Question on fuel cap

The hole is just large enough to get a nozzle in it and it is hard to tell when the tank is almost full.

Has anybody removed that dark hard plastic inner part to have more room for the fuel nozzle. If so how did you remove it, I tried tonight but found out it doesn't come out easily and didn't want to force it but it sure is a pita to fill the tank.

Do the pumps in Georgia have those spring loaded vapor recovery shrouds on them like they have in California? They're a bit of a pain but just the usual bowser nozzle isn't too bad is it? Ours are the same size over here I'm pretty sure and filling isn't that difficult?

Pete

I don't see that as a removable item on the parts list (Tab 13).

Bill

The nozzle here in Georgia and the eastern united states are just the straight nozzle, and it fills the hole almost completely to where it is hard to see when I am at the top and don't want gas to spew up out of the tank.

I took it apart tonight and could not find a way to remove it without just cutting it off which I may do so I can see in the tank. As I have read about the low mileage on this bike I need to fill it with the bike standing straight up to get the most fuel in it. The Stelvio spoiled me with the 8 gallon tank, my Concours 14 could go 200+ beffore hitting reserve. I will find out tomorrow as I am going to a ride to eat and it is 280 miles straight down I 95 then 280 miles back home. If I can get 130 going 75 I will be happy but I seriously doubt I will.

The only things I don't like about this bike is the short range and no centerstand made for the bike.

My fuel light will come on at about 230km. (143 miles.) if I'm droning along on the freeway. If I'm riding 2-laners but not really flogging it it'll usually come on about 208-210km, (131 miles). If I'm caning the piss out of it? All bets are off and economy plummets.

If you're running the original map and an open pipe with no dB killer economy will be much worse.

Pete

Pete are there any issues running gas that has 10% ethonal in these bikes. It’s pretty much all we have in the states.

I used to make "US" maps, but it's not necessary if you use the CO trim to tweak it. I suspect the stock map will run more lean than it does here in Oz, as the ethanol increases the oxygen content.

All our fuel here in CA is 10% ethanol. GRiSO has a nylon tank. The problem with ethanol and nylon is phase separation. The alcohol collects water from the air. When the bike sits idle too long, the nylon starts to absorb the water and deform. So keep the tank full if you can’t ride for a few days. If you can’t ride for more than three weeks, drain the tank. Avoid discount fuel stations. They frequently blend in more than 10% ethanol, which will make things exponentially worse. I use Chevron, Shell, or 76 exclusively, keep it fresh and the tank full, and I have no problems. The Norge tank is actually much more vulnerable to ethanol than GRiSO. That one I really have to be careful with.

Cut at your own risk...

I cut the filler off right at the taper years back. Need to leave black part in so there is a seal.
Might have splash or two of more fuel as well. If I recal the lite comes on a few miles later. Helps with the stoopid spring foreskinned nozzles.

Aprilia folks have been trimming that for ages.
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LBC Tenni wrote:

So keep the tank full if you can’t ride for a few days. If you can’t ride for more than three weeks, drain the tank.

What a right royal pain in the arse!

Corn is for popping and tortilla chips. If the politicians start telling you it’s fuel, form a mob and go at them with tar and feathers.

Also in simple terms the 'Energy Quotient' in ethanol is lower, so you get less heat to expand the gas in the combustion chamber so, in very simplistic terms, less bang for your buck.

So to get the same amount of power the engine has to pump harder and use more fuel.

Biofuels are fine, but only if they have a benefit, both ecologically and in terms of performance. Turning over enormous amounts of arable land to corn production simply to then process it into an inferior fuel is way beyond stupid!

In Oz there is E10, but if you read the label on the pump it says "This fuel may contain up to 10% Ethanol". Ours is principally made from sugar by-products and there isn't enough of that to make sufficient ethanol for E10! So basically it's a sop to clueless hippies who wouldn't know a real ecological issue if it fucked them up the arse with a barbed wire wrapped baseball bat!

Pete

When I fill the Craptiva, I am happy to use E10. I think it would run on my piss. Only 98 goes into the GRiSO. 95 at a pinch. I used 91 once, when a servo used the classic "last fuel for 'X' kilometres" lie. Still better than poxy ethanol riddled Dino juice. Oz is petrol paradise.

odder wrote:

Cut at your own risk...

I cut the filler off right at the taper years back. Need to leave black part in so there is a seal.
Might have splash or two of more fuel as well. If I recal the lite comes on a few miles later. Helps with the stoopid spring foreskinned nozzles.

Aprilia folks have been trimming that for ages.
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Thanks for the link and the info, I am going to cut that off to make a larger opening

Pete Roper wrote:

My fuel light will come on at about 230km. (143 miles.) if I'm droning along on the freeway. If I'm riding 2-laners but not really flogging it it'll usually come on about 208-210km, (131 miles). If I'm caning the piss out of it? All bets are off and economy plummets.

If you're running the original map and an open pipe with no dB killer economy will be much worse.

Pete

Your mileage makes me feel better. I am going for a ride today and see what my mileage really is since I have only ridden 50 miles since buying the bike. I cancelled my 560 mile ride today as it is 26° in Savannah Ga this morning when I need to leave, too cold, too old LOL

I am running Beetles map for a GPR exhaust. I did take the DB killer out but haven't ridden that way yet.

I have read about the Tuono tank swelling becaise of E10, now the GRiSO??? WTF

I have a station 1/2 mile from my house that sells non ethanol but it is 86 grade. I use it for my mower and other lawn equipment but on the road I hardly ever see non ethanol fuel.

I was able to get out and do a 100 mile ride today and I am happy to see I averaged 40 mpg, and that is running 72 (gps mph) for a lot of the ride with a couple of sprints to 110 just to see how it felt, and it felt great :-)

I am running Beetles map for the GPR exhaust, DB killer out and last weekend I synched the TB, reset adaptions, reset TPS. Temps were 55° farenheit

Makes me feel better now about the mileage

Jerry,
I live near you and found a station on 17 on the way to Richmond (near the Keller flea market) that sells 89 octane non Ethanol. I fill up there and also fill a 5 gallon can and bring it home for my two mowers and the GRiSO. I use a flashlight to see how full it is when I fill from the can. My 2014 tank did swell when I lived in Houston and had to use the 10% ethanol and I actually bought a tank from a 2013 wrecked bike and lined it with Caswell tank epoxy. Now that I can buy non ethanol here in GA and I probably don't ride as much as you, it's not an issue.

Crap!  I wish I had seen this before I ordered the GRiSO today.  There is only one non ethanol station nearby and based on most of the posts I'm seeing about mileage/ range, I'll need to fill up in the middle of any of our normal day rides with E10.  Is there a quick connect on the fuel line/s to make it easier to drain the tank?  What happens when the tank deforms?  Does it split, leak or otherwise adversely affect the bike's performance?

What about an octane booster/addative for the 86 non ethenol fuel?

A lot of people swear by Startron additive.

I use Seafoam in the bikes to stabilize the fuel for winter storage.  They always start on the first or second try in the spring as long as I keep the batteries topped off.  Will the Seafoam stabilize the fuel adequately to keep the water from doing its damage?

FrontRangeRider wrote:

I use Seafoam in the bikes to stabilize the fuel for winter storage.  They always start on the first or second try in the spring as long as I keep the batteries topped off.  Will the Seafoam stabilize the fuel adequately to keep the water from doing its damage?

Seafoam is not a fuel stabilizer, its a cleaner that dissolves petroleum residues, it wont do anything for ethanol. A fuel stabilizer such as Ethanol Shield or Sta-bil 360 will. Due to good weather here we have a 365 riding season, so my bikes don't get put away for the winter. But some of my other equipment such as the power generator, gas lawn equipment, riding mower and the scooters that don't get used very often during our mild winter does get Ethanol Shield. When I purchased the GRiSO at the end of 2016, I purchased a 14 gallon gas caddy that I store ethanol free 90 octane fuel in for the bike.
The gas caddy has really come in handy for fueling up at the house.
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FrontRangeRider wrote:

Crap!  I wish I had seen this before I ordered the GRiSO today.  There is only one non ethanol station nearby and based on most of the posts I'm seeing about mileage/ range, I'll need to fill up in the middle of any of our normal day rides with E10.  Is there a quick connect on the fuel line/s to make it easier to drain the tank?  What happens when the tank deforms?  Does it split, leak or otherwise adversely affect the bike's performance?

As far as I know it doesn't hamper performance. Its also unlikely to cause leaks or split, but in some (extreme) cases it could cause a leak at the fuelpump. More consistently it can give issues when removing and then reinstalling the tank for other maintenance: it won't fit properly anymore.
In addition, the GRiSO (or at least mine) is vulnerable to fuel vapors being absorbed by the tank, getting under the paint and then creating bubbles in the paint. I have a large bubble on one side of the tank and a handful of smaller ones surrounding the tank cap, annoys the crap out of me.

I would advise you to have the tank coated with a tank sealer that will make the tank impervious to fuel additives such as ethanol while you still can. It's a relatively cheap procedure and well worth the peace of mind. I will certainly do so when in the future I get my GRiSO repainted.

FrontRangeRider wrote:

Crap!  I wish I had seen this before I ordered the GRiSO today.  There is only one non ethanol station nearby and based on most of the posts I'm seeing about mileage/ range, I'll need to fill up in the middle of any of our normal day rides with E10.  Is there a quick connect on the fuel line/s to make it easier to drain the tank?  What happens when the tank deforms?  Does it split, leak or otherwise adversely affect the bike's performance?

Fear not … or, at least, fear less.  In addition to the other responses and several related threads elsewhere, the most important from my perspective is that the near-indescribable visceral thrill that comes from owning and riding a GRiSO more than compensates for the #@$%^& PITA of the ethanol-related issues.

I was going to quote several of the comments of others after yours, but — in an incredibly rare bout of self-control — will try to use fewer words all around to address your understandable concern.

1.  I have a Norge, too.  The ethanol damage to its tank has been significantly more noticeable … gross enlargement to the point of buying a second tank to swap out while one “shrinks,” dimpling, etc.  My GRiSO tank does not seem to have swelled, but I have had occasional dimpling, tho that comes and goes.  In fact, possibly because of my use of Startron and Sta-bil for past few years, none in recent memory.

2. I wish I had gotten the Flon'Go that zebraranger mentioned. His too-neat shop is annoying , but that arrow will soon be in my Moto Grappa’s quiver.   Thanks, Z.  I also need to figure out a better way than the … erm, flavorful …way I’ve been using (when I remember to do it) to drink-then-drain fuel from my Guzzis tanks in winter.  After a number of years in Atlanta, the serious winters at the top of Virginia still take me by surprise — yes; I’m a slow learner — so that I end up having partially filled tanks.  May not matter as much or at all with the metal tanks of the EV and the Stornello, but I always end up with fuel in the tanks when they settle down to hibernate.

3.  Coatings?  I haven’t but I might now that I have the Norge’s tank off.  That said, I have seen numerous mentions elsewhere that such coatings, e.g., Caswell, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] do not “take” well as a result of the nature of the Norge’s “plastic” tank.  As I understand it — not to be confused with I do — one needs to abrade the entire interior finish for the coatings to adhere, and that is nigh on to impossible.  True?  Dunno.  Again, ethanol has not been the problem (especially the swelling) with the GRiSO’s tank that it has with the Norge.  I have to say that I also have not kept its tank off for weeks at a time as I have the Norge, so remounting has not been the curse-filled challenge of the other either.

Well, how’s that for fewer words?  

I’m off now to a Polish grocery in Atlanta — not many of those at the top of Virginia! — to get some "butter lambs” for Easter.  

The things I do for my Perfect Pillion Polish Princess!    

Bill