Hoses?

[B Evil]

Quick question . . . I'm just trying to make sure I remember what's what. Three hoses come off the gas tank. The two off the pet cock are Fuel going to the center 'T' on the carbs for the larger hose and the smaller hose is a vaccum hose that connects to the front of one of the carbs (I believe it was the number 3 carb) correct? The third hose coming off the fuel guage is just a vent and gets routed down between the air box and battery, correct? Or does it connect to something? Also the two hoses coming off the 'T's between carbs 1 and 2 and carbs 3 and 4 are also vent hoses and get routed in the same area betweent the air box and battery correct?

Also, the fuel line had an inline filter in it and from my understanding, this was not factory equipment right? Should I put a new inline filter in here or just have one piece of hose from the petcock to the carbs? I wanted to replace all the hoses before I put it all back together especially the breather hose coming off the valve cover because it seemed too short and never stayed connected. Are any of these special hoses or just your average air or gas grade hose found at lowes?

Her Stats are 1981 GS 550 L

Thanks for your help
-Bradley

[psyguy]

Quick question . . . I'm just trying to make sure I remember what's what. Three hoses come off the gas tank. The two off the pet cock are Fuel going to the center 'T' on the carbs for the larger hose and the smaller hose is a vaccum hose that connects to the front of one of the carbs (I believe it was the number 3 carb) correct? The third hose coming off the fuel guage is just a vent and gets routed down between the air box and battery, correct? Or does it connect to something? Also the two hoses coming off the 'T's between carbs 1 and 2 and carbs 3 and 4 are also vent hoses and get routed in the same area betweent the air box and battery correct?

all correct - 10 out of 10 :-D

[Nessism]

You are 100% correct in your assumptions regarding where the various hoses go.

For fuel line, I ordered the factory stuff for my bikes. Automotive fuel line is much fatter since it has a cloth casing build inside to withstand high pressure - something motorcycles don't have to worry about. Also, automotive fuel line is the wrong size to fit the carb/petcock nipples unless you want to supplement with a clamp - 5/16" fuel line is closest to the factory size but it fits kind of loose without a clamp.

Suzuki did not spec a fuel filter other than the screen on the petcock, inside the tank, and some small screen caps in each carb just before the float needles. A supplemental filter is fine but make sure you get one that is designed for non-pressurized systems - I like the kind with the gold colored stone inside. Lawn mower filters work as well.

Hope this helps.

[psyguy]

Also, the fuel line had an inline filter in it and from my understanding, this was not factory equipment right? Should I put a new inline filter in here or just have one piece of hose from the petcock to the carbs?

that's an ongoing debate. in principle if the petcock is good you dont need a filter
if you do install it, make sure to get one with enough flow

[psyguy]

Are any of these special hoses or just your average air or gas grade hose found at lowes?

nothing special. just average.
make sure that the fittment is correct though

[psyguy]

Automotive fuel line is much fatter since it has a cloth casing build inside to withstand high pressure

i really like that it's fatter - looks more serious - lol

(i had no prob finding the size, but we use the metric system here)

[B Evil]

Thanks for the quick feedback. Since I'm installing a new petcock I'll probably steer away from the fuel filter. The inside of thank looks pretty good too so I shouldn't have to worry about too much.

Would Motion Pro fuel line be a better choice since it's acutally made for motorcycles? Or is the automotive high pressure stuff just as good as long as I'm using clamps? So just to clarify, the vaccum and vent hoses are fine to be replaced with air hose that you'd find at lowes or home depot similar to what some us have used for our homemade carb synch tools right?

Hopefully tomorrow morning after I pick up the new shims I can get her put all back together.

[twr1776]

I would go with the Motion Pro line instead of the automotive line. 5/16" ID. The auto line generally has a thicker OD and is harder to install. Lots here also use the light blue urethane fuel line as well. Myself included. Good stuff but if the Motion Pro is readily available it should be fine as well.