Bike was left with "primary" position on fuel cock.

[anthonyridesgs1100]

My roommate misunderstood me after i let him ride my bike and left the fuelcock in primary position. It sat that way for about 3 weeks and overflowed the carbs. A: how can i tell if gas is in my oil? and B: what should i to do prevent issues and what should i be looking for as far as problems?
THanks,
anthony

[bwringer]

1) Gas IS in your oil. Don't start the engine.

2) Drain and replace the oil and filter. Use cheap oil -- it won't be in there long at all.

3) Ride a bit, then drain and replace the oil and filter again just to be sure.

4) Ride happy. You should be fine.

5) Don't loan your GS to anyone. Ever.

[Doctor Shifty]

One more thing to add.

Not riding the bike for three weeks is enough for somebody to call out the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Motorcycles. Got to cut that down to just a few days.

[Tarbash 27]

Dont ride on prime!!!

Use ON

[Road_Clam]

Dont ride on prime!!!

Use ON

Why not? There is no difference between "on" and "prime" while driving.

"prime" simply bypasses the vacuum safety circut in the petcock, allowing instant fuel flow for a bike that possibly has dry bowls.

[Tarbash 27]

Why not? There is no difference between "on" and "prime" while driving.

"prime" simply bypasses the vacuum safety circut in the petcock, allowing instant fuel flow for a bike that possibly has dry bowls.

Because it also uses the reserve gas in the tank, so when you notice it cuts out when you run out of gas, your totally out of gas.

I learned from experience, luckily It ran out next to a gas station.

[bonanzadave]

Wont the gas flow stop once the bowls are filled ? Or is there enough pressure to unseat the needles ?

[fgh]

Wont the gas flow stop once the bowls are filled ? Or is there enough pressure to unseat the needles ?

The flow rate or pressure doesn't change from "ON" to "RES" to "PRI". The only difference is where it comes from th etank and if it stops when you cut her off.

[Tarbash 27]

some bikes tend to leak out through the carbs if left on prime while the bike is off.

[bwringer]

The float needles are not designed or intended to form a perfect seal. A conical brass needle against a brass seat will form a 99.99% perfect seal, but cannot form a perfect seal.

You can usually get away with leaving a manual petcock on prime while you eat lunch or whatever, but if you leave it on PRI overnight or longer, fuel can sloooooooooooooowly trickle past the needles and make its way into your engine.

Suzuki's orignal design, a vacuum operated petcock, is quite reliable and far less fallible than human memory as long as you change the petcock ever 25 years or so.

Some carbs, like on some lawn mowers, use a needle tipped with Viton rubber that forms a better seal.

[feelergaugephil]

GS fuel taps are CRAP, get an inline fuel switch, it's about $5-$6 and you can leave it on prime for years and it will never leak into your carbs,
DONT START YOUR BIKE, like the other member advised, drain your oil 1st, if you get a vapor lock you'll know about it, expensive rebuild.......

[GSNubie]

Related question regarding the gas petcock

I just posted a "mechanic request" for my GS650G that has been sitting for about 10 years. The last time I tinkered with it, I remember gas leaking from what looked like the carbs. I remember wondering if the petcock needed to be in a particular position when not in use. Is the 650G prone to leaking if it is not in the 'off' position?

[texassparrow]

petcock or fuel shut-off

I left my valve in the pri position for 1 week and had fuel leaking down the carbs. The valve itself is not hooked up correctly in the first place, and have to run bike on pri. I am no specialist in the field of motorcycle repair, although able to find my way around easily enough. Need someone to assist in the proper hook-up of fuelcock hoses. Tried to run upper hose to hook-up between 1 and 2 carbs. had fuel running out the exhaust pipes in no time??
Any one able to help would be a blessing.
[-o<

[bonanzadave]

Any one able to help would be a blessing.
[-o<

It should be ...
Small hose - Vac
Large hose - Fuel into the carbs

You might just need a new petcock. On or Res position no fuel should flow out the big hose until you suck on the small hose. Pri is wide open.

Its not a bad idea to have a fire extinguisher or at least a heavy blanket near by. Ive heard some nasty stories......

[isleoman]

I now have a new petcock on my tank, works fine. The old petcock would occasionally allow the float bowls to over flow no matter how the lever was set.

I never knew, or even thought that gas might get in the engine oil and that maybe I should worry about it. I never saw a rise in my oil level through the site glass, but I wasn't looking either.

Must be why I never had a problem with it. I would clean the trickle of gas. Start the bike and ride. Course I only have 100K miles on this bike so that might not have been long enough to see a problem.

If your site glass doesn't show too much oil I wouldn't worry. Do your own due diligence though. My bigger concern was that the gas vapor would flash or blow when my oil burner or some other electrical device kicks on.