Gas leak

[dispatchted]

I have a 2013 Kymco Like. Not long after I started riding it, I discovered a gas smell and eventually a gas drip. I had it in for warranty work and I was told it was a "return line" or something like that. They said it was fixed.
I have started riding the scooter again in another city where we have a vacation home. It has started the smell and leak again.
Since I am a distance away from warranty work, does anyone have an idea of the problem. I will probably have to take it in to a non-Kymco dealer for work.

Thanks

[BettinANDlosing]

One thing you should look for. When the smell happens, open the gas cap and listen for a "psssst" noise of pressure escaping the tank. If there is this noise, you need to (Or have a dealer do it) vent the gas tank, pressure might be building up inside and forcing gas out of the emissions system. Also, around 2013 I remember doing a bunch of Like 200 fuel lines for a recall problem. Never had any act up on our customers bikes, but there was a fuel line recall. Good luck!

[dispatchted]

Thank you. When I first took it in for repair, it did psst when the cap was removed and the fellow noticed it and talked to me about it.

[TroutBum]

Does the gas leak/smell occur shortly after a fuel up? If so, when fueling be sure not to over fill the tank. Stop filling when you see the gas level reach the bar at the base of the filler neck. If you go above that you run the chance of fuel getting into the overflow/evap cannister line. This happened to me twice. I overfilled during fuel up and went straight home and parked the scooter. Within an hour I can smell gas and see it pouring out onto the garage floor. I now stop fueling when the level reaches the base of the fill neck and ride at least 20 miles after fueling (any excuse to ride  ).

[0BARK4322]

If it's a re-call they should fix it I hope

[Stig / Major Tom]

If it's a re-call they should fix it I hope

Over filling the tank is not a warranty issue.
Most any scooter or motorcycle manual warns against that....and some scoots are more affected than others if you do.
Stig

[0BARK4322]

One thing you should look for. When the smell happens, open the gas cap and listen for a "psssst" noise of pressure escaping the tank. If there is this noise, you need to (Or have a dealer do it) vent the gas tank, pressure might be building up inside and forcing gas out of the emissions system. Also, **********around 2013 I remember doing a bunch of Like 200 fuel lines for a recall problem*********. Never had any act up on our customers bikes, but there was a fuel line recall. Good luck!

Only if this is true then it should be service

[souzamoto]

One thing you should look for. When the smell happens, open the gas cap and listen for a "psssst" noise of pressure escaping the tank. If there is this noise, you need to (Or have a dealer do it) vent the gas tank, pressure might be building up inside and forcing gas out of the emissions system. Also, around 2013 I remember doing a bunch of Like 200 fuel lines for a recall problem. Never had any act up on our customers bikes, but there was a fuel line recall. Good luck!

I was just at my local Kymco dealer and asked about the recall. Dealer checked the dealer website an said "no recall on Like 200 fuel lines"
CJS

[BettinANDlosing]

I was just at my local Kymco dealer and asked about the recall. Dealer checked the dealer website an said "no recall on Like 200 fuel lines"
CJS

They are dead wrong, have them call Kymco USA and get the scoop. There was a batch that had fuel line issues, I did prolly 10 and they sent us the fuel lines for free and paid warranty labor rate.

[dispatchted]

I am glad to see that my first post with the Ky,co Forum has led to some constructive replys. I am going to take the Kymco Like out tomorrow and will try all of your suggestions. By the way, I never fill it all the way up. I use a gas can and look for the level as I fuel.

I will try to report on my ride. Thanks all.

[Stig / Major Tom]

I am glad to see that my first post with the Ky,co Forum has led to some constructive replys. I am going to take the Kymco Like out tomorrow and will try all of your suggestions. By the way, I never fill it all the way up. I use a gas can and look for the level as I fuel.

I will try to report on my ride. Thanks all.

Me too, I quit filling at the pump early on - too much commotion causes spills ect. Bought a good gas can and do it at home on all three bikes. Use a flash light to keep an eye on filling....
I had a vacuum forming in my LIKE tank. Removed all the vent hoses & valves and cleaned/blew/dried them out. No more issues after I reinstalled everything.
Stig

[0BARK4322]

Darn, they get clogged that fast

[mrbios]

Does the gas leak/smell occur shortly after a fuel up? If so, when fueling be sure not to over fill the tank. Stop filling when you see the gas level reach the bar at the base of the filler neck. .........

I just had this problem and realized what was going on with my 2005 Grandvista 250.  I chronically fill to the top.  Last night I overfilled to the point that some gas spilled from the top.  Next day the scooter started right up no problem.  I let it warm up and shut it off.  Restarted and went to the gym.  Scooter sat in the hot sun for several hours.  Could not get it started even with the throttle twisted 1/2 way.  Then I noticed a big puddle of gas on the ground coming out of the bottom hole that is ~ 1/2 inch wide.  Verified that all lines were hooked up correctly.  Removed the carb and cranked the motor to dry things and hooked up the carb and got it started and put the seat back in.  Got home ~ 3 miles.  No gas leaked out. 

Searched google which led me here and then I realized that last night I over filled and probably got gas into the charcoal filter.  Also, I ride 5 days a week and have 19K miles so I always fill to the top then carefully tilt the scooter which causes the gas to go down into the filler neck to get the maximum distance out of each tank.  I'm going to stop doing this. 

The manual warns against overfilling but I though I was getting away with it.  I also noticed on my scoot and another that had 26K miles that there is a stain under the carb and lower right side of the motor that looks like oil but is actually gas.  My and probably the other scooter owners chronic overfilling may be the cause of this issue.  I will clean that area, and stop overfilling and see if it goes away.

Could this also contribute to the hot starting problem where you need crank the motor with the throttle at ~ 1/2 way open?

[Stig / Major Tom]

Me too, I quit filling at the pump early on - too much commotion causes spills ect. Bought a good gas can and do it at home on all three bikes. Use a flash light to keep an eye on filling....
I had a vacuum forming in my LIKE tank. Removed all the vent hoses & valves and cleaned/blew/dried them out. No more issues after I reinstalled everything.
Stig

I find it hard to believe that our scoots are that sensitive to a bit of over filling - these things are sold 'round the globe - and there are guys filling these scoots in the pouring Amizonian  rains by candle light with an old Pepsi can....and they still run just fine on market days.
I think.
I believe any imagined issues I thought I had were solved by cleaning the innards of my gas cap. I blew into it, sucked it, rapped it, washed it and generally abused it significantly until it began to properly vent the tank again. In or out, I don't know....but vent it it did. Hopefully it was supposed to.
And I had no more noisy air movement when opening the gas cap. (My "presenting symptom".)
Still, probably not a good idea to over-flow the old gas tank on these rascals.
OK, that's all I got. I'm outta here!



Stig

[TroutBum]

Could this also contribute to the hot starting problem where you need crank the motor with the throttle at ~ 1/2 way open?

If the evaporate canister gets filled up with gas hard starts can occur. The first time I overfilled the tank starting the engine hot or cold was an issue. I disconnected the lines and using a bicycle pump carefully forced air in the system to remove the trapped gas. The second time I overfilled once started I rode the scooter until the tank was nearly empty. It took me two days to ride the 120 miles to nearly empty the tank. It started fine after that.