Some photos and then a question

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calbigbird

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Here are some photos of the bike all of you have helped me save since August 2008. Thanks for all the help. This was a bitsa bike when I got it from an ebay listing and I think pretty close to a basket case. It ran, but just barely and I couldn't count the parts from earlier year bikes. It is now mostly correct, I think. I am happy with the outcome.

Some photos and then a question


Some photos and then a question


Some photos and then a question


Some photos and then a question


And now, one more question. This bike has never leaked from the fuel cap, until the last two tanks. For some reason, if the tank is anywhere near full, it drools out of the fuel cap. I checked the rubber gasket and found it appeared cracket and hard so I put a new one on it. It still drools all over the tank on acceleration and braking. Like I said it has not done this until the last two tanks and I can't see anything obviously wrong. Any thoughts??
 
Looks good! I'd tell you to check the gasket and vent, but sounds like you already have.
 
Great looking bike, and somewhat classier than the backdrop :mrgreen:

Regarding the filler cap, my Interstate tank came with a cap which had a cracked rubber. I replaced it with a correct 'Ceeandess' number and it's fuel-tight.
As Pelican has already highlighted; maybe your vent isn't clear? I'm assuming the rubber is a 'correct' replacement?
Those are the only two possibilities which spring to mind...unless there's paint around the filler neck? I'd be suprised, as the paintjob looks 100% professional from this distance ;)
 
Calbigbird,
Here is something you MUST do if you want to keep the paint on your tank. I am going to assume that your painter used Urethane (PPG, DuPont, or whatever brand). Look at the top of the filler neck. Did he paint the area where the cap gasket contacts the filler neck? Chances are he left a paint line somewhere in the neck area. If you are leaking fuel and it gets underneath where this paint line is around the filler cap, it will strip that beautiful paint job VERY quickly.
I am not bragging here but I have painted hundreds of motorcycle fuel tanks (back around 1993 when I lived in Glendale working for Kendall Racing) and I ALWAYS used a fuel proof epoxy to seal the paint were it meets the metal. Actually, as redneck as it sounds, JB Weld is fuelproof and works perfect for this.
After it cures, just put some One-Shot black on it and you will never see it!

This doesnt help with your leaking problem but it WILL save your paint.
 
Thanks for the responses. I checked last night. The vent hole appears to be clear. I removed the new gasket and re-installed it making sure it lays flat and evenly around the neck. One of the first things I did when I got the tank back from the painter was to make sure there was no paint on the top of the neck where it meets the gasket. I even took some scotch brite and went back around the neck yesterday. It is truly a mystery because I had the paint work done a year ago and it just started leaking in the last two weeks. My fear is that the neck is separating from the tank itself. I have even thought about running the tank to empty and letting it air out. Then trying to run a bead of JB Weld around the inside of the tank whre it meets the neck. After that , I am at a loss.

Thanks again for the advice and the compliments. I think the bike is coming right along. I have discovered all it takes is more money.
 

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I had a steel interstate tank do the exact same thing. I spent hours working on the tank to cap seal only to finally discover it was leaking between the filler neck and the tank! I don't know what the easy fix is, but I crashed mine a couple weeks later and Ross Thompson fixed the neck while he was performing miracles on the the twisted sheet after cutting the bottom out.

(Not a recommended solution!)
 
Norton wins again!! You failed to mention your bike won "bike of the month " at that show yesterday. Congrads! First time I went & I was suprised to see about 5 Commandos. None as clean in stock trim as yours, great looking bike. As far as out classing the burger joint? Hey it's a stones throw from the Pacific ocean & Coast Hwy. We might not have surfdogs sceanery but it's not the worst location around. Ps. Don't forget to bring it Thursday nights to Scotties Smokehouse in Orange, ca. 7:00 pm. Congrads again.
 
I had the same issue (also with a Mark III) last year. I kept playing with a new gasket and trying to figure out where the leak was. For a while I just kept the fuel level no higher than 2/3 full.

Finally had a local painter pressure test it and there was a hairline crack in the neck. And a couple of others in the seams as it turned out! He soldered the bad spots, applied Caswells on the interior, and followed up with fresh paint. You already have the new paint, but if you can swab some JB around the filler neck, and maybe get some Caswells in there too, you should be good to go.

PS - Classic Car night is back on in Encinitas (about 80 miles from you). it's the 3rd Thursday evening of each summer month, and this year there will be classic bikes as well. I'll be there this Thurs ( with my Mark III, which, dare I say, looks (almost) as nice as yours, and some of the other local Brit bike guys will have their toys there.

Come on down - a blast down the 5 on the Commando should be good for it! Its from 5:30 to 7:30.
 
Thanks for your kind words gtsun. My brother is due in tonight, so if I get there this Thursday night it will probably be on 4 wheels. Ick!
 
I just had another thought about the gas cap leak. When I removed the old gasket assembly, I found a small piece of rubber hose between the washer/gasket and the cap (under the spring). Has anyone had an issue with the spring failing to keep enought pressure to properly seal the cap when closed? I am assuming the piece of rubber isn't suppose to be there. Yea - I know - I am grasping at straws, but I really don't want to have the tank completely redone again. $$$$$$
 
calbigbird said:
I just had another thought about the gas cap leak. When I removed the old gasket assembly, I found a small piece of rubber hose between the washer/gasket and the cap (under the spring). Has anyone had an issue with the spring failing to keep enought pressure to properly seal the cap when closed? I am assuming the piece of rubber isn't suppose to be there. Yea - I know - I am grasping at straws, but I really don't want to have the tank completely redone again. $$$$$$
Click to expand...

A weak spring is a good possibility.
 
My fear is that the neck is separating from the tank itself.

I think you may be on to something here, unfortunately. :(
 
calbigbird said:
I found a small piece of rubber hose between the washer/gasket and the cap (under the spring).

I am assuming the piece of rubber isn't suppose to be there.
Click to expand...

It is supposed to be there.

Some photos and then a question
 
The good news is, it doesn't appear to be the tank. I bought a test plug from Home Depot. The kind that you can put in a pipe and twist the butter fly nut to expand the rubber gasket around the plut. I then did everything but turn the bike upside down -- no fuel leak. I then removed the plug, closed the gas cap and leaned the bike to the right as far as I could -- fuel everywhere. I think this narrows it down to the cap.
 
calbigbird said:
The good news is, it doesn't appear to be the tank. I bought a test plug from Home Depot. The kind that you can put in a pipe and twist the butter fly nut to expand the rubber gasket around the plut. I then did everything but turn the bike upside down -- no fuel leak. I then removed the plug, closed the gas cap and leaned the bike to the right as far as I could -- fuel everywhere. I think this narrows it down to the cap.
Click to expand...

Posting pictures of your gas cap might help. Doesn't do any good for us to look at LABs.
 
Okay, I'll try

Some photos and then a question


Some photos and then a question


I think I will try taking the spring to a hardware store and see if I can find something a bit stronger before I spring (get it?) for a new cap.

Hey L.A.B. as long as that cap is apart, how tall is that spring? I just measured mine at .75". I think I am beginning to lean toward spring fatigue, but I think I will have to buy an entire net cap to get the spring.

Oh darn, a shiney new cap.
 
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