 87) will typically have an RON rating of 91.
Midgrade (octane rating of 89) will typically have an RON rating of 93
Super (octane rating of 91) will typically have an RON rating of 95
Super Premium (octane rating of 94) will typically have an RON rating of 98

Back in the last century, lead was used as an anti-knock additive. What it did, was to prevent the gas from burning. Premium gas does not burn as easily as Regular gas.

As GaryL wrote, you're simply wasting your money by feeding your engine gasoline that doesn't burn as easily and costs more.

Chris

Sounds as if the problem could be in the Evap Canister system.

I have no idea how you might be able to fix a problem of that nature, but you might try to remove & replace the gas cap after you've stopped. Doing that will break the vacuum in the fuel tank if there is a vacuum still there.

If the odor problem goes away when you try that it would seem to confirm an Evap system problem.

Usually the Evap system purges the tank fumes into the Canister and from there the accumulated fumes go back into intake system.

But if there is a problem with that Evap system it may be that the fumes are exiting somewhere other than where they are supposed to go.

Remove the seat and the tool tray. That'll expose most of the intake system. Possibly you'll spot a disconnected hose of or a split hose or missing vacuum cap (if there is one on this system).

Just my two cent opinion. Hope this helps

Tim

'Normal' petrol here is 95, the posh stuff is 98 - I use 95.

Just a thought...It might be the fuel pressure bleed-back line that comes off the fuel pressure regulator and goes to the fuel tank.

Another possibility could be overfilling the tank; fuel can get in to the tank vent line and saturate the evap canister. This excess fuel will either drain a few drops through a tube on the right-mid-section of the bike, or eventually be cleared through the normal path while the motor is running.

Normally, vapor from the fuel tank goes in to the evap canister where it’s stored while the motor is off. When the bike is running the purge control valve opens and vacuum from the throttle body recycles the fumes.

If the smell does not clear up after a few rides you need to make sure that air can pass through the fuel tank vent hose, down to the evap canister, through the evap purge control valve, and last to the throttle body.

If this path becomes blocked for any reason, the fumes will not be sucked through the throttle body, collect in the canister and drain or vent to the atmosphere.

Let me add my welcome from a fellow New Mexican! I see also that you are getting some good clues regarding the gasoline odor. FWIW I use regular fuel in my Silverwing.

Thank you everyone... I will start with running reg fuel, watching not to overfill it then see if the problem persists.. I have changed some of the Tupperware (broke before purchase) so at least I have learned a little about how that is done. I was thinking of converting it to a K&N Air filter so that would give me the opportunity to inspect some vacume lines.

Be Safe..

Mike S.

The grade of gasoline will have no impact on fumes you are smelling. Overfilling could be an issue. I stop the pump when the fuel reaches the metal bar just below the filler neck.

hello nmsilverwing, did you sort out your problem with the smell of petrol, as I can smell petrol on my silverwing its a late 2010 model, any ideas?