Victory Vision gas tank adventure

       I absolutely love my 2008 Victory Vision. Would get another one in a heartbeat. That being said, there are a couple of problems I have had with the bike. One issue to report on my machine is the gas tank problem.

How much gas does the tank really hold? 

The gas tank capacity is 6.0 gallons. Filling to just below the fuel filler neck (as cautioned in the owners manual) gives you more like 5 gallons usable: Even running way past the empty mark on the fuel gauge have I rarely fit more than 5 gallons in it.

The problem comes riding after refueling.

Uh-oh, I smell fuel...! 

The distinct smell of gas appears as soon as you head away from the gas station, and a stronger smell every time you turn or change speeds. Not good! Inspecting the bike once arriving home showed that gas was slopping out from under the fuel cap and dripping down the bike.  

Is this a known problem? 

The owners manual had several cautions about this:

"Do not fill the fuel tank above the fuel filler insert" 

Check! Well, there may have been once or twice on a long ride where I filled it a bit too full, but not in recent years.

"Fuel may leak from an improperly sealed cap" 

Putting extra effort into making sure the cap was seated and tightly closed did seem to help sometimes, but not always.

"Do not allow gasoline to come in contact with a hot engine or exhaust system." 

Well, it was! Not a happy thought knowing gas is dripping on your engine and pipes while you ride. So the company clearly had issues with this tank and cap, enough to address them in the manual. The only thing left to figure out was could I get a fix for the problem. Watch for the rest of this story on a later post.