Fuel petcock/ new xeon light b

[MrBill54]

Been having some problems with my fuel delivery some. I have a 80 GS750E with the vacuum petcock. Seems like when i'm riding down the hiway at speed ( 65-90 mph ) the engine starts bucking a bit and eventually stops because the lack of fuel. It just shuts off (sometimes I can keep the engine going by pulling the choke in and out and it catches again, not often though). I get off the bike and pull the vac line off and suck on it to open the value and let the fuel flow for a bit after that it runs fine. thought the value had some residue on it making it stick or a bad spot on it and i usually find it clean/smooth. I have rebuilt the petcock and have installed two new ones, the first new one was crap right out of the box, the second new one worked for awhile then started it all over again. I cant figure out why it keeps loosing vacuum to it, the line is new, the carb boots are sealed and the petcock holds vacuum okay. Things get a pretty hairy when passing a semi at 90 and the engine looses power!! Any ideas?

thanks Bill

[Skyboy8950]

How clean are the carbs? Shoot some carb cleaner in the vacuum line on carb 2. Maybe it is just clogged and not sucking like a good vacuum should.

As for the light, I heard that our bikes cannot support those, but give it a try and let us know.

[Steve]

Xeon is an Intel micropocessor, but Xenon is a gas that is commonly used in headlight bulbs.

The Xenon bulbs don't draw any more power from the bike, but the bike thing to watch for on them is the marketing hype. Any of them that say anything about 'simulated HID' or 'as good as HID' or anything like that, you want to stay away from.

You can read the long version in this link to Daniel Stern Lighting, but the short version is that many of them use blue filters on/in the glass to make them look like the expensive bulbs, but that only filters out the part of the visible spectrum that really helps you see down the road better.

The best bulbs to get are the European-spec Osram Silverstars (they are clear, no blue tint). Next best would be the US-spec Sylvania Silverstars (they might have a light blue tint) or the Sylvania Xtra Vision bulbs. To get the Euro-spec Silverstars, you pretty much have to look on eBay.

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[MrBill54]

Carbs are clean everything is tight all the boots etc.

Hmmm after reading the David Stern article think I'll stick with what I have, the halogen for now. Oh and sorry about the spelling of xenon lol.

Thanks for the responses, bill

[Steve]

Nothing wrong with a good halogen bulb. Personally, I use the Sylvania XtraVision bulbs in my Wing with very good results.

I have never done a side-by-side comparison between bulbs, but they don't cost much more, so I use them. Just be sure that whatever you use has CLEAR glass bulbs, not even the slightest tint of BLUE.

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[Draketh]

Sorry to intrude on your thread, but I have a headlight bulb related question. I was cleaning out my cabinets in the garage to make room for my new found cocktail of cleaning and assorted fluids I've accumulated since getting my bike and I found a pair of xenon headlight bulbs that my mom never put on her car, are they all pretty much standard or do you have to buy them special? Hopefully I can just yanked the old one out and pop the new one in.

[Steve]

If they are the right model for the car, it is a simple remove and replace operation.

Don't get rid of the old bulbs, if they still work, though. You may find, as I did, that you can't see as well with the 'better' bulbs.

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[Draketh]

If they are the right model for the car, it is a simple remove and replace operation.

Don't get rid of the old bulbs, if they still work, though. You may find, as I did, that you can't see as well with the 'better' bulbs.

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Actually I meant for my bike.

I just went out to the garage and popped the headlight out of the housing, pulled the actual glass peice out of the metal circle thing, and now I can't get any farther than that. Is there a way to actually get the bulb out of the glass housing?

[chef1366]

That sounds like a petcock problem.
I just switched to a Pingel and have a good 80 petcock if you want it. PM me if interested.

[Steve]

Actually I meant for my bike.

What bike do you have? Some of the GS bikes do not have replaceable bulbs, you have to change the entire light because it is a sealed beam. Of the ones that do accept a bulb, they are all the same, an H4 or 9003 bulb will work. Some cars will use that H4 bulb that you might need, but there are also 9004, 9007 H5, H6 and H7 bulbs in common use.

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[80GS1000]

I had the same fuel starvation problem with my POS 1980 vacuum petcok and a Pingel solved the issue.

[SqDancerLynn1]

Could be a problem with the gas cap vent ...