Petcock issues

[djscottymiami]

Since I thought I smelt some gas in the oil, I decided to check the petcock to see if it might have some crap in it because the bike sat for approximately 2 years before I got it.


I took the tank bolt off, skewed the tank up a little bit, disconnected the vacuum line and the fuel line and tried to put the petcock to prime. The dial turned but no fuel came out. I put the petcock back to the way it was before (on the dial) and started the bike just fine.


What would cause the petcock to not allow fuel to flow when it's on prime? I know there's another thread on this on this page but he seemed to have issues more with it running

On the bright side, when there was no vacuum going to the petcock, there was no fuel flowing. Had someone else come over and look at my plugs and he said they all looked OK. Took some oil out from my overfilling mishap yesterday.

I just filled up the tank last night so there's no real way to empty it at the time being. Would getting a new petcock (eventually) be a good idea?

Attached is the picture of the petcock. Has anyone seen this style before? Which way is which? Im assuming prime is up by the arrow thats there (there's PRI written near it as well).


Thanks for putting up with me

[doctorgonzo]

The wacky screw kind!
You have a variety of options from OEM to multiple aftermarket You'll need to measure the bolt spacing and the size of the whole it fits through into the tank for aftermarket. I'd replace it. The rubber has probably dried out, you're on borrowed time.

[Nessism]

You have the famous one year only 1980 petcock. I think the bolt spacing might be different from other Suzuki petcocks - thus you are stuck. You can get replacements from Georgefix on ebay or from Z1 Enterprise (I think).

Good luck.

[djscottymiami]

Great... another 'one of' on this bike lol

I think it's this petcock on Z1:

http://www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=2636

I've got an order in with them already, so we'll see how long it takes to get here before I order from them again.





Side note: I took the bike out for a run tonight, and I put regular fuel in it yesterday instead of premium (1.29$/L instead of 1.37$/L... easy choice nowadays), and the bike seemed to run almost better then with the premium in it.

[chef1366]

The prime only works if you prime the vacuum line first. In other words suck on it. The fuel will flow until you turn it to run. On run it needs canstant vacuum for fuel to flow.

[JayH]

Since I thought I smelt some gas in the oil, I decided to check the petcock to see if it might have some crap in it because the bike sat for approximately 2 years before I got it.


I took the tank bolt off, skewed the tank up a little bit, disconnected the vacuum line and the fuel line and tried to put the petcock to prime. The dial turned but no fuel came out. I put the petcock back to the way it was before (on the dial) and started the bike just fine.


What would cause the petcock to not allow fuel to flow when it's on prime? I know there's another thread on this on this page but he seemed to have issues more with it running

On the bright side, when there was no vacuum going to the petcock, there was no fuel flowing. Had someone else come over and look at my plugs and he said they all looked OK. Took some oil out from my overfilling mishap yesterday.

I just filled up the tank last night so there's no real way to empty it at the time being. Would getting a new petcock (eventually) be a good idea?

Attached is the picture of the petcock. Has anyone seen this style before? Which way is which? Im assuming prime is up by the arrow thats there (there's PRI written near it as well).


Thanks for putting up with me

If you are riding the bike a lot you won't have to worry about putting it on PRI anytime soon. The 81 petcock should fit your bike AND it will have a lever on it if you need to switch it over to PRI. Otherwise keep your petcock AND be sure to add a small screwdriver that will fit into the opening of your 1980 petcock. Never know when you might need it. :-D

[Dogma]

Great... another 'one of' on this bike lol

I think it's this petcock on Z1:

http://www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=2636

I've got an order in with them already, so we'll see how long it takes to get here before I order from them again.





Side note: I took the bike out for a run tonight, and I put regular fuel in it yesterday instead of premium (1.29$/L instead of 1.37$/L... easy choice nowadays), and the bike seemed to run almost better then with the premium in it.

That's the one. I just put one on mine this spring. Fixed and forgotten for another 28 years.

But first, check to make sure yours is still functioning like chef1366 says. However, at this age, the diaphragm in the petcock is a timebomb, and will leave you on the side of the road when it develops a leak.