Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech First Ride on 2007 Speedmaster and.....

Hi Folks. Just got the bikes ready and insured as of yesterday. Been itching to take out the Speedmaster that we purchased new in Oct/09. As many of you may know, we've been busy all winter adding saddlebags, Clearview Summer Shield, brake light modulator, knee pads, and headlight modulator.

So, on my first run, with about 87 km on the tank, the bike acts like its running out of fuel. I was on a country road, so pulling over wasn't an issue as I couldn't find the petcock to turn it to reserve in time.

With the engine now dead, I cracked open the fuel cap, and I never heard any air rush in. I wear a full face helmet, so I figured that could have been it. The engine didn't want to start after a couple of tries, so I figured I'd use reserve. The engine started after a couple cranks. I turned the petcock back to ON.

The engine ran fine for the next 8 km or so, but figured I'd fill up with fuel. I only put in 7.5 litres out of 16.

When I had the tank off last month, I was very careful not to pinch the air/vent line to the tank. This machine also has California emissions and only has 100 km (62 miles) on it.

I think I'd like to try this again before looking at anything. The fuel was put in by the dealer last October, and fuel stabilizer was put it when we purchased the bike. However, the bike was on display for two months before we bought it.

Any thoughts appreciated.

H.

Tip-over valve that vents the tank, Not a biggie. Some graphite powder into the valve sould fix it. My dealer replaced 3 on mine, then I took it off and threw it away. No more problems.

Thanks for the reply.

Do you have to remove the valve to put in some graphite powder? I've never heard of this.

Thanks,
H.

My tip over valve seized on me also when I was between no where and some other place of insignificance. To check, just disconnect the tube that connects to your tank and see what happens. Personally I think they are a breakdown waiting to happen, but maybe 3 out of 5 are reliable. Lol

Hi Guys. Just trying to understand the reasoning here. How did you conclude it was the tip-over valve and not anything else? Was it because I had used half a tank of fuel before the bike was fuel starved?

H.

The diagnosis is due to the way your engine quit.

The tip over valve is situated in the tank vent circuit which is designed to prevent fuel from flowing out of the tank vent hose if the bike ends up on it's side. It sometimes sticks and prevents the fuel tank from breathing. It is situated between the carbs.

Before you condemn it, take your bike out for a drive again. Leave your petcock in the run position. If the bike stalls again or feels like it is starving for fuel, crack the fill cap open and note any difference. Any difference indicates a problem with a blockage in the vent hose, tip over valve, debris in the outlet of the hose or even possibly (but not likely) a plugged vent tube from the tank. If you pull the vent line off the fuel tank, you should be able to lightly blow through the hose both ways. A lot of fellows simply pull the valve out of the circuit or install a fuel cap with a built in breather.

Hi Folks. I've done some checking, and I'm still a little confused.

1. Fuel cap. If I shake it, I hear the valve freely 'clicking'.

2. Fuel vent line. This vent line wasn't kinked in any way.

3. I pulled the vent line from the tank, and I was able to blow into it freely, but not suck any air up. This might be the problem, I guess. This bike has California emissions, so I'm not sure if this supposed to be the case with the engine off.

4. I found the rollover valve and removed it. It resides in a clip and it isn't perpendicular... it leans a bit forward. Nothing I can do about that.

5. The valve rattles as I shake it. I was able to blow through the valve in both directions, but only under very light pressure. Higher pressure would close the valve. I guess that's normal. The valve is very sensitive. If it's a bit off centre, it would 'activate' and close off. It was definitely not sticking.

So, I put everything back together.

I rode 70 km (45 miles) on a full tank without problems today. That was before I did all these checks.

I am assuming that since the valve isn't perpendicular, this could be the problem. This is pretty disappointing on a brand new machine.

Words of wisdom appreciated. Thanks.

EDIT: I'm half in mind to yank this valve out if this happens again. Having an engine cut out on the highway is more of a problem for me than a rollover valve that may or may not work should I lay the bike down.

I'm not sure about the comment on getting a vented fuel cap if I remove the rollover valve. The tank is still vented using the same line without the valve, so shouldn't the original cap work OK?

Thanks,
H.

The original cap should work. I remember reading a long time ago that some had problems with their tip-over valves because they were installed at an angle.

If it is fixed now, don't go any furthur. You now know how to resolve the problem in the event it happens in the future.

Thanks Everyone for the help!

Yup, I know what's up now. I rode the bike about 50 km (30 miles) tonight, and it ran flawlessly. YIPPEE!!

My .02 is that this bike is now three years old. It was built in March/07. Even though the bike is brand new, it sat in a crate until August/09 when the dealer assembled it. We bought it in Oct/09. So, with all this sitting around, I think that the rollover valve just got stuck.

I'll keep an eye on it, but when I take it in for the 800 km first service I will let the dealer know what happened, and see what they do.

I'm planning a day out on Saturday for about 300 km. We'll see how it goes.



EDIT: Just did a 311 km trip today and the bike behaved flawlessly. No issues what so ever with fuel delivery. However, I now know that it is easy to get extra fuel in the vent hole/hoses/rollover valve/evap canisters as fuel is put into the tank.

Fuel economy on the last two tanks is 60 and 57 Imp. MPG. I'm very pleased especially since the bike only has 585 km (363 miles) on it. That's mostly highway mileage.

H.