sarkkus
Just got it firing!
I have read just about every forum/thread there is about figuring out a replacement for the red elbow that is so notorious for snapping. Several months ago when I first bought the bike (2011 V7 Classic), I broke mine and ended up replacing it with a metal equivalent from Zip-Ty Racing. I then slipped and clamped some fuel line onto the smooth part and then slipped the other end onto the t-connector and let it be from there. Oh what I didn’t know...
So fast forward to the winter time.. New fuel leak springs up, and I take a look below the tank once again. Turns out the metal elbow wasn’t gripping the hose well enough and despite the clamp, it slipped off. So I bought some new fuel line, and a month later it happened again. So finally I realized I needed to get an actual connector to fit onto this stupid elbow. I ordered an OEM fuel line assembly since MG doesn’t sell just the connector (yet another reason why this one tiny issue has been a nightmare), and I installed the entire new line. Plug in the connector to my nifty metal replacement, but it wasn’t clicking in. So I start the bike and it runs for a minute, but I see that the QD fitting is slipping off. Before I could turn off the bike, it slipped off the rest of the way on its own, and sprayed both of my eyeballs with a healthy dose of gasoline.
SO. This is where I’m at: I want a quick disconnect solution that will work. I don’t want to replace the stock fuel lines or plastic QD piece because it cost me 70 bucks. So I either need to find a way to make the metal elbow that I have work properly, or source a replacement plastic elbow from somewhere in the UK. I’ve looked everywhere and am finding that Gutsibits doesn’t have the part available, and according to a couple different forums that seems to have been the case for a while. So then it becomes a question of whether or not I can get the metal replacement to work- and I suspect that is simply a question of dimensions. I’m going to attach a couple pictures and I would love some opinions on what the best course of action is. Keep in mind I’m young, living in an apartment complex (no garage to work on all of this stuff), I work long hours 6 days a week, and don’t have any tools beyond the basic mechanic set and a torque wrench. So there’s no machining parts or soldering fancy stuff. I was thinking if maybe my metal piece is too long I could just hack off a couple of millimeters and try it that way? My only concern with that being that it has to be long enough to extend past the o-ring in order to seal and it could simply be too wide in diameter to fit correctly, or maybe have too big of a lip to lock in. Basically I need to find out which dimension is preventing it from locking correctly.
I’m also willing to go back to the OEM plastic piece too, I just can’t seem to find a current source for one that doesn’t involve complex/sketchy shipping procedures.
If I sound like an idiot, it’s probably because I am. This is my first bike and dealing with this issue has not been easy because I’ve never been a mechanic and the internet gives a lot of mixed answers. I didn’t even know until today that fuel injected bikes need special line. Oops.
So fast forward to the winter time.. New fuel leak springs up, and I take a look below the tank once again. Turns out the metal elbow wasn’t gripping the hose well enough and despite the clamp, it slipped off. So I bought some new fuel line, and a month later it happened again. So finally I realized I needed to get an actual connector to fit onto this stupid elbow. I ordered an OEM fuel line assembly since MG doesn’t sell just the connector (yet another reason why this one tiny issue has been a nightmare), and I installed the entire new line. Plug in the connector to my nifty metal replacement, but it wasn’t clicking in. So I start the bike and it runs for a minute, but I see that the QD fitting is slipping off. Before I could turn off the bike, it slipped off the rest of the way on its own, and sprayed both of my eyeballs with a healthy dose of gasoline.
SO. This is where I’m at: I want a quick disconnect solution that will work. I don’t want to replace the stock fuel lines or plastic QD piece because it cost me 70 bucks. So I either need to find a way to make the metal elbow that I have work properly, or source a replacement plastic elbow from somewhere in the UK. I’ve looked everywhere and am finding that Gutsibits doesn’t have the part available, and according to a couple different forums that seems to have been the case for a while. So then it becomes a question of whether or not I can get the metal replacement to work- and I suspect that is simply a question of dimensions. I’m going to attach a couple pictures and I would love some opinions on what the best course of action is. Keep in mind I’m young, living in an apartment complex (no garage to work on all of this stuff), I work long hours 6 days a week, and don’t have any tools beyond the basic mechanic set and a torque wrench. So there’s no machining parts or soldering fancy stuff. I was thinking if maybe my metal piece is too long I could just hack off a couple of millimeters and try it that way? My only concern with that being that it has to be long enough to extend past the o-ring in order to seal and it could simply be too wide in diameter to fit correctly, or maybe have too big of a lip to lock in. Basically I need to find out which dimension is preventing it from locking correctly.
I’m also willing to go back to the OEM plastic piece too, I just can’t seem to find a current source for one that doesn’t involve complex/sketchy shipping procedures.
If I sound like an idiot, it’s probably because I am. This is my first bike and dealing with this issue has not been easy because I’ve never been a mechanic and the internet gives a lot of mixed answers. I didn’t even know until today that fuel injected bikes need special line. Oops.
