Calif. gas tank is smaller

[OB_SlowHand]

This may have been posted before; if so I missed it.
Suzuki literature quotes the Busa as having a 5.8 gal. tank. After buying mine, I saw in my owner's manual that the capacity in Calif. is only 5.3. Apparently the tank was downsized to make room for the charcoal(emissions) canister,etc. Half a gal. doesn't sound like much, but several times after riding with maniac friends I have put 5.3 to 5.5 in the tank.Almost ran out another time when riding alone near Joshua Tree in the summer.(110 degrees) Obviously I'm pushing the maximum range. I've been thinking of buying a 5.8 tank, junking the emissions crap, and picking up the 15 to 20 mile cushion. My cost for a new tank is almost $600. and it's kinda galling to have to pay that just to get what Suzuki advertised. I assume that there will be other parts needed as well. Has anyone felt the need to do something about this, or is my problem an isolated one?

 

[OB_Dingo]

I've never been happy at the thought of having .5 less of a gas tank. The more gas, the better for me, but I doubt I'll do anything drastic to fix it.

I think I'm happy enough to have the 5.3 vs the 3.x I had with a Honda Magna, the bike I had before this. 90 miles on that one, and I'd already be hitting the reserve. Ugh.

 

[OB_KawAbuser]

That is a bargain in comparison to Yoshimura's extra capacity "Tornado" aluminum endurance tank, at a whopping $4,000.

Carbon Fiber tanks will be available in January for about $900.

 

[OB_Dr Busa]

In Sweden we have, as i suspect californians have too, cathalytic converter on my machine. In order to get the owner to only fill up the little baby with unleaded the fillercap has a second hole in it lower down which is smaller than the original one. The little hole is there to fit the uleaded nozzle. However it takes forever to fill the tank all the way up to the edge of the original hole because of some sort of vacuum thus reducing the capacity of the tank.

To quote Metallica "Sad but true".

Sagge

 

[OB_SlowHand]

Kawabuser, that makes me feel better. I'd rather spend $900.for the CF to lighten the bike as well as get more capacity. It will have the full 5.8, won't it?
Doctor, no cat. here on the Busa. Sounds like they've really fouled up your refueling process. Are you sure our EPA hasn't been at work in Scandinavia?

 

[OB_ROR]

I'm not sure the actual tank is any different in Calif. I think the filler is a bolt-in replacement for the original. So maybe you only need to replace the filler. The dealer says that all the Calif mods are made in Calif by the distributor, which indicates they're probably fairly simple bolt-ons.

The Calif bikes DON'T have catalytic converters.

 

[OB_SlowHand]

Thanks, ROR. You may have solved the problem. The filler does extend down quite a ways and this could be to prevent someone from overfilling the tank and flooding the charcoal canister. That might explain why I've been able to squeeze 5.5 into a 5.3 tank.
I might be able to chuck the canister and change the filler and have the full 5.8.
You guys are great!

 

[OB_A Daddy Busa]

I might be interrested in trading or buying a California model tank so if anybody is willing to sell there tank I need a Black and Gray.

 

[OB_ROR]

Some further info. My dealer confirms that the Calif tank and the 49 state tank are externally the same. He thinks the only difference is the deeper filler assembly, but is not sure that one could just replace the Calif filler assy with the 49-state assy. (I'm in Los Angeles).

When I compare the parts diagrams in my Tatsuyami Mook for the Hayabusa and the diagrams in the emissions section of the factory service manual, the Calif filler appears to simply be a longer tube extending into the tank that would have the effect of leaving empty expansion space in the top of the tank if you filled only to the bottom of the tube.

But there is also a fuel/vapor separator on a tube high up in the tank, leading to the fuel vapor recovery cannister, which is actually an external device bolted under the rear under-seat fairing on the right side towards the rear of the bike.

What's confusing is that the Hayabusa Mook parts diagrams also show the same vapor recovery cannister, but not the deep tank filler assy. So it leads me to assume that all Hayabusas have a vapor recovery system, which simply lets vapors condense back to liquid and feeds them back into the fuel injection system, but that only the Calif models have the deep filler and a half-gallon's worth of empty space for vapors inside the tank.

 

[OB_KawAbuser]

ROR the Mook is a wealth of information, I just wish it was in English.

 

[OB_SlowHand]

Thanks, ROR. That's a lot of info, but I'm not quite sure what to do with it. Maybe just dig in and see what's there? What do you think, Kawabuser?