Filler cap drain?

[JTT]

Before I start tearing things apart, can anyone tell me where the little drain from the fuel tank filler goes to?  Everytime I was mine or get caught in the rain, mine fills up dumping water into the tank when I stop for fuel  

[John Stenhouse]

It drains into a tube running down to the just in front of the rear swinging arm. Take off the left side panel and they are attached to the tank there. They block very easily and a bugger to clean out. I had to use a drill to get all the gunk out of mine, be careful I used a hand drill (remember one of those).

[PeteH]

+1 on the above post....also DONT just pull the tube off as I did cos the fitting broke :oops: best slice down the tube with a sharp blade to be safe. Unfortunately water and ally dont mix...another Triumph gem.

[John Stenhouse]

Better make clear it's the fitting next to the cap you'll need to ream out, the pipe is usually fine, water and ally don't mix as said above.

[JTT]

Thanks!  That saved me some aggravation.  Sure enough, clogged, oddly at the top within the tank.  A little wire snake and all clear again  8)

[XJC]

I found removing the insulation from an electrical cable, (kettle lead) and stripping one of the twin and earths to ream the drain had two advantages.

1: The cable diameter is just the right size for the drain.
2: The rigidity of the copper means it'll flex before you cause any damage.

Worked for me anyway.

X.

[Samiam]

On my truck i've used the plastic 'string'from a weed trimmer to clean out some oddly angled skinny pipes and tubes. the surface of the string is rough (on many brands). i just snake it off the roll, down through the tube, and jiggle it around. on rubber tubes i use sandpaper to smooth out the tip of the string. In a metal pipe that gets real gummed up i put the end of the string in a variable speed electric drill and give it a slow spin.

when i'm all done i can usually still use the string for weeds.  :D

[mwrmoore]

I had the same issue earlier this year, i pulled the drain tubes out from where they feed through the engine/chassis and poke out the bottom, then using a bicycle pump i forced air up through them, this huge jet of stinky gunk shot accross the garage, but clear now!

[mikeybikey57]

Used an old guitar string to run down the entire length of the pipe. Got a big clod of goo out the first time I used it and now do it yearly to keep it clear.

[PeteH]

Forgot to add....spray some WD40 down the drains occasionally to stop any oxidisation in the tank fittings.

[kiwijohn]

It drains into a tube running down to the just in front of the rear swinging arm. Take off the left side panel and they are attached to the tank there. They block very easily and a bugger to clean out. I had to use a drill to get all the gunk out of mine, be careful I used a hand drill (remember one of those).

Mine is also blocked. I tried the wire but could not get all the way down. I took the tube off and tried pushing up from the metal fixing. Seems to be a blockage there. What size drill bit fits in there? Might be my best option.

I have tried air, and no good.

[kiwijohn]

I used a drill bit to clear the fitting. I just turned it with my fingers and little by little white stuff started to come out, until it was cleared. Then some air down from the top cleared it right out.

[ChillMan]

Today I finally got around to trying this, having had water in the lid several times since I bought the bike.

I removed the left black plastic. Looks a bit broken but it does stay on, with just the hex screw.

There were two fittings, with one plastic tube each. Which one are we talking about?

Both tubes went far down - one of them peeked out onto the ground. The other one I don't know where it ended up.

I gently pulled off the tubes at the fitting with a (again gentle) screwing motion. (Someone here said to slice them off, but then I'd have to buy new tubes...)

In the right fitting (closest to the frame, right if you sit on the bike) I could easily insert a cable covered with plastic. I put it some 8-10cm inside. No problem there. What is this?

The left fitting (sitting on the bike) was absolutely totally clogged. I tried poking with the same cable, it just bended. I took off some plastic of the cable, but the metal just bended. I tried a very tiny mini screw driver, some small fragment of white came out. I tried another slightly bigger screw driver (still mini) and a little more fragment came out. I twisted and turned but not really anyhing! I tried the cable again, it could now be insert some 1cm but then bended.

What IS that white stuff anyway?

I had planned to use drill bits, but I had them at work so I had to put the tubes back on, and the black plastic on too.

Now photo time! Hopefully it can help all the n00bs (like me) who need step by step simple instructions.

I can't seem to comment on each photo, so hopefully someone with more understanding than me (most people on this forum!) can explain what they show.

[John Stenhouse]

You don't need to worry about where the drain tubes go, just put them back on when you finish, the stuff your digging out is scale, it'll take quite a bit of digging to get it all out, drill bit is a good idea.

[ChillMan]

Spent another half hour today with a collegue, using drill bits. We got out just some small particles of white hard stuff, had to give up. It's really stuck.

Simple, they said. You can do it, they said.  It's so easy, they said.