skincer 0 Posted April 3, 2017 So, I put gas in my XT250 for the first time yesterday, which of course means I sloshed some gas down the side of my tank and blue plastic body panel. I saw stuff on the internet about gas being bad for the paint on your bike, but I’m hoping that doesn’t apply to my bike so much since the body is just blue plastic. Despite doing a bunch of googling on the proper way to fill a motorcycle gas tank, I still have a couple questions for you guys. First, when I remove the gas cap and look inside the tank, I see a metal “cup” or basket kind of thing. Am I only supposed to put enough gas in the tank that it’s at the bottom of that basket, or should I fill the tank fuller and that basket is just there to make it easier to see the fuel level as it gets higher than the bottom of the basket? Second, you know how in California the nozzles have that rubber, vapor collection foreskin on them? Will the pump only pump fuel if that thing is compressed? I was trying to hold it back with one hand while holding the nozzle with the other when I spilled gas on my tank. I ended up sticking the nozzle all the way into the tank which compressed the foreskin and the end of the nozzle went through a hole in the bottom of that basket/cup thing. This worked great, but the pump shut off when the gas got to that level. I got a little over a gallon of gas in my tank, but figured I’d had enough humiliation for the day and I could come back and get more gas later. Third, I put 91 octane in my tank. Is there any reason to do that or would 87 perform just as well? Thanks. Steve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tntmo 887 Posted April 3, 2017 California pumps are a pain in the ass. Yeah, you need to slide the vapor "foreskin" back to fill the tank. It takes a little practice but you'll get it figured out. You should fill it to just below the filler neck on the tank, the basket that you referenced. The XT250 probably only needs 87 octane since it's not a high compression engine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skincer 0 Posted April 4, 2017 10 hours ago, tntmo said: California pumps are a pain in the ass. Yeah, you need to slide the vapor "foreskin" back to fill the tank. It takes a little practice but you'll get it figured out. You should fill it to just below the filler neck on the tank, the basket that you referenced. The XT250 probably only needs 87 octane since it's not a high compression engine. Wow, I'm really surprised I'm only supposed to fill to the bottom of that basket/cup thing - that leaves a fair amount of space in the top of the tank. That will make things easier though because I can stick the nozzle down into the tank and the lip of the hole should compress the vapor collector. Thanks for the info. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tntmo 887 Posted April 4, 2017 Looks something like this? If so, fill to the bottom of that inner neck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skincer 0 Posted April 4, 2017 Yeah, pretty much, but mine looks a little deeper (photo attached). I measured the depth and it's about 3 inches deep. Does that still seem right? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Uncle Champ 116 Posted April 4, 2017 Once you get used to it you will just overfill it and let it run all over anyway. It has a vent so alls good, more gas =less walking. Walking bad, riding good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mikey777 44 Posted April 4, 2017 Out of an abundance of caution, you should leave some space for fuel expansion especially on hot days. An overfillage/spillage when your motorcycle is hot can be very dangerous. (This is probably written in all caps somewhere in your manual). As a side story, I used to work as wild land fire fighter/sawyer. The fuel tanks on chainsaws are different, but similar principals apply. Overpressurized chainsaw fuel tanks have caused some very serious injuries when opening them/fueling while your saw is hot. http://www.wildfirelessons.net/HigherLogic/System/DownloadDocumentFile.ashx?DocumentFileKey=73a6f0b0-a909-4560-a620-2c46dda2187c Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Oracle 195 Posted April 4, 2017 1 hour ago, Mikey777 said: Out of an abundance of caution, you should leave some space for fuel expansion especially on hot days. An overfillage/spillage when your motorcycle is hot can be very dangerous. (This is probably written in all caps somewhere in your manual). As a side story, I used to work as wild land fire fighter/sawyer. The fuel tanks on chainsaws are different, but similar principals apply. Overpressurized chainsaw fuel tanks have caused some very serious injuries when opening them/fueling while your saw is hot. http://www.wildfirelessons.net/HigherLogic/System/DownloadDocumentFile.ashx?DocumentFileKey=73a6f0b0-a909-4560-a620-2c46dda2187c The Oracle knows all about this....Mikey777 was with me when I overfilled my tank on a hot day riding across Arizona. Fuel started spraying out of my overflow hose and blew back on me. We pulled over on the side of the freeway to diagnosis the problem and I made the mistake of opening my gas cap. The tank was so pressurized, fuel came out like a fire hose. Next thing I knew fuel was flowing all over a red hot header pipe. I thought my bike was going to go up in flames and I was a little concerned I might too. Definitely do NOT fill your tanks to the top, especially on hot days!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mikey777 44 Posted April 5, 2017 LB was one lucky SOB that day. A ton of fuel came blasting out all over and was steaming off his header. Definitely an "Oh $H!T" moment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KTMrad 508 Posted April 5, 2017 I always fill my bikes up to the brim....why ? Becuse i'm riding and its immediately gonna use gas so it won't be full anymore. Just learn how to hold the nozzle thing back, just get used to it....thats my opinion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
