Fuel filter failure on the road

[PlaynInPeoria]

Riding home from California.  95 degrees in Nebraska, my C14 started bucking and got progressively worse.  I knew I would be stranded on the slab, so I pulled off and got lucky, there was a gas station with a big shade tree behind it and 2 picnic tables.  I figured it was the filter clogged but didn't want to deal with it right there.   Checked into getting a rental truck to get it home, only 20 foot Uhauls available and that was $750, plus the gas and we couldn't get it till the next day.

So that settled that, we tore off various fairing parts and the tank and flipped the tank upside down on the picnic table and tore the fuel pump out.  Cleaned the filter with starting fluid (all they had at the gas station) and ended up poking some holes in it with a pick.  Bolted it back up and made Council Bluffs that night after leaving Vernal UT at 5:30 am, so 845 miles that day with a 2 hour breakdown.  Got home the next day (last Saturday) at noon and put a new filter in the next day.  I replaced it the first time around 30k. Now the bike has 67k on it and it was apparently due to be be replaced at 66.5k.  Learn from my mistake, be proactive.

[connie_rider]

Thanks for the great info.

Ride safe, Ted

[just gone]

Makes me wonder what is going on with the fuel supply in the rest of the country. Between the clogged fuel filters and the gas cap corrosion deposits that some of you have, it makes me so glad I live in Texas.
I have a little over 77,000 miles on my '10 C14 and no gas cap corrosion (that I can see anyway, and I've never greased it) and still on the original fuel filter.

[PlaynInPeoria]

I thought I was fine too.  Till I wasn't, at a rather inconvenient time.

[MAN OF BLUES]

Makes me wonder what is going on with the fuel supply in the rest of the country. Between the clogged fuel filters and the gas cap corrosion deposits that some of you have, it makes me so glad I live in Texas.
I have a little over 77,000 miles on my '10 C14 and no gas cap corrosion (that I can see anyway, and I've never greased it) and still on the original fuel filter.

well bro, all I can say is... you never should have boasted about that...
tomorrow is coming...
 

[maxtog]

Makes me wonder what is going on with the fuel supply in the rest of the country. Between the clogged fuel filters and the gas cap corrosion deposits that some of you have, it makes me so glad I live in Texas.
I have a little over 77,000 miles on my '10 C14 and no gas cap corrosion (that I can see anyway, and I've never greased it) and still on the original fuel filter.

Damn I wish my gas cap looked like THAT.

[just gone]

Damn I wish my gas cap looked like THAT.

As much as I enjoy picking on you max', I wish your gas cap looked like mine too. However now that MOB has turned his evil eye curse in my direction,
he's got me worried about my fuel filter a bit. Nah I'm sure it's fine....maybe? I hope.

[Conrad]

As much as I enjoy picking on you max', I wish your gas cap looked like mine too. However now that MOB has turned his evil eye curse in my direction,
he's got me worried about my fuel filter a bit. Nah I'm sure it's fine....maybe? I hope.

As PiP said, 'it'll be fine, till it isn't'.

[tweeter55]

Damn I wish my gas cap looked like THAT.

It did...7 years ago.

[bob h]

Seems to me the fuel filter didn't "fail", it was just doing it's job!

[PlaynInPeoria]

Point taken, but apparently C14 fuel filters do their job better than any other motorcycle I have owned, because they have 'done their job' 2x on me, causing my motorcycle to lose the ability to travel as I desire.

No other bike has ever clogged a fuel filter on me. Also, I know of no other bikes that exhibit this 'functionality'.

[gPink]

if a filter quits filtering how is it doing it's job?

[bob h]

Not criticizing, but if the filter plugs up from many miles of filtering, it's doing what it's supposed to. (although maybe a bit too well!) Sounds like the media filled up completely, cleaning out often doesn't work, and temporarily poking holes in plugged media is a good although temporary solution.  Sure beats renting a truck!

[lather]

I had the symptoms of a clogged filter while on a trip. I poured a bottle of carb cleaner in and I made it the 700 miles home with no further symptoms. I replaced the filter in my garage

[B.D.F.]

Fuel injector, fuel system, carb. cleaner and similar really do work to clean the fuel system and even the combustion chambers, as well as the valve faces and spark plug. I am a big fan of the stuff myself. And of course, it would go a long way, if not outright eliminate fuel pick up screen clogging.

I try to use the stuff every 8K to 10K miles or so. The only downside is that the stuff turns the crankcase oil black and really thins it a tremendous amount so I always use F.I. cleaner on one tank, run that tank down to nearly empty (so the stuff is actually gone and not mixed in with future fill- ups) and then change the oil and filter immediately.

Brian

I had the symptoms of a clogged filter while on a trip. I poured a bottle of carb cleaner in and I made it the 700 miles home with no further symptoms. I replaced the filter in my garage

[B.D.F.]

There is not really any media in the fuel filter, it is just a nylon screen with openings just a bit bigger than the average window screen. The openings are little squares and the black crud that builds up starts to close them off. Poking through the nylon with some type of probe, or better yet, scrubbing the sock down with some type on [will not eat nylon] solvent works very well to restore them.

Brian

Not criticizing, but if the filter plugs up from many miles of filtering, it's doing what it's supposed to. (although maybe a bit too well!) Sounds like the media filled up completely, cleaning out often doesn't work, and temporarily poking holes in plugged media is a good although temporary solution.  Sure beats renting a truck!

[PlaynInPeoria]

The mesh is way finer that a screen door screen.  Here is old vs new.

[B.D.F.]

Maybe they were changed along the way; mine is an early '08 and the holes were pretty big. (yeah, and Easy Boys joke in there somewhere).

But either way, my point was that it is not an actual filter with any kind of media, it is just a 'sock' that fits over the pickup on the fuel pump ass'y so mechanically cleaning it really will work.

Brian

The mesh is way finer that a screen door screen.  Here is old vs new.

[MAN OF BLUES]

I've seen 3 or 4 permutations of the filter so far, one is an aftermarket one, and 3 were OEM

the OEM's seemed to contain some 'fluff' media inside the teabag...

http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=17490.0

damn, I can't find my other pics...
anyways, here's the aftermarket
https://www.highflowfuel.com/i-23443610-quantum-t35-intank-fuel-pump-with-strainer-for-kawasaki-concours-14-zg1400-2008-2018-replaces-49040-0024.html

[B.D.F.]

I have at least 5 C-14 fuel pumps from various years and all have a nylon sock over the fuel pick up. None have anything inside of them such as a filtering media.

Really, this 'filter' is just a screen.

Brian

I've seen 3 or 4 permutations of the filter so far, one is an aftermarket one, and 3 were OEM

the OEM's seemed to contain some 'fluff' media inside the teabag...

http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=17490.0

damn, I can't find my other pics...
anyways, here's the aftermarket
https://www.highflowfuel.com/i-23443610-quantum-t35-intank-fuel-pump-with-strainer-for-kawasaki-concours-14-zg1400-2008-2018-replaces-49040-0024.html