Evaporation Canister

[Beuphonium]

Greetings All!

 

I've just finished installing the center stand kit on my 2004 Cafe Sport. I'm actually rather pleased with the way it fits etc, however there are a few quesitons I was hoping that someone could answer...

 

To install everything I ended up having to remove the canister located behind the crossover, and it appears that with the stand installed it will not fit back in there. What is the function of this thing, and is there an alternative if it will not, in fact go back in there? I can't imagine it being that complicated...

 

I will say that the convieneince of a center stand on the hills around here will be great.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Joe K

- 04 Cafe Sport

- 84 V65SP

[slug]

The charcoal canister captures gasoline vapors from the fuel tank and recycles it back to the fuel tank, thereby preventing the unburned hydrocarbons from being released to the atmosphere where it causes smog, ozone holes, Michael Crichton novels and scurvy.

 

Is it absolutely essential to the bike? Heck no. Legal to remove them? Depends on where you live... Fortunately you don't live in California, where everything causes cancer and the CARB is more evil than the NSA. Many of us have "found" the emission control tidbits "missing" from our bikes with no ill effects.

 

If your canister and associated bits of hose and whatnot happen to fall off, just make sure to plug the brass nipples on the intake side of the heads and do the normal throttle body balance, TPS adjustments and make a generous donation to Slug's "Give Me Money to Buy a Set of Alpina Spoked Wheels or I'll Club This Baby Seal!" fund.

 

[stogieBill]

Joe,

 

When I purchased my '02 Scura last year, it arrived without a canister. As I am not looking to put a center stand on and if you no longer want your canister, I would like to buy it from you.

 

The canister does not slow the engine down or make it "run bad". It does as slug says it does.

 

If you won't be needing yours anymore, I'd like it.

 

TIA,

 

Bill

[jrt]

I'm not sure it actually recyles to the gas tank- I think the charcoal is there to absorb gas vapors before they get to the atmosphere. There is a gas recycling system in that mess of hoses, but I don't know how effective it is. On the other hand, it seemed to make no difference before/after I removed mine.

[Guest ratchethack]

The purpose of the charcoal canister is to expand government intrusion into and control over your life. This, of course, has a huge cost, which YOU AND I pay for in ever-increasing taxes. Functionally, the canister has no more effect on emissions - or global warming (or global cooling) - than the improved mileage you'd get after a satisfying morning "constitution".

 

Since I live in California, where the Anthro-glo-warmies have taken over the asylum in the state capitol, I fully expect to have to submit to the Charcoal Canister Inspection Police at some point in the not-too-distant future. That's why I keep the canisters for all my vehicles in a box in my garage.

 

The complex regulatory apparatus behind the design and mandatory OEM requirement for the charcoal canister, however, does support great numbers of nice new modern, high-efficiency "low-E" buildings full of pasty-faced, plump bureaucrats, who's sole purpose in life is to dream up and create justifications for expanding their staffs and increasing their budgets for next year. It takes far more burning of fossil fuels (natural gas, oil, and coal) to keep these government buildings on the power grid with their air-conditioners on HIGH in Sacramento all summer long than any conceivable savings realized by capture of fuel vapors from all the vehicles on the planet - let alone on motorcycles.

 

Rant mode off....

[grossohc]

Am i right in saying this charcoal cannister is only on U.S. spec bikes.

Gary

[dlaing]

Functionally, the canister has no more effect on emissions - or global warming (or global cooling) - than the improved mileage you'd get after a satisfying morning "constitution". <_>

89738[/snapback]

If it could stop the evaporation, it might prevent global cooling, but it does not stop the evaporation. It simply contains it, preventing oh maybe a quart every four years from evaporating. You will evaporate far more fuel when you remove the tank, change the fuel filter, and gas up at the gas stations.

Production of the cannisters probably causes more polution than the cannisters prevent.

That being said, having the cannister on, may save you a buck per year on fuel as it gets pulled into the engine and burned rather than evaporating into the atomosphere.

If you want a greener bike tuning the fueling and ignition mapping is the way to go!

(or convert to ethanol or bio-diesel)

[Guest Nogbad]

If this canister is normally cold and simply prevents direct communication of the tank breather to atmosphere then eventually the carbon will become saturated and no more vapour will be absorbed. We don't have these on UK bikes, as far as I can see it is extra weight for little environmental gain. Is there a replacement schedule for the canister on US bikes?

 

If so the best thing to do is keep the canister in the garage and only put it on for annual inspection.

[dlaing]

If so the best thing to do is keep the canister in the garage and only put it on for annual inspection.

89754[/snapback]

I save mine for the potential "fix-it ticket" or heaven forbid I ever sell my beloved.

No annual motorcycle inspections in California, yet.

[Guest Nogbad]

No annual motorcycle inspections in California, yet.

89757[/snapback]

 

What? Not even a safety test? All vehicles over 3 years old in the UK have to have an annual safety inspection. For cars this includes an emissions test as well. Not yet on bikes though as they represent such a small proportion of vehicle mileage. I guess bike emission tests may eventually come in but no sign of it yet.

[Skeeve]

If this canister is normally cold and simply prevents direct communication of the tank breather to atmosphere then eventually the carbon will become saturated and no more vapour will be absorbed. We don't have these on UK bikes, as far as I can see it is extra weight for little environmental gain. Is there a replacement schedule for the canister on US bikes? [1]

 

If so the best thing to do is keep the canister in the garage and only put it on for annual inspection.[2]

89754[/snapback]

 

[1] Nope. The fumes go into the canister, the charcoal does some adsorption, vents to airbox. Bike starts, air is pulled thru canister, gas effloresces from the charcoal, goes to cylinder & gets burned.

 

[2] Yup. If you have an annual inspection. So far, Bikes are exempt from even the biannual smog tests that cars get here in CA.

 

In all fairness, much more than the 1qt of fuel/4 years that DLaing forecasts will evaporate from a motorcycle tank w/o these things, given So.Cal.'s sunny weather, general lack of shaded motorcycle parking, & the small volume of fuel motorcycles can carry. (Heck, I can lose that much fuel in a couple of months, just w/ the bike in the garage!) On a regularly ridden Goldwing, with it's 5+ gallon, inside the frame gas tank? Totally superflous. On a V11 Sport, w/ a nylon tank perched over an a/c motor? Marginally useful. On a Jackal, w/ a metal tank & a/c motor, parked in the sun 9 hrs a day while at work, multiplied by 100s if not 1000s of similarly constructed bikes out there in similar situations in a vast "bowl" of inadequate atmospheric turnover [ie, helL. A.]? Definite prevention of photochemical smog. It's the power of incremental advantage & large numbers, aka "economies of scale." If Guzzi made 2x the bikes, they could all be sold for less money & the company would still make more profit. Same idea.

 

Should you remove the canister? If you live somewhere that you rarely need to park your bike in the sun for extended periods (& obviously, have no regular vehicle inspections to make certain that all the stock parts are still attached like the poor Germans & New Jersey? residents), feel free. It'll save you a couple pounds & lots of frustration by not having to work around extra hoses, etc. when wrenching on your bike. If you live someplace it's regularly h-o-t HOT like anywhere in the tropics, or in the U.S. south & western states during summer, you're doing good for the environment: the decision is yours. Me, I'm mostly just too lazy to mess with it, but if it ever got in my way, I'd yank it w/o much in the way of qualms. If it ever came right down to it, I could save just as much fuel from evaporation by throwing a white towel over the tank whenever I park my bike!

 

& oh, BTW? That fuel that gets recycled from canister trapping the fumes? Does nothing to improve your gas mileage: the bike just runs a little rich until all the fuel is burnt, since the ECU has no way of accounting for it!

[Guest golden goose]

Nope, if we allowed ALL our vehicles to be submitted for safety inspections here in California, by law, that would be discrimination against minorities. That's why we wisely ended such stupidity, what? nearly 3 decades ago?

 

You see, we like it both ways here. Its actually very intelligent once you incorporate the Theory of Inverse Reality into your operating system. If I am not mistaken, we pretty much require any manufacturer of motor vehicles to build to California specifications where emissions are concerned. That way all Californians can breathe safer air.

 

But since some segments of our population tend to drive cars with poor maintenance, if we required them to submit to vehicle safety inspections like everybody else, we would be singling them out, discriminating against them.

 

Assuming you have installed the Theory of Inverse Reality (California version) software upgrade, here we will tie it all up and make perfect sense. Several studies have shown that less than 10% of all vehicles produce more than 90% of all "bad" emissions. So by requiring everyone to drive well catalyzed, carbon cannistered, boutique fueled motor vehicles, and then politically correctly ignoring a certain segment of our driving population via safety inspection elimination, we get the full dose of air pollution anyway from that ~10% of vehicles (seems a bit more to me, anybody else noticing that?).

 

Here we have proof of something I am always want to say. Be careful when you decide to fight yourself. You really do have to ask yourself what are you going to do if you win..................

 

Oh, and I forgot to tell you. Once you put the TIR CA-version into your operating system, you will have attitude with ATTITUDE. We export that, yep, we get a lot of sheet for it.

[dlaing]

In all fairness, much more than the 1qt of fuel/4 years that DLaing forecasts will evaporate from a motorcycle tank w/o these things, given So.Cal.'s sunny weather, general lack of shaded motorcycle parking, & the small volume of fuel motorcycles can carry. (Heck, I can lose that much fuel in a couple of months, just w/ the bike in the garage!)

89776[/snapback]

If you are correct I may have to reinstall the collostomy sackage

I'll have to research it, if nobody has the data.

[DeBenGuzzi]

If you are correct I may have to reinstall the collostomy sackage

I'll have to research it, if nobody has the data.

89797[/snapback]

just get together with a bunch of ppl in california and buy a bone stock sport off ebay, when inspection comes up borrow the sport put your license plate on her and pass emissions. then get home to your K&N mistral PCIII FBF piston gas guzzlin beaut of a bike.

[dlaing]

It is leftist greeny guilt, not the law, that makes me want to put it back on, if the gas evaporates so quickly.