No lever on petcock?

[eastern]

Hey everyone. Just purchased my first 1980 GS550L. Seems like a pretty cool bike and I can't wait to get her on the road. I went ahead and swapped out the reg/rec with a different one and rewired with the stator according to the recommendations from here. When I tried starting her for the first time it took a while but she fired up and would only run with the choke fully pulled out. I figured I would try the seafoam route but as of today after the seafoam treatment she will not stay running at all..guess I jostled some varnish or gunk loose which is now stuck somewhere in. I guess it is rebuild time. I keep reading though that the aftermarket carb kits are pretty shoddy. Should I just purchase new o-rings and gaskets and not worry about the other components? I figured this would be the cheapest route also. The cycleorings kit seems to be about the best route for this. Let me know if anybody has any suggestions or has had any problems with certain kits.

I guess the main question I had though deals with the petcock. Mine doesn't have a lever on it and I just figured it was broken and I would have to purchase a new one. When I saw pics of the replacements on vendor websites the replacements didn't have levers either. I am a little confused here as to whether or not the petcock is actually broken or missing the lever. I did the sucking on the vacuum line trick and verified that the diaphram is working fine on it and I went ahead and cleaned out the filter which was fairly clean except for some extremely fine material so I don't a rebuild is necessary. Just seems odd to me about the lever. Is there a cheap source for this part if in fact it is needed?

[chef1366]

I bought one of these for my 80 and it works great.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1980-GS550-GS750-GS850-GS1000-GS1100-PETCOCK_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ35597QQitemZ180091602681

I've used the K&L rebuild kits with no problems but the general attitude here is to just use the carb dip, o-rings, new gaskets and reuse all the old components.

[eastern]

Hey Chef,

Thanks for the reply. The pic of that petcock is what I was talking about with the others and with mine. Where the lever would normally be on other petcocks it isn't on that one. You can see it in that pic that there isn't a lever. It is just a little slot that if you insert a flathead screwdriver you can rotate it 360 degrees. Is this normal?

[ratgs81750l]

no, im pretty sure you need a lever on the petcock . if youre saying your diapragm and everything is good all you need it a lever of which i happen to have. actually i have a whole petcock with a bad diapragm ill sell the whole thing for ten bucks shipped to your door , that way youve got pieces if you need em as well....just let me know PM me....

[chef1366]

Some 80 petcocks did not have levers. On my L model there is a space issue.

[tkent02]

Same with mine, no lever...

Some 80 petcocks did not have levers. On my L model there is a space issue.

on the 1980 750E
Guess they didn't think you'd need a reserve with a gas gauge.
And no room for the lever type on mine either, without moving it to the location they went to in '81, about six inches forward to put it forward of the carbs.
I just bought the one you recommended chef, thanks!

[bradleymaynar]

no, im pretty sure you need a lever on the petcock .

No. Suzuki apparently had a brain fart for a couple years and felt that levers were unnecessary on p/c's on certain models. Thank goodness it wasn't on mine!:-D

Brad bt

[eastern]

Thanks for all the replies. That makes sense now to some degree with the fuel gauge...but how do you use the prime setting?

[tkent02]

Shouldn't need it....

but how do you use the prime setting?

It just flows gas when the engine isn't running. You only need it if the bike has sat several weeks and the carbs have gone dry, or to do something like drain the gas from the tank.

[bradleymaynar]

And always turn it off Prime once the bike is running! You could end up with fuel in your oil if you don't!

Brad bt

[eastern]

I guess I should have specified that I was wondering on how I would choose the prime setting on the certain leverless p/c models. The dial spins 360 degrees but there is no lever to spin it...except if you use a flathead screwdriver. And there is the letters "pri" at the top left of the petcock body. Does anyone think that there isn't a prime setting on these p/c's...that they possibly just used the same bodies for these models instead of manufacturing different ones.

[chef1366]

If the notch is up and down it is on prime. Back and forth is run. It doesn't matter how many times you spin it around it is what it is.
For these petcocks on run you need vacuum on the petcock for the gas to flow at all. On prime you need to put a hose on your vacuum line of the petcock and suck on it and release and it will flow all day. Or just try to start your motor and stop to open up the prime flow. In other words prime still needs a second of vacuum to work at all.

[ReedSupport]

I have just the same, a 1980 GS550L, and I had the same questions regarding the petcock as you. When the line is vertical, it's set to prime. When the line is horizontal, it's set to run. No reserve, no lever, and I'm pretty sure I'm able to tune the petcock setting slightly to allow a flow of fuel between prime and run, for certain running conditions.

I wouldn't mind so much but there's nowhere on the bike I can stash a screwdriver!

[eastern]

Thanks for the help everyone. That little tip just saved me from dropping an unnecessary $50 on a new p/c. \\/

I never would have thought Suzuki would have just left the lever off because of space issues. I guess I will just have to carry around a little screwdriver just in case.

[Planecrazy]

Here is some clarification ... to my knowledge ALL of the 1980 GS's had leverless vacuum only petcocks, and 1980 was the only year that Suzuki did this. It was not a space issue, because many models that had plenty of space for a levered petcock did NOT have one. The following year they all DID.

I haven't looked at my '80 550L in a while, but I'm pretty sure that the normal running position for the "slot" is vertical (which makes sense when you consider that if the petcock DID have a lever it would be positioned vertically to be in the normal "run" position). Some people have told me that turning the slot doesn't do anything at all, but I'm by no means certain of this. There are plenty of more knowledgeable members who may be able to clarify this point.

In the meantime, it sounds like your petcock is working properly. If you DO have trouble starting it after a long period of inactivity, you may want to try turning the slot to the PRI (prime) position and see if it helps on starting. Just be sure to turn it back to it's normal position after the bike starts (just in case turning the slot DOES change the way the fuel flows).

Enjoy!