09 gs500F petcock / fuel valve ...what would you do?

[RunNemHard808]

Hi,
Just picked up a super clean gs500, but it sat for almost a year and needed both pilot jets cleaned and a leaking fuel valve replaced. I cleaned the jets and the bike runs and raps great. I tried to seal the leaking fuel valve with Permatex #80062 High Tack sealant, but it was only a temporary fix and now it slowly leaks out of the weep hole. I'm affraid that if I did get a new oem part that it'll only leak again. Also, the fuel valve is not available here locally, so my question is, would you buy the oem vacuum style taiwan made fuel valve or switch to a readily available 07 Honda CFR250X petcock that cost a third the price? Has your fuel valve from a 2004-09 ever given you problems?
Thanks,
R

[GI_JO_NATHAN]

Mines never given me any problems.
If you're worried, go with the CRF one.

[adidasguy]

It would help to know where you are. Depending on where and which fuel valve you need, many members have spare parts.

I didn't know there was a "weep hole" on one.

Specifically, are you talking about the tank fuel valve or the frame mounted vacuum operated petcock?

Neither give much trouble. The tank one can have the o-ring crack. Can happen because it is rarely turned off. When turned after sitting without being turned for a long time, the o-ring then cracks.

The frame mounted ones rarely leak. There might be an o-ring in there. You can open it up and look for o-ring or grunge in there.

[weedahoe]

Www.ebay.com

Or www.adidasguy.com

[codajastal]

Access forbidden!

You don't have permission to access the requested directory. There is either no index document or the directory is read-protected.

If you think this is a server error, please contact the webmaster.

Error 403

www.adidasguy.com
Tue Oct 23 00:06:52 2012

[adidasguy]

Yes - I do own it.
I haven't set up anything on it yet.
I own GS500club  dot   com  but only use that for email.
Someday I should get busy and set up some sites.

Maybe I'll set up a photo gallery on one of my sites? I offered to do it for this site but was met with a non-response to my offer.

[weedahoe]

Do you own it for real?

Chit, I was making it up!

[adidasguy]

Yea - and a whole bunch more like 
GS500F  dot  com
Suzuki-GS500   dot   com

Here's one available just for Coda:  gstwins.xxx

[RunNemHard808]

Thanks for the quick reply! I'll go ahead and get the oem frame mounted fuel valve. I'm in Hawaii and the bike sat for a few months. So here's the deal. It now appears to leak only after I shut the bike down. The leak may or may not be coming from the weep hole as suspected, but for sure coming from the bottom of the diaphram gasket. I get a good 3-4 drops of fuel after shutting down after a 1 hour bike ride. Still enough to down the bike for now till the new replacement arrives. I'll get a new one for piece of mind. Thanks again for the quick reply and offers on spare parts.
Cheers,
R

[adidasguy]

Gee, maybe I should bring one? I have friends in Hawaii Kai that I should visit 

[RunNemHard808]

Gee, maybe I should bring one? I have friends in Hawaii Kai that I should visit 

take the Concorde? I called Pinwall Cycle Parts and they said these parts fly out the door. I'm now wondering if this part is a problem. In 2004, it was part number 44300-01D40 and only cost $53, so why superceeded by another part number and cost more? known problem and greater demand? 

[iclrag]

wow adidas.... why dont you have adidasguy.com setup ! we need a place to view all you're photo whore-ness and it's glory 

I plan on getting a pingel petcock personally, i'm starting to run into the classic fuel starvation problems and i know my petcock is having some issues, plus i want to pingel my petcock 

[RunNemHard808]

wow adidas.... why dont you have adidasguy.com setup ! we need a place to view all you're photo whore-ness and it's glory 

I plan on getting a pingel petcock personally, i'm starting to run into the classic fuel starvation problems and i know my petcock is having some issues, plus i want to pingel my petcock 

what year's your gs500? Mine only has 200 miles and gently being broken in. never did get it running hard enough to experience any fuel starvation problems.

[iclrag]

wow adidas.... why dont you have adidasguy.com setup ! we need a place to view all you're photo whore-ness and it's glory 

I plan on getting a pingel petcock personally, i'm starting to run into the classic fuel starvation problems and i know my petcock is having some issues, plus i want to pingel my petcock 

what year's your gs500? Mine only has 200 miles and gently being broken in. never did get it running hard enough to experience any fuel starvation problems.

it's a 2006, but it's had a not-so-friendly history before i got it

[RunNemHard808]

right on! sounds like it's in good hands now. I think I'm gonna go with a 2008-12 Honda CRf450x frame mounted petcock. Gonna see if my local Honda dealers has one in stock.
Later,
R

[adidasguy]

Again we have the humorous story of fuel starvation so obviously the vacuum petcock is the problem. Like the myth you grow no more brain cells after your a kid - total lie. You only use 10% of your brain - never any real proof and it is also a busted myth.

All fuel starvation is the petcock. Bull.

Yes - replacing the petcock will eliminate it because in doing so:
1. You replace the tank fuel petcock
2. You replace the fuel lines
3. You check everything is new and all fuel is flowing.

You would get everything working again if you just replaced the OEM parts with new ones. With 5 bikes, I never have had a fuel problem. I don't know anyone locally that really had a petcock problem. Only once did a person think that was it - gas tank was empty!.

The truth is every rubber or plastic part on your bike can and does wear out. I don't hear people wanting to weld their forks because a fork seal is bad and rubber seals always go bad so let's eliminate them! People use that logic on the frame petcock when probably is is not the problem at all. They do work. Millions of bikes use them. If they were a perpetual problem they wouldn't be used.

You are supposed to replace your fuel lines every 4 years. Who does that? The fuel lines degrade, get clogged (oh, could that cause fuel starvation?) and develop pinched areas (can we say restricted fuel flow?)

If you really think the vacuum petcock is the issue - set to PRIME. That lets fuel flow freely from the tank to the carb unrestricted by the vacuum diaphragm. Still have a problem? Check the other things.

Let's see why we have fuel starvation.

Starting at the top, you have a vent hole in the fuel cap. Very tiny. Easy to get clogged. This lets air in as gas flows out. Plug it up or let it get dirty or filled with some corrosion and air is restricted. At high speed when fuel is needed, air can't get in fast enough. Ergo gas can't flow out. Try running with the gas cap unlocked and see if the problem goes away.



Next come what is probably the most common cause of fuel starvation: the in-tank fuel screen/filter. Remember that when you replace the tank valve with a piddle, pudwaddle or pingle, you are REMOVING a possibly dirty fuel screen. Everytime you open the gas cap, dirt can fall in. Where does it end up? On the fuel screen. As this gets dirty, fuel is restricted. The manuals instruct you on proper cleaning for this delicate little thing. No one ever talks abut cleaning it. I would bet that most fuel starvation starts right here. Here they are off of a tankand in the parts bin. The short and tall tubes for ON and RES can be seen in the broken one. You can buy replacement tank petcock screens or just get a new one. There is an o-ring that can crack and cause fuel dribbles, but that is real easy to replace (when the tank is empty by the way).


Fuel lines: These are supposed to be replaced every 4 years. The OEM lines make some pretty sharp bends. Easy to get a pinch. The lines hang down (replacements here in this photo, not OEM) creating places for crud and even water to collect. In a high fuel demand situation, fuel is restricted. These lines pass between the  frame and the air box. Tight fit. another place fuel lines can get pinched. Over time, even a stiff line can get pinched.


See the fuel filter? If you have one of these, is it the right type for a bike with a gravity fed fuel system? Is it clean? A dirty or wrong type fuel filter will restrict fuel flow in high demand situations.


last, what about the carbs? If the float levels are too low you could get starvation.  Maybe the float needles are dirty and can't open up enough to let fuel in fast enough? Maybe at WOT you're running way too rich and fuel can't get into the carbs fast enough?

Air filter? What if it is dirty and air can't get in fast enough?

Summation:
There are many places that fuel starvation can originate from. Blindly blaming the frame petcock and replacing everything WILL solve the problem (with the inconvenience of having to turn fuel on and off.) You are eliminating or replacing the in-tank filter and putting on new fuel lines free of pinches and internal crud.

Remember that PRIME bypasses the vacuum, forcing that thing open. If you still have the problem, the frame petcock ain't your problem. Clean the tank filter. Remove extra ad-on filters. Check for pinched lines. Open the gas cap to see if the air vent is clogged.

First determine the cause of your fuel starvation. It could even be dirty carbs or air filter! Loss of power on sustained highway riding most likely is not the frame petcock. Why do I never have it? (All my fuel system parts are cleaned and maintained). Why doesn't everyone have the problem?

It seems to be a few people who are very vocal and from reading the internet (remember: if it is on the internet it is true) are led to believe that it is always the frame petcock. Again, remember when people rip it all out and put all new parts in they are eliminating whatever the cause was (and my bet is most likely the tank filter, second is pinched.clogged fuel lines). So yes they can brag that pingling their bike eliminated the problem - yes it will - but it didn't really SOLVE the cause of the problem because they never really knew the cause.

If you are going to the effort of ripping everything out and replacing with something else, why not put new OEM parts back in? They DO WORK! If they are clean and properly maintained.

REGARDING SUPERSEDED PARTS: Just because a part is replaced with a newer version does not mean the old one is bad.
There are many reasons why a part is changed:
1. It could be an improvement
2. Lower manufacturing costs
3. Longevity: something may not last as long as expected
4. Making parts generic: A slight tweak may make the part fit more models of bikes thus reducing inventory
5. Change in color
6. Change in materials for cost or appearance
7. Moving a screw or something to make the part easier to use, but no change in function, performance or reliability
8. Change in part labeling
9. If sold as a unit (not separate parts) could be as simple as the screws that held it together were changed

And there are other reasons. A change does not mean the part was defective.

Interesting, in the medical/drug area you do not often hear of an improved product. That means the prior product was not as good and the vulture late night suing lawyers would jump on it. Instead, a product fades off the shelves and a brand new product with a different name shows up.

Makes you wonder: after all these years, they still say my tooth brush is not the best and the one they started selling this week is better than all the 10,000 tooth brush models in the past 100 years. (Marketing!  )

[OldTwinzNeverDie]

Again we have the humorous story of fuel starvation so obviously the vacuum petcock is the problem. Like the myth you grow no more brain cells after your a kid - total lie. You only use 10% of your brain - never any real proof and it is also a busted myth.

Whoever came up with the 10% usage idea was also only using 10% of their brain so the purely random chance they are correct is at best 1 in 10? I don't know.

I'm digging all this quantum stuff though the science cats are digging up....teeny tiny little particles that exist only in theory and when you try to watch them they turn into something else because they are being watched? What are they trying to hide? Are they masturbating to nano-particle porn or smoking cigarettes or something?

Ooops, my bad, I just noticed this was/is a legitimate "on-topic" for real motorcycle-related type thread isn't it?

Sorry, I'm punch drunk. Been up all night doing things like writing long posts and emails that I am never going to finish and send. I decided that is the best way to go, less chance of running into someone who has had a bad day or night and is just waiting for someone to be mean to. I am 58 years old and "successfully" married for over 24 years. If I want someone to be mean to me I will go wake up my wife by asking her "honey are you asleep?"

True story (I guess you would call it a story?) maybe 3-4 years into our marriage my wife once sat bolt upright in bed in the wee hours of the morning and made the following announcement:
"Anticipation is the essence of hell"

And of course that is a true statement....a bit awkward, but very zen-like. and/or something.

Mr. Addidasguy, thanks for your help/suggestions on the starter motor clutch issue. Yet another post I did not finish. Bottom line, crankshaft end bolt was *barely* finger tight! Just damn lucky I avoided any small temptation to keep riding it by "bump" starting it or something equally foolish. As it stands now, caught just in the nick of time, all the individual components are absolutely pristine except that some insulating "paint" (epoxy?)  has started to peel off of the rotor magnets in a few spots.
Visible here:
http://gstwins.com/gsboard/index.php?topic=62320.0

What say you knowledgeable GS riders, should I:
A)  go ahead and peel off the areas that have lifted up already
B) try to re-attach the peeling areas with a "suitable adhesive"?
c) leave it alone, don't worry over it, and leave it to my great great grandchildren to worry about?

I sure do LOVE this darned GS! (2007 GS500F) what a SWEET bike it is.
I'll post something more organized (and with fewer words) after I get some sleep.
Thanks again "Adidasguy" for all your time in writing such a highly detailed list of instructions, etc.

[Paulcet]

Wow! I think that was the most interesting and random thread jack ever.

[adidasguy]

Old: really good job hijacking the thread!

Knock off the loose bits. Stuff on the ends of the magnets is just excess goop when assembled.
Be sure shafts are spotless when putting it back on. Friction! I score it in & out a little with some sand paper for extra grip (and inside of mating surface of the magneto). SPOTLESS and NO OIL ON IT AT ALL! (ask me how I know)

Doesn't hurt to spray in some fast evaporating carb or brake cleaner into where the bolt goes to get any residual oil off of the threads. Then blow it out and let it dry. Also clean the bolt of any oil so the threadlock will stick to it.

Put back on and tap it in a little to help insure it is on there. Thread lock the bolt! Torque to specs! WAIT 24 hours for thread lock to set up before putting in oil or riding otherwise it acts like a lubricant there with the heat and oil and bolt can come loose again (ask me how I know!) Let it sit open and dry for a day before you close things up and put the oil back in. (Instructions on a thread lock bottle says a few hours up to 24 hours to cure. )

(PS: I gave mine an extra hit with the impact wrench the 2nd time I put it back on - just because...guess why....)


We now return you to our originally scheduled program.......

[noiseguy]

Someone replaced the stock petcock with a 3way valve that allowed him to switch to the reserve line as well as the main line. I've tried to find the part on eBay since... anyone who can tell me what its called