carb drain question

[anervoustwitch]

i didnt drain my carbs last winter and ended up taking the bike in to get the carbs cleaned after finding it unrideable .

this year i thought id be better about things and figure out how to drain the carbs after what ive decided is my last ride.

in the process of doing so, ive started draining the right carb and i got up to about 6 fluid ounces of fuel (which was still flowing freely) before i decided something was wrong.  i was expecting a few ounces at most.  i had the petcock in 'on'.

its an 04, which i understand has the upgraded better petcock.

am i doing it wrong?  is the volume correct and should it start slowing down soon?

[bobthebiker]

whenever you're storing a bike, the petcock should be set to OFF,  your tank topped off, with some stabilizer in it, and you should probably not be getting much more than 6 fl oz of fuel from the carb I'd think. I could be wrong though.

[anervoustwitch]

whenever you're storing a bike, the petcock should be set to OFF,  your tank topped off, with some stabilizer in it, and you should probably not be getting much more than 6 fl oz of fuel from the carb I'd think. I could be wrong though.

my petcock has only res pri and on, no off position.

after reading posts here http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=37366.0, either res or on should work as manual off as they require vacuum to let fuel flow.

[fred]

whenever you're storing a bike, the petcock should be set to OFF,  your tank topped off, with some stabilizer in it, and you should probably not be getting much more than 6 fl oz of fuel from the carb I'd think. I could be wrong though.

my petcock has only res pri and on, no off position.

after reading posts here http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=37366.0, either res or on should work as manual off as they require vacuum to let fuel flow.

You're right, there is no off.. I have no idea how much fuel is in there because I can ride year round, but don't forget, besides fuel in the carbs there's fuel in all the lines after the petcock, which can be quite a bit. Hopefully someone else will chime in, but it seems like you might have just not quite drained all the fuel that is after the petcock...

[gearman]

That amount of fuel seems excessive for one float bowl and the lines. You may have a petcock problem. If you want to deal with it in the spring, you could use hemostats or some other type of clamp to pinch off the main fuel line. You may already know this, but for the benefit of others who may not, top off your tank to prevent rust.

[anervoustwitch]

so 6oz was too much?

clamp it off and then redrain?  is it ok to leave a hemostat on the line all winter?  will that cause cracking, deform, etc?

[lawman]

I may be wrong here, but I think the res and pri settings both are gravity fed, and only on runs on vacuum.  I've been playing with it a lot as I've put the carbs back on my bike.  What's happening is clearly the gas is still flowing through the carb.  Another option is to close the tank petcock, then drain the carb.  Did you look and see how the manual tells you to winterize?  I'm pretty sure there's a section on that...

[fred]

I may be wrong here, but I think the res and pri settings both are gravity fed, and only on runs on vacuum.  I've been playing with it a lot as I've put the carbs back on my bike.  What's happening is clearly the gas is still flowing through the carb.  Another option is to close the tank petcock, then drain the carb.  Did you look and see how the manual tells you to winterize?  I'm pretty sure there's a section on that...

Only prime is non vacuum operated. Both res and prime draw from the reserve pickup...

[gaspy]

Maybe I'm missing something here--how about the screw under the tank? Turn that and it should cut off all lines from the tank, right?

[fred]

Maybe I'm missing something here--how about the screw under the tank? Turn that and it should cut off all lines from the tank, right?

Yes, if the slot on the tank mounted petcock is horizontal, all fuel flow will be stopped from the tank to the rest of the bike.

[craftierod]

top off tank add additive start every 2 or 3 weeks keep battery inside youll be fine i have a 06 with no shut off value either craftierod