Gas escaped air injection system on '87 Yamaha XV535?

guitarinchris · 06-23-2012, 08:06 AM

Hey everyone!

I'm quite new to motorcycles and especially to everything mechanical. I plan on getting this checked out by my local shop but wanted to see if anyone had any ideas:

A week ago I was practicing riding my new-to-me 87 Yamaha Virago 535. Made a mistake and wound up dropping the bike (low speed) onto it's left side. I turned the bike off and lifted it back up and placed it on the side stand. I noticed the chrome cap on the left side (which I believe houses the air injection system, according to my Clymer manual), had a small amount of gas dripping from the edge of the casing. A neighbor came out to check on me and told me that "this just happens with some older bikes" and that it was nothing to worry about. The leak stopped in seconds and I haven't had a problem since (nor I have I dropped it, haha).

Wondering if anyone has any ideas as to what this may be? Is it as normal as my neighbor thinks?

Thanks!

Goliath616 · 06-23-2012, 10:03 AM

well the AIS doesn't have gas running in it, more than likely what you saw was some gas that had come out of the carb and flowed downhill until you saw it at the bottom dripping.....

Dodsfall · 06-23-2012, 10:13 AM

It's normal for gas to leak out when a motorcycle is tipped over. (They are meant to be upright most of the time

)

Keep an eye on it to make sure it stopped, but it should be fine.

guitarinchris · 06-23-2012, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goliath616

well the AIS doesn't have gas running in it, more than likely what you saw was some gas that had come out of the carb and flowed downhill until you saw it at the bottom dripping.....

Hmm that could be it. I assumed there was gas in it because there's a line running from the tank alongside the engine and then behind the chrome box for the AIS. could be just that the gas ran down the outside of the line to the bottom of the box. Thanks!

Goliath616 · 06-23-2012, 04:51 PM

yup, the AIS (Air Injection System) injects cool air into the heads as the exhaust valve opens....it's meant to help cool down the catalytic convertors in the exhaust and help to ignite any unburned fuel

guitarinchris · 07-08-2012, 09:44 PM

Today I opened up these two chrome bubbles and, welp, I think we proved the theory that the gas was just running along the line, however I've discovered that these two "chrome containers" on either side of the bike house some strange stuff (strange really only in the sense that this bike doesn't even have fuel in the tank because it's a dummy tank - the fuel goes under the seat!)

The right side container was actually housing some electrical (a whole lot of it, all neatly packed in there tightly. I haven't yet discerned whether it's the ignition, the lights, or both).

The container that I had mistakenly thought leaked gas actually houses nothing! It must simply have been to create a matching piece for the other side of the bike. It would, however, make a neat storage option for something I won't need except in case of emergencies (since I need to use a philips head screwdriver to open it up).

06-23-2012, 08:06 AM	#1
guitarinchris Motorcyclist Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: PE, Canada Posts: 12	Gas escaped air injection system on '87 Yamaha XV535? Hey everyone! I'm quite new to motorcycles and especially to everything mechanical. I plan on getting this checked out by my local shop but wanted to see if anyone had any ideas: A week ago I was practicing riding my new-to-me 87 Yamaha Virago 535. Made a mistake and wound up dropping the bike (low speed) onto it's left side. I turned the bike off and lifted it back up and placed it on the side stand. I noticed the chrome cap on the left side (which I believe houses the air injection system, according to my Clymer manual), had a small amount of gas dripping from the edge of the casing. A neighbor came out to check on me and told me that "this just happens with some older bikes" and that it was nothing to worry about. The leak stopped in seconds and I haven't had a problem since (nor I have I dropped it, haha). Wondering if anyone has any ideas as to what this may be? Is it as normal as my neighbor thinks? Thanks!

06-23-2012, 10:03 AM	#2
Goliath616 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Over here Posts: 4,201	well the AIS doesn't have gas running in it, more than likely what you saw was some gas that had come out of the carb and flowed downhill until you saw it at the bottom dripping..... __________________ '08 Yamaha Road Star To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

06-23-2012, 10:13 AM	#3
Dodsfall Administrator Join Date: May 2008 Location: Illinois, USA Posts: 15,863	It's normal for gas to leak out when a motorcycle is tipped over. (They are meant to be upright most of the time ) Keep an eye on it to make sure it stopped, but it should be fine. __________________ 2008 XL1200R To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

06-23-2012, 04:51 PM	#5
Goliath616 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Over here Posts: 4,201	yup, the AIS (Air Injection System) injects cool air into the heads as the exhaust valve opens....it's meant to help cool down the catalytic convertors in the exhaust and help to ignite any unburned fuel __________________ '08 Yamaha Road Star To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

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07-08-2012, 09:44 PM	#6
guitarinchris Motorcyclist Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: PE, Canada Posts: 12	Today I opened up these two chrome bubbles and, welp, I think we proved the theory that the gas was just running along the line, however I've discovered that these two "chrome containers" on either side of the bike house some strange stuff (strange really only in the sense that this bike doesn't even have fuel in the tank because it's a dummy tank - the fuel goes under the seat!) The right side container was actually housing some electrical (a whole lot of it, all neatly packed in there tightly. I haven't yet discerned whether it's the ignition, the lights, or both). The container that I had mistakenly thought leaked gas actually houses nothing! It must simply have been to create a matching piece for the other side of the bike. It would, however, make a neat storage option for something I won't need except in case of emergencies (since I need to use a philips head screwdriver to open it up).