Is pingel the ONLY aftermarket petcock?

[Guest]

I have the infamous vacuum petcock on my 1980 GS550L.

I am considering replacing it. I have read many of the posts about replacing it with the Pingel brand but the price has stopped me so far.

I have seen other aftermarket petcocks for much less.

I would like to hear if anyone has used the cheaper alternative with good results?

Or why so many believe Pingel is the better option regardless of price?

 

[Baatfam]

Or why so many believe Pingel is the better option regardless of price?

It is just a well built, good looking, quality piece of equipment.
And it really doesn't cost that much more than a stock petcock.

Of course you need a sharp memory if you get one, as someone will be sure to point out...

 

[Larry D]

I would think that any gravity fed fuel shutoff valve would work. ie. lawnmower, rotortiller, etc.....The difficulty is mounting it to the tank without it leaking.

I would recommend getting a stock one and not worrying about it for another 20 years or so.

 

[bwringer]

With some measuring, I seem to recall that someone successfully mounted up an inexpensive dirt bike petcock a while back.

But please keep in mind that the needles and seats in the carbs are not designed to hold back a tank of gas perfectly for days.

One day you will forget to turn off your manual petcock, and you will get a very nasty and expensive surprise from the gasoline filling your engine.

Or, as is even more common, you will forget to turn it on when departing, and the bike will stall just as you merge into traffic. Good luck not ending up as a disgusting Buick hood ornament.

So please sell some plasma, skip a few lattes, sell a little more crack, renegotiate with your pimp, or do whatever you need to do to scare up a few extra bucks for a new OEM petcock. They "only" last about 20 years.

It's a safety critical valve that controls the flow of a highly flammable substance a few inches from your crotch. This is not the place for ghetto hobo-tech halfass band-aid solutions.

 

[Baatfam]

Of course you need a sharp memory if you get one, as someone will be sure to point out...

One day you will forget to turn off your manual petcock, and you will get a very nasty and expensive surprise from the gasoline filling your engine.

Or, as is even more common, you will forget to turn it on when departing, and the bike will stall just as you merge into traffic. Good luck not ending up as a disgusting Buick hood ornament.

See............

I've been using manual petcocks for over 30 years...never met a vacuum petcock until a few years ago...
I find them weird and over complicated...

But that's just me...

 

[Killer2600]

I like manual petcocks as well, I don't have much trust in something that I don't have manual control of. Granted vacuum petcocks are an enhancement in the evolution of lazyness and it's sorta nice they are automatic but just like with transmissions I like the reliability and control of manual. Some consider manual trans or petcocks tedious and alot of work but just like driving manual after a while you don't even see it as extra work--it just becomes routine.

You can go with other brand petcocks but pingel has made a name for themselves and that's why riders think of them first and foremost when they think about aftermarket petcocks.

 

[mike_of_bbg]

Several people have reported success with this one:

http://www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=1715

It's not Suzuki branded (can't remember what was printed on the box), but is probably a pretty faithful duplicate of the original. At $50 it's not a real bank-breaker either. So I ordered one for my 82 GS550L. I'd like to tell you how I like it, but that'll be a few weeks still...

 

[seuadr]

It's a safety critical valve that controls the flow of a highly flammable substance a few inches from your crotch. This is not the place for ghetto hobo-tech halfass band-aid solutions.

Priceless!

 

[Billy Ricks]

The only time I've ever had a carb leak is when I had done a cleaning and when replacing the float seats I shaved a bit of o-ring off. I have a Pingel on the 700 and even when I forget to turn it off the carbs have never leaked.

 

[Guest]

Has anyone tried one of these?

http://www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=1744

 

[Jethro]

I'm a Pingel fan. Once you have one, you realize how worth it they are.

 

[don_gibb6512]

I'm a Pingel fan. Once you have one, you realize how worth it they are.

Ditto on that. I have one on both my bikes. I don't mind turning it off and on. Just part of the ride as far as I'm concerned.

 

[dardoonk]

Ditto on that. I have one on both my bikes. I don't mind turning it off and on. Just part of the ride as far as I'm concerned.

Ditto Ditto... Spend the money if you are able to.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the replies

Thanks for the replies

I appreciate the replies.

I have enough years under my belt that I agree that makeshift solutions and gasoline do not mix.

I was just curious if anyone found another brand of petcock to be satisfactory.

In a reply from a customer rep. at z1enterprises , he said the Custom Chrome referenced by renobruce would work http://www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=1744 and the Pingel brand which is better quality would also do the job.

As has been posted elsewhere he said to be sure of the bolt spacing (50 mm in my case) when ordering the adapter.

So if somone has used the Custom Chrome or another brand, I would like to hear from them.

 

[Uruka]

I'm just using one of these:

It's a solenoid valve designed for gas. When I turn on power it opens and delivers fuel, when I turn power off it closes automatically. Now it is possible that this unit could fail and that my carburetors will run out of fuel in the middle of a turn; but with the OEM petcock if I lose vacuum (hose brakes, port clogs, diaphram breaks) well the same thing could happen. This valve is only like $30.


Or you can modify your pre-existing petcock to be always on and use a cheap inline valve after it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/MOTION-PRO-IN-L...0?hash=item56302ac9f1&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

 

[Guest]

I appreciate the replies.

I have enough years under my belt that I agree that makeshift solutions and gasoline do not mix.

I was just curious if anyone found another brand of petcock to be satisfactory.

In a reply from a customer rep. at z1enterprises , he said the Custom Chrome referenced by renobruce would work http://www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=1744 and the Pingel brand which is better quality would also do the job.

As has been posted elsewhere he said to be sure of the bolt spacing (50 mm in my case) when ordering the adapter.

So if somone has used the Custom Chrome or another brand, I would like to hear from them.

I'll probably try one or the Custom Chrome jobs when I finish my project. The price is certainly good.

If your petcock still works, you can adapt it to turn completely off. Just take the front ring off, file off the notches, and the petcock handle will now rotate 360 degrees. You can then turn it straight up, which will turn it off. On my Skunk I had to also trim the handle to clear the bottom of the gas tank.

 

[Guest]

Worth a try.....

Worth a try.....

I ordered the Custom Chrome. It should arrive this week. I will post my opinion on it when I get it on the bike.

I am waiting for my original tank to be painted by a firend. Unfortunately due to some personal diffuculties, he had to focus his attention elsewhere.

I found another tank but it did not have a petcock, fuel guage or cap. Trying to put all those together was getting expensive so I decided to go with the cheaper petcock. If it works well I will probably switch it to the original tank.

Thanks again for all the input!

 

[ryonker]

Has anyone tried one of these?

http://www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=1744

I have one on my 79 750 and it works great. The price is right too.

 

[ORourke]

This is not the place for ghetto hobo-tech halfass band-aid solutions.

Generally I agree, especially if you are coming off many years riding with a vaccum tap. Last summer I came across a bike parked on the pavement downtown with a manual tap in the on position, fuel was leaking from the carb overflow pipe onto the pavement. Mid summer sun and lots of smokers walking around, could have ended very badly.

That said, my GS is my first vaccum tapped bike, so it's a question of what you are used to, my first few days with the GS i'd turn the tap to prime (generally where off is on a manual tap) when I parked. If you want a manual tap, and keep forgetting to turn it off, stick a small note on your instrument panel...

 

[trippivot]

pingle is the best!! rated on total flow and can be rebuilt. OEM and genuine suzuki rubber is hard to beat, probably the best for most "street bikes". K&L rubber in OEM tap is not great but will work for a while.

those others from motion pro / generic chrome are 1~2 year temp solutions like the K&L stuff and you will be dealing with a fuel control problem again especially if your area changes the fuel mixture from summer to winter.

my opinion on the electric valve is negative-not my place to judge

your bike, your decision .

some of us have tried them all and dealt with stuff previous owner have hacked and cobbled together. having a lap full of gas or not enough flow on the highway sucks.