Petcock Rebuild Kits

[Bluedog]

anyone know where I can find a petcock rebuild kit for a 1980 gs550E? It has a distance of 44MM between centers of the two mounting bolt holes. I appreciate any help. Thanks

[Skyboy8950]

http://z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=1507

[BassCliff]

Hee Haw Howdy!

Hi Mr. Bluedog,

Many here have reported disappointing results with petcock rebuild kits. Your mileage may vary. You might want to just buy a new one and forget about it for another 20 years. But I'm just the virtual welcome wagon. Here is your mega-welcome!

Let it be known that on this day you are cordially and formally welcomed to the GSR Forum as a Junior Member in good standing with all the rights and privileges thereof. Further let it be known that your good standing can be improved with pictures (not you, your bike)!

Perhaps you've already seen these, but I like to remind all the new members. In addition to the carb rebuild series, I recommend visiting the In The Garage section via the GSR Homepage and check out the Stator Papers. There's also a lot of great information in the Old Q&A section. I have some documentation on my little BikeCliff website to help get you familiar with doing routine maintenance tasks (note that it is 850G-specific but many tasks are common to all GS bikes). Other "user contributed" informational sites include those of Mr. bwringer, Mr. tfb and Mr. robertbarr. And if your bike uses shims for valve adjustments, send an email to Mr. Steve requesting a copy of his Excel spreadsheet that helps you keep track of clearances, shim sizes and other service work.

These are some edited quotes from one of our dear beloved gurus, Mr. bwringer, with ideas on basic needs (depending on initial condition), parts, and accessories.

***********Quoted from Mr. bwringer************
Every GS850 [and most other models] has (or had) a set of well-known issues that MUST be addressed before you have a solid baseline for further troubleshooting. It's a vintage bike, and it's quite common (as in, every single GS850 I have had contact with) that there are multiple problems that have crept up and slowly gotten worse over the years. It's not like a newer vehicle, where there's generally one problem at a time.

These common issues are:

1. Intake O-rings (install NEW OEM or Viton only - common nitrile O-rings will quickly deteriorate from heat)
2. Intake Boots (install NEW -- these cannot be repaired)
3. Valve clearances (more important than most people think)
4. Carb/airbox boots
5. Airbox sealing
6. Air filter sealing
7. Petcock (install a NEW one)
8. On '79 models, install new points or Dyna electronic ignition (or at least verify that the old points are working correctly)
9. On all models, it's fairly common to have problems with the spark plug caps. These are $3 or $4 each, and often worth replacing if you're keeping the stock coils/wires.
10. Stock exhaust with NO leaks or holes -- good seals at the head and at the junctions underneath.

Carburetor maintenance:

Replace the intake boot o-rings, and possibly the intake boots. Here's the procedure:

http://bwringer.com/gs/intakeorings.html

Here's an overview of what happens with this particular problem:

http://cycleorings.com/intake.html

You'll also want to examine the boots between the carbs and the airbox. There's a good chance these are OK, but check them over.
And finally, if things still aren't exactly right, you'll want to order a set of o-rings for BS carbs from the GS owner's best friend, Robert Barr:

http://cycleorings.com

Once you receive these rare rings of delight, then you'll want to thoroughly clean and rebuild your carburetors. Here are step-by-step instructions that make this simple:

http://thegsresources.com/gs_carbrebuild.htm

OEM Parts/Online Fiches:

I would definitely double and triple the recommendations to use Cycle Recycle II and Z1 Enterprises as much as possible. These guys are priceless resources. Z1 tends to have slightly better prices, CRC2 has a wider range of goodies available. If you're near Indy and can bring in an old part to match, CRC2 has a vast inventory of used parts.
http://denniskirk.com - Put in your bike model and see what they have.
http://oldbikebarn.com - seems to be slowly regaining a decent reputation, but it's still caveat emptor. They don't have anything you can't get elsewhere at a better price anyway.
http://www.babbittsonline.com/ - Decent parts prices. Spendy shipping. Don't give you part numbers at all. Useful cross-reference if you obtain a part number elsewhere. Efficient service.
http://bikebandit.com - Fastest. Middlin' prices. Uses their own parts numbering system to obfuscate price comparisons -- can be very confusing for large orders. Cheapest shipping, so total cost usually isn't too bad.
http://flatoutmotorcycles.com - Slow. Cheapest parts prices, crazy shipping costs. Don't expect progress updates or much communication. Real Suzuki part numbers.
http://alpha-sports.com - Exorbitant parts prices. Different type of fiche interface that's quite useful at times, especially with superceded part numbers. Real parts numbers. Shipping cost and speed unknown due to insane, unholy pricing.

Stainless Bolts, Viton o-rings, metric taps, dies, assorted hard-to-find supplies and materials, etc:

http://mcmaster.com - Fast, cheap shipping, good prices. No order minimum, but many items like bolts come in packs of 25 or 50. Excellent resource.
http://motorcycleseatcovers.com - Great quality, perfect fit (on original seat foam), and available for pretty much every bike ever made. Avoid the textured vinyl -- it's perforated.
http://newenough.com - You DO have riding gear, don't you? Great clearances, always outstanding prices and impeccable service.
***************End Quote**********************

Additional parts/info links:

GSR Forum member Mr. duaneage has great used upgraded Honda regulator/rectifiers for our bikes. Send him a PM.
New electrical parts:
http://stores.ebay.com/RMSTATOR or http://www.rmstator.com/

http://www.ricksmotorsportelectrics.com/index.php

http://www.electrosport.com/

For valve cover and breather gaskets, I recommend Real Gaskets (reusable silicon):

http://www.realgaskets.com

Carolina Cycle

http://www.carolinacycle.com

Ron Ayers Motorsports

http://www.ronayers.com

MR Cycles

http://www.mrcycles.com

Moto Grid

http://www.motogrid.com

Salvage/Used

http://www.ricepaddymotorcycles.com

http://www.ozpowersports.com/

If all else fails, try this:

http://www.used-motorcycle-parts.org/

Used bike buying checklists:

http://www.amadirectlink.com/roadride/Riderresc/checklist.asp

http://www.clarity.net/~adam/buying-bike.html

Lots of good info/pictures here:

http://www.suzukicycles.org

http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Motorcycle_Wiki

http://www.bikepics.com
Basic motorcycle maintenance/repair:
http://www.dansmc.com/mc_repaircourse.htm
Online Clymer manuals:
http://search.ebscohost.com/ Click on "Small Engine Repair" then "Motorcycles". User=library, password=library. Note: This link may not work if you are on a school campus.


Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed of your progress. There's lots of good folk with good experience here.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
(The unofficial GSR greeter)

Click here to visit BikeCliff's website.

[SqDancerLynn1]

universal petcock http://www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=1716
Call them to verify application

[DMB]

anyone know where I can find a petcock rebuild kit for a 1980 gs550E? It has a distance of 44MM between centers of the two mounting bolt holes. I appreciate any help. Thanks

z1enterprises.com doesn't carry a rebuild kit for the '80 550E. Here is a link to the page. If you read the description close enough it only fits the L model for '80. I didn't notice that and bought it and it didn't fit.

I contacted K&L, the brand that z1enterprises carries, and they don't make a re-build kit for that year. If you have the Sudco catalog volume 34, the petcock rebuild kits are on page 188. Or page 203 of the 2008 K&L catalog. No listing for a '80 550E.

I ended up spending the extra $30 and getting the OEM replacement over the z1enterprises generic replacement.

[Bluedog]

thanks for the help guys!

[onchiman]

z1enterprises.com doesn't carry a rebuild kit for the '80 550E. Here is a link to the page. If you read the description close enough it only fits the L model for '80. I didn't notice that and bought it and it didn't fit.

I contacted K&L, the brand that z1enterprises carries, and they don't make a re-build kit for that year. If you have the Sudco catalog volume 34, the petcock rebuild kits are on page 188. Or page 203 of the 2008 K&L catalog. No listing for a '80 550E.

I ended up spending the extra $30 and getting the OEM replacement over the z1enterprises generic replacement.

Ditto, 1979 GS550E and no listing for it from K & L. I wound up buying a new OEM petcock from Flatout.

[PAULYBOY]

Warning!

Rebuild kit= waste of time!!!

[hikermikem]

Rebuild kit= waste of time!!!

I'll ditto that statement - I bought one and it was almost the same as just throwing money out an open car window.

Go with an OEM replacement, and while your at it, also get the 2 seal washers that seal the petcock mounting. They're a flat metal washer with a ring of rubber captured in the middle where the bolts go through - they get old & worn and start to seep. The new OEM petcock will come with a new base o-ring, so you don't have to get that separate.

Flatout or motogrid have the best prices I think, but by the time you pay shipping perhaps your local dealer will be just as attractive.