Evap cannister removal

2015 1200SE
Removed my cannister today and found a bit of oil in the front half of the airbox. The capped drain tube was not connected to the underside so oil was dripping on the top of the engine. So I removed the battery, battery tub and airbox to clean the engine. After cleaning out the airbox, I put everything back and connected all the tubes. I have two questions...what is the cause of all the oil in there? I will check level tomorrow, didn’t get to it. It's sitting nice and level on the BT GRiSO stand so I should get an accurate reading. 

They say to remove the tip over valve also and couple the two tubes together. I dont know how that could improve anything performance related. Isn't that just a check valve that prevents gas from leaving the tank but lets air in to vent it? Is it because the tank can pressurize and removing it will equalize the pressure?

Firstly removing the evap canister will not give any performance increase. The canister is simply there to capture hydrocarbons, (Fumes.) vented from the fuel tank when the bike is parked. They are absorbed by the charcoal medium in the canister and the air and other gasses are vented to atmosphere. When the engine is running the depression in the inlet manifolds draws air back in through the vent hose, purging the absorbed hydrocarbons from the charcoal and drawing them into the engine where they are burnt.

The reason that people remove it is that some people, especially in warmer climates, have found that when the engine is restarted, especially if it is still hot from being parked in the sun or whatever and the charcoal medium is heavily loaded, the amount of hydrocarbons, (ie, extra fuel.) drawn into the motor makes it difficult to start. The ECU has no way of compensating for the extra fuel as it doesn't know it's there and on every start up the mixture is enriched anyway for, (I believe? Mark?) the first 600 revolutions of the crank, so basically 30 seconds.

None of the bikes I had in the US with a charcoal canister, (GRiSO, Cali 1400, Mana GT.) ever caused me any grief so I never bothered removing them but some people do. We don't have the system on bikes in Oz, or in Europe I don't believe.

Getting on to why there is oil in your airbox? It's because the engine is over-filled. If you fill the motor to the 'Full' mark on the stick it has too much in and the motor will pump it out through the breather system until it finds its own level. Never fill it above half way between the 'Add' and 'Full' marks and don't add any more unless it drops off the stick altogether. You'll find it stabilises somewhere between the 'Add' and halfway mark usually. Treat that as your 'Full' mark.

Note that there are two drains on the airbox. The one at the back and one underneath the bottom of the box. It is very important that both hoses are installed and PLUGGED as they drain from the clean side of the airbox. If they are left open dirt will get in and it will destroy your throttlebodies.

Warm-up table is used for the first 200 revolutions. Current engine temp will determine how much it is enriched.

Apart from the problem of the charcoal medium being overloaded as Pete mentioned, I consider the canister a potential source of air leaks. I would remove it simply for that possibility.

It has no affect on how the engine runs, despite the claims I’ve seen on other forums.

My 2014 would make all kinds of whining noises after a ride with the canister and valve in place. Felt good to remove all that crap and “simplify” all the hoses running around.

Yep, those tubes were plugged. Now that the cannister is gone they hang down willy nilly. Going to cut them a bit shorter and replace the caps. I also will zip tie them to keep them in place better. That one that goes straight down from the forward section of the airbox most have weasled its way off from constant movement, albeit slight. Even with the tube fully seated and clamp in place it can be pulled off with not much force. They should have barbed the little male stem to provide better purchase.

You are performing a "cannisterectemy"
there are multiple threads on this site that will help guide you through the process. it's relatively simple, but there are a few points that need to be done correctly so the tank will vent correctly

Chris W wrote:

You are performing a "cannisterectemy"
there are multiple threads on this site that will help guide you through the process. it's relatively simple, but there are a few points that need to be done correctly so the tank will vent correctly

The more you search, the more opunions you get. Plug the line, don't plug the line, for example. If you plug the line, will that create a vacuum when running hard or pressure build up sitting in the sun?

Don't plug the tank vent line but do plug the hoses that go to the spigots on the inlet manifolds or join the ports together with one hose. Alternatively take the spigots off and simply block the ports with short, 10mm length M6 bolts as used elsewhere in the world.

Blow up this pic and you can see the button head screw used to block the ports in other markets that don't use the can.

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Thanks Pete, I picked up two 6mm bolts with neoprene washer to seal those ports off. Planned on doing that from the get go. I won't seal the vent line. Probably just leave the tipover valve inline because air can still go both ways. I can't see how that would harm anything.