Frame too hot? gasoline smell, fan not running..help!

M

mynameandlastname

New member
Hello everyone,

Picked up a used Suzuki Bandit 250 about 6 months ago, and have been riding ever since then. Recently I wanted to take a weekend trip so I packed some clothes and camping gear and strapped it on to the back using bungee cords. Gave it a test run to see if the extra weight would affect any turning, and it didn't. Then as I was dismounting the bike, my leg caught on the luggage which caused the bike to drop. Fortunately no body damage, it just landed on the end of the right handle. Immediately I could smell some gasoline, but thought that was normal since the bike was on it's side and I had a near ful tank of gas.

Started back up no problem, but the gasoline smell doesn't seem to go away. I never rememebered the gasoline smell when idle at stop lights, but now I'm noticing it more.

Also, the frame and gas tank all feel really hot. I don't know if it's a coincidence with the recent hot sunshine and the bike is black or if it was something due to the drop. But the legs are feeling really warm around the frames. I can touch the frame near the engine with my barehands, but it's really hot, almost too hot to hold. I don't know if that's a new problem, or if it was always that hot. And the fan in the front doesn't seem to be running, but I don't know if it ever did since I had it 6 months ago.

I guess after the drop, been noticing a little more about the bike and saw some remnance of some fluid dried on the chrome just below one of the tubes.

Been doing a lot of different searches, and I think the tube might be some air tube or something. I don't really know much about bikes, I just know the end is not connected to anything, so it seems it's more of an output tube of some sort. Anyway, there was some dried brown/white staining, that could be wiped off and I don't know if that was there in the beginning or after the drop.

I still plan on making the trip if there doesn't seem to be any major problems. It just seems that after the drop, I'm a little more aware of things that might be problematic such as the bike being really hot, fan not running at any time during a ride, and smell of gasoline, and dried brown stain.

Can anyone tell me if any of these are normal?

Or did something get shooken up after the drop?

Thanks.

BR
 
I wondered about that too. Didn't know anybody made a liquid cooled 250 (except the Ninja) OR an air cooled bike with a fan.

I know from experience two things:

The smell of spilled gas last a LONG time. Washing the bike might help with that.

After a drop, one becomes hyper-sensitive to every creak and groan.

(Make that three things):

The sun can make black vehicles incredibly hot. Made the side of my hand pink on a car hood a few weeks ago; not a burn but almost.


My guess is that everything is OK but I agree with "check the fan".
 
Hi RR and ER, thanks for the quick replies. Since I'm kind of new to the world of motorcycles, I don't really know what the difference in terms of parts are for the liquid cooled or air cooled. If I knew what to look for I could do that. All I know is that there is a radiation type of grill in the front/under the gas tank. There is a large fan connected right behind it. I've never bothered to see if it ran, but after the drop, and the heat, I've been more conscious about it, and I've never seen it spinning with bike on in neutral in a parked position, or even when I look down while riding.

662823


If the picture doesn't come out you can find it at

BikePics - 1996 Suzuki Bandit 250

This is not a picture of my bike, but one that I found online that looks similar to mine. The radiation grill I'm talking about looks like the yellow one on this yellow bike. It's right behind the front wheel fender. Hopefully that answers the question. If not, please tell me what to look for and I'll try.

and ER, when you mentioned washing the bike, is that a soap and water kind of wash? Or a simple spray down the bike with water?

Thanks again!

BR
 
New or not, it's kind of important that you become familiar with the basics of your bike. Yours is liquid cooled, like a car. Since the question has come up, you should find out how and where to check the coolant level; it might be low. It would be REALLY good to get an owner's manual. :roll:

As for the fan, it's hard ( for someone not too mechanically inclined) to really check it to be sure it's doing what it should. On an engine that small, I'm guessing the fan will ONLY come on after VERY hard riding OR when stopped for a long time after it's already warmed up (as in stuck idleing in traffic). Any "competent" bike shop could check it for you; shouldn't cost much and probably could be done while-you-wait if you ask for that in advance.

Nothing complelely removes the gas odor......except time. Soap definitely needed and if you can see streaks where it ran out, a pre-treat with something like 409 will help even more.
 
Thanks ER for the reply. I definitely want to know more about motorcycles, and this is my chance to learn. I picked up a manual, and flipping through the pages I'm trying to learn more about the bike.

I took it out for a ride again and tried to see if the same problems persisted. I usually cover the bike when I'm not riding, when I pulled the cover off, I could faintly smell some gas. But that could be normal just from the gas fumes evaporating in the hot sun. During idle at the stop lights, I could smell it again, but not during riding (that could just be due to the wind), but when parked, I try to smell around for gas, and can't really smell any. It's almost as if I only smell the gas when the motorcycle is on at a light, and not when it is off, which leads to believe it's not just a spot that gas was spilled on.

As for the head issue, I've calmed down a little and blaming it on my hyper-sensitivity, and the scorching sun. I'm also riding in shorts instead of jeans, and so my legs might be feeling the warm air more.

After I do some more reading up, I'll see if I can manage to check the radiator fluid, or take it into a shop.

Thanks for all your help.
 
BIG SIGH!

If you REALLY think you have a gas leak.......DON'T RIDE IT UNTIL YOU GET IT FIXED! :fight2:

If you really value the skin on your legs, you won't ride with shorts either! :crippled:

I think that tidies up the whole situation. I'm done. :cool:
 
Well, maybe out being naive or due to the hot weather, I've been riding like this, but anyway, I still appreaciate all the help from the forum.

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions!

Take care.

BR
 
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