draining carbs bowls

[jha07]

I was prepping my bike for winter storage on the weekend and wanted to drain the carb bowls. Things were going fine, except that the gas never stopped flowing. Like the tank kept topping up what I was draining. I thought this is because the tank wasn't shut off, but the GS tank doesn't have an off position. I've had another suzuki that didn't have an off position, and on that bike, 'on' worked fine for draining. Any ideas?

[The Buddha]

You put a lot of fuel in the tank ... well the frame petcock is staying open wihtout vacuum.

If you ahve a full tank, you should turn off the petcock in the underside of the tank.
There is a spot you can see it from if you look from the right side of the bike.

Stick a long screwdriver through and close it. Then take off teh frame petcock and fix it.
Drain carbs etc ... but before you ride off next year, remember to open the tank petcock.
Cool.
Buddha.

[bassman]

That's interesting, Buddha.  Are you saying that you can turn the under tank petcock off without lifting the tank?  This isn't a trick question but a genuine one.  I hate lifting the tank off the GS...it's such a faff!!!  I hate having to lift the tank ever-so-slightly and reaching through with the screwdriver to turn the under tank petcock off before removing the fuel lines.  Can it be done without lifting the tank?

Bassman

[The Buddha]

Mu haha haha haha ...
Put the bike on the side stand.
Sit next to the bike with your eyes level with the carb or even below it.

Look @ where your left knee would be if you were riding it.

That slot which is vertical, should be turned horizontal ... and its shut off.

BTW there was a great pic of that here a few years ago.
Then of course put a long screw driver through and turn it in the direction you want to go.

Cool.
Buddha.

[jha07]

You put a lot of fuel in the tank ... well the frame petcock is staying open wihtout vacuum.

If you ahve a full tank, you should turn off the petcock in the underside of the tank.
There is a spot you can see it from if you look from the right side of the bike.

Stick a long screwdriver through and close it. Then take off teh frame petcock and fix it.
Drain carbs etc ... but before you ride off next year, remember to open the tank petcock.
Cool.
Buddha.

Yes, the tank is very full. Is the petcock staying open because the tank is full? Does the petcock just need cleaning to fix it?

[DoD#i]

Mu haha haha haha ...
Put the bike on the side stand.
Sit next to the bike with your eyes level with the carb or even below it.

Look @ where your left knee would be if you were riding it.

That slot which is vertical, should be turned horizontal ... and its shut off.

BTW there was a great pic of that here a few years ago.
Then of course put a long screw driver through and turn it in the direction you want to go.

Kerry's picture. Found it in August when we had another of these discussions about the tank petcock, reposting again.

[gregvhen]

yep that pic shows the small deep flat head slot, that i used a paint can opener to turn because i didnt want to go get a flat head.    thats to turn the tank off

[bassman]

Thanks for that, Buddha.  I shall get myself a suitably long screwdriver and attempt to turn the stopcock off before lifting the tank.

Bassman