WTF, Suzuki!?

[murf425]

I took my bike apart to be painted last weekend, and last night when putting it back together I realized that I'd torn my fuel hoses when disconnecting them. No biggie...take 'em off, go up to the auto parts store, and $6 later I have replacements.
Get home...they fit on the tank perfectly, but won't go on the petcock.
That's when I notice how much larger the nipple on the petcock is than on the tank.
Go back to the auto parts store, show the guy BOTH ends of the hose that came off the bike and both nipples that I had taken off, and ask if they have anything like that.

"Nope. Never seen a tapered fuel hose before. Must be proprietary."

So, two questions:
- Does a GS500 have proprietary fuel hoses?
- If so...WTF were they thinking!?

[The Buddha]

Now you can spend 300 bones making up fuel lines ... makes up for the $100 GS doesn't it.
Or send 20 my way and I'd send you an old GS petcock.
Cool.
Buddha.

[murf425]

When you say "old GS petcock", does that mean that they used to have a setup with the same-sized nipples on each end of the fuel hose?

[CVK 81]

You can buy all three fuel lines for under $30 from Bike Bandit.  See parts #3, 5 and 6 in the link below.
http://www.bikebandit.com/2006-suzuki-gs500f/o/m9752#sch510180

[murf425]

Yeah, I know. And I'm going to have to do that anyway now. I was hoping that my local dealer would be able to give me some over the counter today, though. Turns out they'd have to order it, too.

*Edit*
The service manager at the dealer just told me that, while he doesn't work on GS's all that much, he doesn't recall having dealt with different-sized connectors on the ends of a single fuel line. So that leads me to ask: is this how a 2007 GS is supposed to be...or did the PO swap out a non-stock petcock off of another bike? 

[CVK 81]

My 2006 is like that.  The petcock side is wider on both the reserve and regular fuel line.  Ran into the same issue you did when buying from the auto parts store.

[SAFE-T]

You can buy all three fuel lines for under $30 from Bike Bandit. 

There you go...a $30 lesson in "don't do that again" 

[murf425]

My 2006 is like that.  The petcock side is wider on both the reserve and regular fuel line.

Okay...that's comforting.

[gregvhen]

just get the hose size that fits the bigger nipple and tighten the clamp on the the other end. It cant be so much bigger that a clamp wont seal it can it?

[murf425]

I believe it is.  It looks to be 1/4" and 3/8"...can't clamp the latter tight enough to make a seal on the former.

[tt_four]

Maybe you can find some rubber hose big enough to fit inside the new fuel line that will still fit around the petcock valve?

[the mole]

I think the standard hose is 7mm rather than 6 or 8, I think someone at Suzuki thought that would be a hilarious joke to play on the round-eyes. I'd try using 1/4", which is 6.35mm, and use a bit of heat and some lubricant to get it on the petcock end.

[AccidentalF]

If you're stuck looking for an off-the-shelf solution, go to your local BMW bike shop and have a look at some of the hose that came stock on the old airhead twins.  I don't know the dimensions off the top of my head, but its rubber on the interior and braided cloth on the outside.  It is very elastic and is supposed to be used on low pressure (carb) applications without clamps.  Should be pretty cheap overall.  I use it on my bike but I have done away with the frame petcock (i go from the tank chicken to the carbs directly with a dry disconnect).  It's great stuff.

[murf425]

Fixed it!
The 3/8" of the hose was still good (the hole was just south of the tank on the 5/16" end).  So I just cut off a few inches where the hole was, got a straight 5/16" connector, and spliced a new piece of hose on in it's place.

Now the paint job is done and it's running like a champ.  WOOT!

(Paint pics as soon as I get another sunny day...)

[sledge]

3/8"? 5/16"?......on a bike made in Japan?.... Someone will be saying the bars are 7/8" dia` next 

[murf425]

Made in Spain, actually. 
(Not that that makes any difference, of course.)

[sledge]

Made in Spain?....mine wasnt