Fuel hose rotted through after 5 months

[Nipedley]

Hi guys,

I fitted replacement fuel hose about 5, 5 and a half months ago. It was the 'Cotton overbraid nitrile rubber fuel hose' type that seems to be plastered all over eBay and Amazon

Came out to the bike yesterday morning to a strong smell of petrol, as soon as I moved the bike I saw petrol streaming down the side engine cover.

The fuel hose ends have split and the cracks you can see run all the way through the hose, even the end connected at the fuel tap under the clamp which hasn't been moved since it was fitted exhibits the same cracks

Is this a common thing with this type of fuel hose, and is there a different kind I should be fitting? My concern is that on my bike (a GS500) the tank petcock has two outlets that are very close together, a larger reinforced fuel hose wouldn't fit on both the two outlets unless I blanked one off, any idea how I would go about doing that also?

Thanks Glad I noticed this and didn't manage to start a fire. I think 5 months for a fuel hose to last is pretty shocking.

[RhynoCZ]

I'm pretty sure you have used wrong hose OR extreme amount of ethanol.

Go to your local parts dealer and ask for a FUEL line/hose this time.
____________________
'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[Nipedley]

Hey there,

I wish that were true but the hose was bought from a 'reputable ebay member', I'm looking at the listing right now, and this same hose is for sale everywhere on ebay - cotton braided fuel hose.

"Application:

Fuel hose Suitable for Unleaded Petrol, Leaded Petrol and Diesel Fuel

NOT FOR BIO FUEL.

Product Description:

POLYESTER OVERBRAIDED FUEL TUBING"

Only used regular fuel, this is only a little GS500, Tesco or Shell's regular unleaded, not the premium stuff

[Aff]

Does it state what ISO/BS/DIN standard it is?

If it isn't the most recent then the high ethanol will kill it.

Or its just a cheap copy.
____________________
Current Bikes:Honda 929RR Fireblade, Honda CD200 Benly (Project), Stomp Z2 140
Electric Bike Project

[RhynoCZ]

I use these https://www.garance-slavicin.cz/fotky11666/fotos/_vyr_656P5250291.jpg Never had a problem. I can guarantee it worked 3 years in the GPz I had, 2 years in the NC27 and now I've got the same line in the ZXR. Just look at the picture and get the same hose.
____________________
'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor

[Nipedley]

It says "Type B DIN 73379", is there a high ethanol content in regular unleaded fuel? Just this one listing for the size I need (7mm) has 1,200 sold on eBay, I'm wondering if I got a bad one or there will be a lot of rotted fuel pipes in the next year.

That fuel hose you linked the image of looks pretty sturdy, only thing is I don't think it'd fit onto both of my tank petcock outlets, any tips on how to blank one of the outlets off?

[RhynoCZ]

[wilz1234]

[Nipedley]

Hey there,

Not unless Tesco/Shell Regular Unleaded is E85, as that's literally the only places I've filled up in the last 5 or 6 months.

My bike is a GS500 and there is a tank petcock with the regular and reserve outlets on it which both run to a fuel tap which then has the vacuum line, the normal and reserve outlets are very close so thick fuel line doesn't fit onto both the outlets together as there's no clearance between them left. The braided fuel hose (the one in question) was a serious struggle to fit on and the listing says the OD is 12mm, I found a hose that looked similar to the one you linked which says the OD was 13mm, so no way it'd fit onto both outlets unfortunately unless I blanked one off

I'm happy to do that (If you don't fill up through reserve you're screwed anyway) but not sure how to go about it

[doggone]

It is a bit concerning if increased ethanol is doing nasty things to fuel lines up and down the land.
At least on bikes you usually see or smell something before you would in a car.

It reminded me of a landrover we had where the fuel pipes mysteriously rotted away at less than a year old - there is some rubbish out there.

[RhynoCZ]

[mentalboy]

[YBR Ric]

[Nipedley]

Sounds like they should be marked 'not for road use' then if regular fuel has ethanol in :S The amount they've sold is worrying if they are all going to do this.

Literally two days before I noticed my starter motor cover bolts had come loose, if I hadn't fixed that, and hadn't noticed the fuel streaming down that side of the engine, well it's best not to think about.

I'm going to stop in my local Suzuki dealership/garage later and see what they have available

[Nipedley]

I've found some decent looking fuel hose online but the outside diameter is way too big for me to fit two of them together on my GS500 (normal & reserve outlets)

Does anyone have any tips on how to blank off one of the tank's outlet's? I am removing the tank petcock anyway to give the tank a clean

https://store03.prostores.com/peakmoto/media/10/a2079171319c5ba5f646ab_m.JPG

[jeddy11]

Temperatures can affect rubber fuel lines but i can't see our temperatures causing that as a bove ethonol or alchohols will cause that..
____________________
Fuelly My Z1000SX
cbt 06/08/11 mod1 (second go) 01/08/12 mod2 21/09/12
Varadero Viking YBR125>Varadero125>ER6F>Z1000SX !!!

[lihp]

Wow, all these scare mongering rumours with regards to ethanol are pretty inaccurate.

Unleaded pump fuel is only allowed to be up to 5% ethanol (E5) without being labelled, they're looking to bring in E10 to the UK, so 10% Ethanol, but it's still pretty uncommon.

Regardless, if the pump does not have the E# on it, then it is 5% or less Ethanol.

Still, despite this, people seem quick to blame ethanol for any fuel related issues, the fact that you replaced this hose and it has failed, and the fact that it is the ends that have failed, if this has been corroded then there will be evidence of this throughout the complete line.

My guess is that if the ends of your hose have split, they have been cut poorly, probably with pliers, or side cutters, or something blunt that has squashed the hose while cutting, causing small fractures, that over time have failed.

Use a proper hose/tube cutter, or a very sharp blade to do it without squashing the hose.

Sorry, but this is most likely installation error than OMGZ EU DESTROYED MY BIKEZZZZZZZZ issue.
____________________
covent.gardens: lihp is my most favourite member ever

[Nipedley]

Sorry but I said in my first posts that the cracks were evident throughout the whole fuel line. I cut the lines with a sharp blade, slicing through them cleanly and not squashing.

Just picked up some OEM hose from the local Suzuki dealer, hopefully sort this out for good. I'm going to buy some SAE J30 R9 hose for my other bike as I also replaced that one's hose with one from the same seller of the same type as this one that failed on me

[lihp]

My apologies, I skim read the posts and didn't look at the photos.

It looks like a poor quality hose/poorly stored too, rather than ethanol being at play.
____________________
covent.gardens: lihp is my most favourite member ever

[Nipedley]

It sounds like this hose is just cheap tat, I emailed the supplier (again, the supposedly reputable British company) and all they were interested in was whether I was going to buy a better hose from them to replace it, so they won't be getting my business again

[Aff]

[mentalboy]

[stinkwheel]

The solution is silicone hose. It wont melt either.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.