Another incident of being PO'ed at the PO

[nhmaf]

Despite having the fuel petcocks turned off this winter on my R100, one of them decided it didn't really want to turn off, and the sustained pressure on the  carb float needle managed to dump a couple gallons of gasoline into the engine.   Grrrr.   I drained the remaining fuel out of the tank and took off the offending petcock - to determine whether to try to rebuild it or just replace it.   The fuel tank end with the (2) straws was packed solid with crud and old tank liner particles.   There were no filter socks on the straws, so I figured this petcock had the filter inside the body - but no filter inside either!  It is pretty gummed up with stuff - no wonder it didn't  seal well and no wonder the filter I had inline between it and the carb needed changing too.   These petcocks filters aren't expensive, but apparently the PO decided it wasn't  worth a couple bucks to replace them..

I had just changed the oil before putting her up for her winter nap - now it is time to drain and refill with a new filter, too.

[montmil]

Bonus points for your topic heading, Mike. Nicely played.  [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

[Bob_Roller]

When I lived in a cold weather area when the bike was put up for the winter, I would drain the tank and put fresh fuel back in when warm weather decided to come back again .
The rubber washers in the fuel tap can get grooved and not shut off the fuel completely .

[nhmaf]

I used to drain the tank on my bike and take the tank into the house where it would be warm and dry and no condensation would form, but as the number of bikes increased, I just left the tanks on and made sure they were full and with plenty of gasoline stabilizer added (still drained the carbs tho).   This has worked quite well and prevents condensation from causing rusting on the inside of the tanks as the temperatures in the (unheated garage) can vary by over 100F during the winter time.   As long as the petcocks understand that "off" means "off", it is effective, but I may have to rethink my strategy for next year...

[Luca]

I can't remember which is Germa and which is Karcoma, but the one with the filter sock over the pickup tubes is not only a better design (crap gets stopped before it works its way into the rubber disc causing leaks/clogs), but it's also economically sensible to rebuild it.

My tank is currently sitting in the basement while my por 15 kit is in the mail.  I'd be a little more anxious to ride if snow wasn't in the forecast

I may have to rethink my strategy for next year...

Running a little gasoline through the petcock once a week might help keep things supple

[Tony Smith]

Luca


The filter "sock" is not unique to either model of tap - it fits either. Best of all the new ones come equipped with a washer/gasket which means you do not have to fit a separate one.

[Barry]

My karcoma tap has the filter inside the bottom union of the tap.  Those taps are fun to get back together trying to compress that strong spring while screwing the cap back on and not stripping the threads. I had to make some sort of jig to compress it in the vice.  Tap worked nice though with a much lighter action after a clean and lube.

[nhmaf]

I was about to buy 2 of the rebuild kits, but after noting the challenges of getting the suckers back together and being a bit frustrated I decided to just order (2) new fuel taps.   MAXBMW did have both the 90 angle left/right versions as well as the straight versions - (I presently have the straight version ones).   The angled ones appear to be easier to service and they are ~$35 apiece versus almost $60 apiece for the straight ones, so I'm going to try the angled ones.

[Tony Smith]

I was about to buy 2 of the rebuild kits, but after noting the challenges of getting the suckers back together and being a bit frustrated I decided to just order (2) new fuel taps.   MAXBMW did have both the 90 angle left/right versions as well as the straight versions - (I presently have the straight version ones).   The angled ones appear to be easier to service and they are ~$35 apiece versus almost $60 apiece for the straight ones, so I'm going to try the angled ones.

The problem of putting the taps back together is simply one of ourchase. You grip the round threaded part (with tap lever fitted) in a pair of channel lock pliers and then holding the tap body in your dominant hand, bear down and turn.


Never lost a tap yet and takes seconds.

The only justification for buying new taps is if the flat surface of the tap lever is worn down too far it simply will never seal, you can no longer just buy the levers.

Given the low price of the valve material and the O ring, why not give it a go first?

[nhmaf]

Well, I disassembled one of them, and, along with being full of crud, the rubber material was severely worn and the tap lever surface did have a noticeable wear/groove.   So, there is definitely at least 1 of them that I'm just going to replace whole.   I may get a rebuild kit and try fixing the other.

Some parts of this bike seem like they've seen over 100K miles - or were just severely neglected.   At least I've got my Kawasaki and R65LS for reliable motorcycles..