I posted this in the zx-14 forum, but thought it might be better here? IDK... anyway, here it is:

Hi guys, I just bought a 2006 ZX-14 2 weeks ago. It had 845 miles on it (now at 1215 miles) and seems to (other than this) be in pristine condition. Today, I filled the tank on my way to work. Engine was at 2 bars and had been on about 10 minutes in ~77 degree sunny weather. I usually try to fill pretty close to the top.. perhaps I went too close? Anyway, I pulled out of the station, felt something cold on my thighs and saw gas was coming out of the cap! I pulled over, got it cleaned up and put the cap back down with the bike off. I watched as the area started filling up around the gas cap and leaked.. opened it up, cleaned up, balled up some paper towel and decided that I must have just overfilled it... kept the cap open with the ball of paper towel in there and went to work, keeping it in 3rd on the freeway to hopefully burn off some excess fuel.

Get to work, clean everything a little better so my paint won't be ruined, look at the gas and it's down to what must be an acceptable level, close the cap.. same thing starts to happen. I left it open in the parking lot with the paper towel in it to block anything from getting in. What could be causing this? Clogged vents? Bad gas cap? The gasket seems to be in perfect condition.. maybe it shrank or something from the on/off sitting for a few years? I don't know the history of the bike, besides that the title is clean and it is in beautiful shape and otherwise runs perfectly. Any help is appreciated.

Any helpful advice is appreciated.

 

Got some boogers in the vents. With the heat (directly underneath) you're cooking the fuel with nowhere to go but out the top......and into your crotch!!! Not good!!

When you get home, remove and inspect the cap (guessing original equipment?) There should be a tiny vent hole (or holes) about the size of safety wire. poke some wire into the holes to clean them out. replace.

 

Are you talking in the cap itself? Or the little hole to the left of the filler hole? (I assume that's the vent?) It seems like that's what starts slowly filling up when I close the cap.

I'm assuming you mean the cap, though? I know it might be a pain, but can you describe where the holes I'm looking for are? Sounds like this is a common issue, then? I was getting worried something was wrong inside the tank with the vent line or something, lol... I'm so paranoid about getting a lemon, as I've never bought anything this close to new before and it is officially my baby. Also, not to sound too ridiculous, but what is a safety wire? What gauge would that be? Will a paperclip suffice?

Thanks!
Josh

 

I don't own a 14. Most fuel caps have a vent hole in the cap assembly and the actual indentation where the cap bolts into, in the tank. Look for any very small holes which (yes; a paper clip will likely work) to poke through and make sure there's no crud blocking the ventilation. Honestly, I don't think you have any HUGE problem; I think it's just in the venting. Sometimes, when your bike is sitting in the sun, you can even hear the tank venting...just a very faint whistling sound. You might also leave about an inch or so of space from the top of the tank to the fill level. (Actually, if your bike is leaned-over on the kickstand, even if you top it off, when you "stand it up" you should have some space remaining.) Just look for the teeny holes in the fuel cap and/or the seal/ring of the tank. Make sure if there is a gasket, the holes line up as they should. Take a look....poke the little holes....let us know. You should be fine.

 

i had a similar night mare with my ex500. Bad gasket, vent plugged as well.

Welcome aboard

 

For anyone interested, here is the rundown on what happened:

Yes, the initial suspect of the cap being clogged WAS part of the problem. One of the vents got jammed in a closed off position, leading to more problems...

Once that was jammed, it turned out that a bit of rust in the metal fuel overflow/rain overflow tube that runs through the tank from the top near the gas cap clogged the vent COMPLETELY. As was common (and a recall by Kawi) on the ZX12R units, the tube ended up cracking (or exploding, as it seems, due to the pressure of not having anyplace to release) halfway down the tank. This caused the gas to shoot out the top of the tank through that overflow hole when the fuel cap was closed and engine temps were even remotely warm/bike in sun, etc. Kawasaki REALLY needs to stop using metal overflow tubes mounted INSIDE the damn tank, as the initial fix was to grab a matching tank off of Fleabay for 350 bucks and clean the fuel cap clogs. Granted, you could probably get away with plugging the fuel overflow tube at the top and bottom, it isn't the ideal solution.

For those interested in fixing their old tank, you can do what I'm going to do. You can snip the overflow tube on the inside to cut out the bad area of pipe, use some fuel-grade polyurethane or rubber tubing with one clamp on each end. This should eliminate the possibility of the overflow tube cracking again due to vibrations, as Kawi claims (like I said, mine was from internal pressure, NOT vibrations...) as rubber gives quite a bit more than metal. The only issue with doing this is that you'll have to find someone with tiny hands that can fit through the bottom hole on the tank and even then you'll need a good bit of patience... that is one hard area to work in! Luckily, I have a petite girlfriend who could just barely get her hand in and will be able to assist... so in the end, I'll just have an excellent condition backup tank in my original Candy Thunder Blue.

Just my two cents for anyone who may run into this little nightmare!

Safe riding, guys.

 

Glad you got the issue resolved, but sorry to hear it was not so simple....