Buell overheating gas tank really Hot

[crushufg]

I have a 08 buell xb12Ss and it died on the freeway was very hot all stock bike. fuel tank was vry hot as well. I also noticed it was leaking gasAny help would be greatly appreciated?

 

[GatorBuell]

I would take it straight to the dealer. Was the fan running? Where was the gas leaking out of?

 

[crushufg]

It leaked from from under the air box cover and below the seat.. but not sure if this was coming from underneath the air cover and running down the frame. I did pull the air box cover and found a hose off that fits just below the gas cap and to the right. Not sure if this would have cause it to leak and heat up. I have made an appointment with the dealer. This was the 5th time riding it after getting it from big sky harley montana. I bought it with 1032 miles and it now has around 1300. I have not had a great experinece with big sky. "Fan does run" Big Sky told me it had its 1000 miles service done, but when I received it I have my doubts. I went ahead and bought harley syn oil and filter, changed it myself and the trans oil. The plug had shavings and the oil was real dirty black as black. It's bothering me to the point of me trading the bike even if I take a loss. I have been riding bikes since a kid now in my mid 40's and have never been lied to from a dealer.

 

[XB12ed]

That hose is the tank vent.

I agree with your findings that the 1000 mile service was most likely not completed...you did right by changing the oil.

People are people and they may have just assumed the service was done, and passed that info on to you as the gospel truth. I understand your concerns.

But, just to let you know, my '09 XB12Scg runs hot as well. The tank and exhaust side of bike seems you could roast hotdogs on them at times. My Super Glide heats up the bottom of the tank, and of course the exhuast side as well.

As far as it dieing on the freeway, the other day, I had taken my right hand off the throttle to shake it out a little, and when I put it back up, I accidently hit the ignition switch off. Could this have happened to you?

Is the check engine light on while running? If so, I would think that the bike would still be under factory warranty, and you should have the dealer check it out. By no means would I recommend you trading it yet...take a long stroll through here, and see if you can find a solution. Lots of help here.

Good luck!

 

[Stevenc150]

It leaked from from under the air box cover and below the seat.. but not sure if this was coming from underneath the air cover and running down the frame. I did pull the air box cover and found a hose off that fits just below the gas cap and to the right.

Could you have over-filled the gas tank? You're not supposed to go above that "lower neck" inside the fill hole. Seen posts where it was done and caused problems. Probabaly why it drained out the fitting, which the dealership apparently left off.

Like XB12ED said, these beasts get Freakin' HOT. As long as your fan isn't running ALL the time, like when cruising, than it's probably normal. Switching to a Fully synthetic engine/tranny fluids would drop the engine temps down some and improve shifting.

 

[crushufg]

I took it to the Buell dealer and they could not find anything wrong with it. They did remap due to a service bulletin. Gas was not overfilled in Tank. I do have synthetics in it. The problem now is that once it gets warm the fans runs quite a bit. Bike Still gets hot.

 

[Red Gecko]

I have the same problem with my 09 firebolt. The frame gets soo hot, it actually burns my leg. When i take it in, dealer says it fine. I called Harley on it, they said they have to make it run lean for new emission laws, Causing the newer bikes to run a lot hotter. Sadly if I do anything to change the ECM, the dealer says it will void my warranty.

Best thing I have found to fix the problem is use ECM spy or another form of ECM to make the bike not run lean. But this is only good if your NOT under warranty. If its under warranty, you can either break it by changing the ECM or live with it until the warranty is up.

 

[keisersozae]

I can't see you guys bikes getting as hot as they would here down in texas. we do rides in 100+ degree heat and its hot but my bike has never started to run on one cylinder because of it or not ran at all. the frame does get hot but thats something you gotta get used to. i also did the header wrap this winter and it has helped out some.

During the ROT ralley in Austin it was between 90 and 95 and my bike idled for over an hour around the parade grounds with no problems. you couldnt touch the tank but it never missed a beat.

Also I don't understand how the dealer would know you ran ECM spy. I run a race ECM in mine but I have changed the entire wiring harness, changed from a firebolt to a lightning front end, and have a homemade hackpipe exhaust and my warranty is still honored at my dealership.