‘A fireball engulfed the tank… all for the sake of a £10 hose’
Perished fuel pipe sparks disaster
Small oversights can have big consequences, as the owner of a Suzuki VZ800 Marauder found to his peril.
While firms typically recommend fuel lines be changed every few years, in reality, this is often overlooked. James Scott, experienced spanner wielder and owner of James Scott Motorcycles, found out for himself the dangers of such a slip-up, nearly losing his own bike in the process.
He explained: “My bike is a 2004 Suzuki VZ800 Marauder, it’s 20 years old and in that time, chances are no-one has ever changed the fuel line.
“It’s easy to overlook the small things when servicing a bike, people change big stuff, but it’s important to do everything by the book. In this instance, I’d just arrived at my destination, put the sidestand down and got off. Suddenly, a fireball engulfed the tank.”
The hose running to the carbs had given up after 20 years of service, the combined degrading effect of petrol and pressure had caused the pipe to split, squirting fuel over the engine.
While the flames were extinguished in a matter of seconds, the damage was done. The throttle, clutch and choke cables were destroyed, the seat, battery, starter relay and airbox were damaged and much of the loom was toast.
“When I got the bike back to the unit, I had to fully strip it down, dismantling the carbs and replacing melted floats. I replaced the destroyed cables, reconditioned the airbox and replaced everything that was damaged. The problem was the loom. I couldn’t buy one anywhere and it was almost £1000 to have one made, so I ended up building my own.”