How do you drain the air box drain hose on the S50?

R

rhman95

New member
I've noticed a few drops of oil on the ground under my bike which seems to be dripping off a hose hanging down to the rear of my engine, and the bottom end of the hose is oily. I assume this is the air box drain from the rear air filter- if I am wrong, somebody please correct me. There is nothing else dripping, the bottom of my engine and everything else is dry and clean.

The end of the hose has a flat sealed ?vinyl or rubber cap on it firmly fixed to the hose and I didn't want to try too hard and pull it off not knowing if this even comes off. I can't find any info on how to drain this in the Clymer or other manuals for the bike. Can someone tell me how to drain this, and the front air box drain hose if I can find it?

It's only a few drops of oil but I also don't like the idea that it's draining in front of my rear tire.

The bike has about 10,000 miles on it, I just got it, and it runs great.
 
Hang tight; DrBob will be along shortly. :cool:

Does the cap also have a wire clamp holding it into the hose? There usually IS one; but, yes, you pull the plug out, with something underneath to catch the oil. Could be several ounces or oil/water. Now would be a good time to inspect the air boxe(s) and filters too.

Our resident S50 expert can give you the details, I'm sure.

How are you and the new bike getting along? Have you found the handling to be much different that the GZ? I'm still not 100% with the Shadow. I REALLY need to spend some time in an empty parking lot........just like a newbie !!
 
Yeah, I'm waiting for him - he's the guru of the S50.
The hose is different than that on the GZ. There is no plug and/or wire clamp on the bottom. The end of the hose is covered with a rubber or vinyl cap which is tightly stuck on to the end of the hose, almost like it's been glued or vulcanized to the hose and I don't want to try and rip it off if there's another way to drain it. Here's a fiche of it, it's item #2 on the diagram BoulevardSuzuki.com, Suzuki parts & Suzuki accessories, The #1 Suzuki Motorcycle Parts and Accessories Shop
Maybe I have to take the whole hose off the bottom of the air box.
I haven't found yet where the hose is to the front air cleaner, I haven't taken anything apart yet and I'm sure it's hidden underneath somewhere.

Everything on the GZ was visible and accessible, easy to get to, easy to remove either the seat or the tank if you had to. This one has twice as much "stuff" on it, you have to remove 3 or 4 other parts to get to the innards of it to service anything other than oil changes, brakes, plugs, or drive shaft. But most of those things, like carbs, valves, etc, don't need to be accessed that often anyway, so they're out of site so you don't screw with them unless you have to. It's the kind of thing that if you're bothering to go in there to do anything, you might as well do all of it at once while you have it apart.

The new bike, altho heavier by 140 lbs. handles real well, much the same as the GZ, no surprises or major adjusting to it. But it's got a LOT more power, also no problem adjusting. I also have to get out onto those tight low speed turning practices, but it seems to handle really well, just about like the other bike but it seems more confident. Maybe I'm just being more aware or careful now.

And how do you like your Shadow after 2 (3?) months? Happy with it other than the seat?
 
Point the bike north; you should find him in about 6 hours or so !!! :mrgreen:

That kind of a plug is still just a plug and the fact it is stuck probably means it has never been taken off. The one on th GZ is tightly afixed because having the hose open affects the fuel mixture, much like a vacume leak. I suspect the S50 isn't built like that and leaving the plug OFF would leak out one TINY drop at a time......and have no impact on the fuel mix at all.

I love it; red and chrome......a LOT sexier than the S50! :shock: :lol4:

Oops....poser talk. :roll: Sorry. ;)

It handles different and I'm still not quite used to it, but I can make a U turn in a lane and a half without touching a foot so that's good news. Actually LOOKING where I want to go seems to be more improtant now....and it really DOES work.

There is a god-awful vibration that comes on about 75 that reminds me that I am going too fast. Since I don't anticipate ever NEEDING to go faster than that except maybe for a few seconds, it isn't a real problem. Below 75, it's quite peaceful.

I'm getting about 62 mpg, which is just a tad less than the GZ.

The stock seat is WAY better than the GZ; the Mustang is better yet......but it's no touring seat no matter what you do to it.
 
DrBob has been up in Kentucky, with the Braveheart motorcycle tour at the Natural Bridge State Park. ;)

The hose on your S50 is a drain from the rear air box. It is needed because the engine breather dumps into this airbox, and occationally some liquid oil gets sucked into it. If it is just a few drops, ignore it and it will go away. If it is a recurring problem, you wil need to remove the rear air filter and clean the air box out before it gums up the rear air filter. The most common causeof oil in the rear air box is the engine oil level being slightly over full.
 
Thanks for that. Sorry to bother you and I hope you had a good time up there.
Is there a way to just empty out whatever's in the hose by taking the end cap off?, does it come off?, or do you have to get in there and clean out the air box and take the hose off to empty it out?
 
Earlier models did not have the cap, so I would think it is fine to pull or cut the cap off. But the air box is not smooth, and the oil will gum up the filter, so if there is more than a few drops pull the filter and clean things up.
 
If its like mine there is no cap the flat part on mine is split. I had the same end on a old Beetle Bug in 66, the ideal is that when enough gets in the tube the weight opens the end up up and it dumps some but closes back up to seal it again. The end should be of soft rubber and open if you squeeze the ends.
 
That's what it looks like, flat on the end like a one-way valve.
I tried pinching it sideways to see if it would open and drain something, but the "lips" didn't seem to part and nothing came out (maybe they're stuck together). But anyway, there have been no further drips since I first posted this with a few hundred miles of riding, so for now, I'm not pursuing this further, just keeping an eye out under where my bike is parked for any further spots.
 
OK. OK. You're right. I'll fiddle with it some more and try and get it open, unstuck.
If anything comes out, I'm sending it to you.
 
:lol4:

You could BRING it to me.
It is a little cooler here than there.....but not much. 90 the next 3 days.
No, on second thought, I have no interest at all in what drains out of your "hose". :shock:

I'm actually putting a plug BACK in the drain hose on my Shadow.....because anything that drips out of it while moving ends up on the fins of the front cylinder. I wondered why I had so much of a "burning oil" smell; hoping that will solve most of it.
 
Yes, mostly, probably and just minor crap.
The Shadow 600 is a fine machine; moreso now that it is smoother after a valve adjustment.
Some days I wish I had my 600 Eliminator back.......but not many. :bluethum:
 
Back
Top