I was cruising on my ZX9R B4 at 40km/h into a left hand, downhill slip lane when all of a sudden the back wheel felt like it had hit ice. Wobble wobble, I couldn't keep the bike into the turn so I was forced to rely on the front brake and keeping it upright by going straight. I got through the slip lane by going out really wide, but then the curb was looming, still wobbling everywhere but thankfully I managed to bring her to a stop parallel to the gutter on the right hand side of the road. Whew!!! Then as I looked back expecting to see a flat tyre, all I saw was petrol gushing out from the fuel line behind the tap. Cripey! I shoved my fingers up in there and managed somehow to get it to stop. Probably lost about 3 litres just where I'd stopped, let alone what was trailing back up the road. The gauge went from 3/4 to about 1/4, but it does drop quickly though the middle.
Anyway, in about a minute my best mate just happened to be going past and stopped to help [what are the odds?]. The leak was fixed temporarily as I'd forced the end of whatever was loose back into where it belonged. Without tools I couldn't say for sure how it happened so I let him go on his way and I continued to slowly head home, about 20km away. While I was stopped I also found a 15mm ratchet spanner on the road. Pity the bike hasn't got any 15mm bolts that I know of.
Anyway, limped her home and pulled off the seat, found out the piece that came off was where the hose clamps onto the fuel tap. The aluminium tube seems to be a press fit or glued into the tap body and it just fell out. A couple of cable ties [electrician's favourite tool] fixed it back in place for now.
Lessons learned today
1. Always be prepared for anything and don't panic. Looks like my reflexes stopped me from getting gravel rash. This is only my second road bike, with probably a total of maybe 6 months of roadie riding. Trail bikes used to be my style. Thankfully I haven't dropped a bike on tar in my life - yet?
2. Make sure you have tools with you. I couldn't even turn off the fuel tap because the plastic lever/handle is missing.
3. Ambulance cover is a must. I will look seriously into this in the very near future. Actually, after posting this, I'm going to apply and get it done.
4. Petrol is a great lubricant when contacting rubber. I just can't get over how slippery the back end felt when it let go. Remember there is only a tiny contact area between your bike and the road.
If you've bothered to read this far, thanks for listening and be safe out there.
