‘82 GS650GL Petcock leaking while starting

[Guest]

To make a long story short, I hooked up my starter relay incorrectly after I replaced the regulator rectifier (fun little lesson to learn from as a new bike owner and noob lol). While trying to fix the issue I had removed my gas tank by unhooking the hoses coming from the engine carbs (didn’t remove the hoses from the carbs just from the petcock to remove the tank from the bike). After hooking up the relay correctly and reconnecting the hoses to the tank and trying to start the bike, gas now spits from the petcock each time the engine crank when engaging the ignition (like it is literally shooting out of the petcock like a super soaker). When I quit trying to start the bike the fuel shooting stops. I believe I connected the hoses correctly but from what I have been reading it sounds like maybe the vacuum part of the petcock is what is shooting the fuel out? To start the bike, I have to manually pull the choke out from the engine fully since my choke lever broke on the handlebar (will replace later). Also, during the time I couldn’t figure out the starter relay issue (connected ground wire to green and white wire from stator...smh...) I had let the bike sit for two weeks, just as the temperature dropped here in Indiana.

I tried connecting the hoses the way I remember them connected prior to me taking the tank off, with the hose closest to the engine tank the one being connected to each different petcock valve or “exit hole”. The hose furthest from the gas tank (I believe the vacuum hose) is physically too short and far to connect it (and I don’t remember that one being connected prior to me removing the tank anyway); it was just a short tube that was connected to the engine carbs but just hanging (again, too short to reach the gas tank). Prior to me taking the bike apart and replacing the rectifier I never had any leaking gas or petcock issues like this before, did I do something wrong in hooking the tubes back up to the petcock?

Something else to note, I replaced the hose that was closest to the gas tank (come from the carbs) with a bigger one because the original smaller hose had cracks and holes that got worse when I removed the tank (basically the tube nearly ripped from being so old). The larger hose connected to the carb “hole” and then directly upward into the petcock valve just fine (again, tried connecting it to both valves).

[Steve]

Hi, Welcome and all that.

We have had an '82 650L here, but both nipples on the petcock are about the same distance from the tank, so I don't know which one you are calling "closer to the tank".

There are two hoses that come from the carbs. One come from the center (and more to the rear). It is the fuel hose. The other hose comes from the front of #2 carb, it is the vacuum hose. The two nipples on the petcock are arranged more "inner" and "outer" than they are "closer" and "farther". The outer nipple (closest to the selector lever) is for the fuel, the inner nipple is for the vacuum.

At least it's good to hear that the diaphragm is working to close off fuel flow.

.

[jrdatrackstar]

Hi, Welcome and all that.

We have had an '82 650L here, but both nipples on the petcock are about the same distance from the tank, so I don't know which one you are calling "closer to the tank".

There are two hoses that come from the carbs. One come from the center (and more to the rear). It is the fuel hose. The other hose comes from the front of #2 carb, it is the vacuum hose. The two nipples on the petcock are arranged more "inner" and "outer" than they are "closer" and "farther". The outer nipple (closest to the selector lever) is for the fuel, the inner nipple is for the vacuum.

At least it's good to hear that the diaphragm is working to close off fuel flow.

.

Thank you so much for your post, I am indeed a newbie and this is my first bike (got it on Labor Day with 16,000 miles on and have wracked up 3,000 since).

Yes, the fuel hose! That is the one that was cracked and I replaced and hooked up to the closest “nipple” on the petcock (and that was how I remember it being hooked up prior to me removing it). Now, the other nipple on the petcock has a bigger out ring or “lip” and, as I said before, I don’t remember that one being connected to anything. On top of that, it is out of this nipple that the fuel is leaking. If I hook the fuel hose up to this nipple (the bigger one that is further away) the leaking doesn’t happen but I don’t think fuel is getting to the carbs.

As I mentioned before, there was only one hose (at least that I can remember) hooked up to the petcock while the bike was running fine and I believe it was the fuel line (because that was the one I disconnected). Now while it’s possible the other nipple was connected and I remember this wrong, the #2 carb is too short to even reach the petcock (which leads me to believe that it was never hooked up in the first place). I will attach pictures later if possible when I get home from work.

Thank you again for your reply!

[greg78gs750]

if i understand correctly......the larger nipple is the fuel outlet, the smaller is the vacuum line. there should be 2 hoses. Possible you were running on "prime" before, and not "needing" the vacuum line? not an ideal setup, something to do in emergencies and the like. That it spits fuel out the outlet when you apply suck (engine cranking) to the vacuum and that it stops when you don't is actually a good sign.

edit: we like photos....lots of guides on how to post on the site. And, welcome....

[Steve]

If, in fact, you did only have one hose going to the petcock, you need to see if the second hose is still attached to the carbs. If it is, you need to make sure it is plugged, or you will have a MASSIVE air leak. You will also have to move the petcock lever to PRIme to ride the bike, then move it to RUN or REServe when you park.

.

[jrdatrackstar]

Here are some photos of my setup without the tank:

IMG_0040.jpg

[Spyder]

The visible hose in that picture, is indeed the vacuum line. As a note, it looks to be automotive fuel line, and really should be replaced with a smaller hose. It sounds to me, that you are connecting that line to the correct "nipple" on the petcock. The hose that is coming up from in between the 2 middle carbs (far side of the carbs from the engine), THAT will be the fuel line, and needs to be connected to the nipple that is leaking fuel. If it is too short, replace it. I don't recommend using hoses that thick and heavy, as they are more difficult to route correctly without kinking.

[jrdatrackstar]

The visible hose in that picture, is indeed the vacuum line. As a note, it looks to be automotive fuel line, and really should be replaced with a smaller hose. It sounds to me, that you are connecting that line to the correct "nipple" on the petcock. The hose that is coming up from in between the 2 middle carbs (far side of the carbs from the engine), THAT will be the fuel line, and needs to be connected to the nipple that is leaking fuel. If it is too short, replace it. I don't recommend using hoses that thick and heavy, as they are more difficult to route correctly without kinking.

Thank you for that post, I wondered if having the larger one would be a problem (it was all Auto Zone had unfortunately so I will try to find a store with smaller hoses).

Here is a pic of the other side. Not sure when this hose was connected and I never replaced this one so I will go ahead and find this one as well.

[cowboyup3371]

Trying to buy hose from the local AUTOMOTIVE parts houses won't work as they are the wrong size. You can still get the correctly sized hoses from Suzuki. Don't be fooled by the price as they give you actually more hose than you need but that just works out for you later down the road when you do need more.

[Steve]

Also, be aware that there are a total of FOUR hoses on the carbs.

One is connected to a "T" between carbs 1&2, a similar one is connected to a "T" between carbs 3&4.
Those two VENT hoses do not get connected to anything, they get routed over the airbox (oops, you have pods, not an airbox ) to the relatively calm air under the seat, above the battery. On the stock air filter assembly, there is a retainer hoop that holds the two hoses in place.

A third hose is the FUEL hose, it is connected to a "T" between carbs 2&3. It gets connected to the nipple on the petcock that is closer to the outer edge of the tank.

The fourth hose is the VACUUM hose. It is connected to a nipple on the front of carb #2 and the nipple on the petcock that is closer to the bike's frame.

All of these hoses are available from Suzuki. As Cowboyup mentioned, they are not exactly cheap, but you get quite a bit of hose. The two vent hoses are pretty much exact length (I wish they were just a bit longer), but the other two hoses come in a six-foot length (it might actually be two meters). Once you experience the proper hoses, you will wonder why you ever went to the auto parts store.

.

[jrdatrackstar]

Thank you everyone for your help, just got the bike started and running again. I was indeed confused by the routing hoses but completely missed the fuel line hose (the larger nipple gave it away because it was the only hose long enough and wide enough to fit on the golden fuel nipple). This is exciting for me because this is my first time getting it to run in nearly a month and a half (been sitting in the cold garage here in Indiana). I rode it for a while just to make sure it can idle fine on its own and it’s back to running normal!

The next big worry I will have is the stator but we will see if that holds up fine once riding season rolls around again (or the next warm day).

[Spyder]

Good to hear. Don't hesitate to ask questions along the way.

[rphillips]

Why wait till riding season? Just connect a volt meter to the batt., should read 12.6 or above, crank it up & rev to 3000 or more, should jump noticeably, 13.3 or more. These #'s aren't exact, but if your #'s go up, you are probably in good shape.

[jrdatrackstar]

Took the bike for a ride today for around 2 hours (it got up to 54 here in Indiana). Good news is the stator appears to be working because when I took the battery off the bike and hooked it up to the charger, the volt meter didn’t move (didn’t need any charging); I assume that means the rectifier and stator are working well together and keeping the battery charged. The only thing that ran wrong was when I was trying to ride top end speed (85) it would get bogged down and most of the time wouldn’t get up to top speed without me having to push it hard in the lower gears first (this is a 5 speed).

I’m wondering if it sitting and the gas being in the tank if there may be factors from that or maybe I need some sea foam or carb cleaner and run it through the tank? I ran it from full to nearly empty right now so that the sea foam would be able to get into the system quickly and thoroughly.

[tom203]

Check air filter element ....might be dirty or over oiled causing a restriction.