Who doesn't just love walking?

So, my petcock is apparently not functioning or broken. I haven't had time to look at it yet. All I know is that it's either stuck ON reserve, or won't switch off reserve, because it started to sputter yesterday and when I flipped to reserve absolutely nothing happened. I ran out of gas about a mile away from the nearest gas station and got to walk. Fun stuff.

Guess I'll be removing that thing next weekend and seeing what's up with it. For now... I'll be more cautious about keeping the tank filled up, haha.

 

That sucks

 

I had similar problem I kept going further an further on my tank waiting to go on reserve,,,,each fill more an more till I was double checking the manual just how big is this tank,,,,,,I found the screen that doubles as the reserve tube,,,,laying on the bottom of the gas tank when I cleaned all the crap out of it,,,,,put it back on an now I seem to go on reserve at 3.5 gallons which does not work out for my tank wish I would have left it off now.

 

I have had problems with my fuel tap intermittently failing to function, and would dearly love to be rid of the overly complicated thing, and replace it with a tap similar to a lawn mower-you know, "ON" or "OFF". Anyone know of a readily available replacement?
(Incidentally, we call them fuel taps because "petcock" is mildly obscene in Australian English)

 

Haha, it's mildly obscene in American English too, but other than some giggling no one seems to mind, haha.

 

Pull-out the two screws on the front of the Petcock and remove the Selector Knob.

Check to see if the Rubber Wafer is intact or if it has slipped out of position.

 

If you run into trouble on the road a international sign for help among motorcyclist is placing your helmet by the road.

 

Now I know why those Harley Guys put their helmets by the road ... I thought they just threw them off in disgust ...

You learn something new, every night, here ... in the Big XJ Club!

 

We really must stop this sniping at Harleys and their riders. A neighbour of mine in England once got his hog all the way to the bottom of our street without a single breakdown, so they can't be that bad.

Faighaigh.

 

Hahaha, if you saw the neighborhood I ran out of gas in you wouldn't have left ANYTHING you paid money for by the street, haha. The helmet thing's good to know though.

 

In case you guys don't know, Chacal has all the parts you'll need in his store.. http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic ... rt=45.html

Either shoot him a PM here or email him: chacal(AT)mindspring(DOT)com. I've ordered a bunch of parts from him with complete satisfaction!

Aftermarket petcock Complete Rebuild Kits. These kits contain the vacuum diaphram repair kit (above), plus the plastic distribution "valve", the fuel position lever o-ring, and the petcock-to-tank mounting o-ring.

HCP124 petcock Complete Rebuild Kit. Fits all XJ550/650 (except Turbo models)/750 models with an original o-ringed plunger tip. Order the HCP663 washer listed below if using this repair kit to repair a petcock that originally used a "d"-ring on the plunger tip.
$ 26.00

HCP1661 petcock Complete Rebuild Kit. Fits all XJ700/900 models with an original o-ringed plunger tip. Order the HCP663 washer listed below if using this repair kit to repair a petcock that originally used a "d"-ring on the plunger tip.
$ 27.00

HCP1662 petcock Complete Rebuild Kit. Fits all XJ1100 models with an original o-ringed plunger tip. Order the HCP663 washer listed below if using this repair kit to repair a petcock that originally used a "d"-ring on the plunger tip.
$ 27.00


HCP663 petcock Spacer Washer. Order this washer to be able to use the HCP110 diaphram repair kit on a petcock that originally used a "d"-shaped rubber ring on the plunger tip. This washer goes behind the splunger spring and acts as a tension shim to allow the spring to put more pressure on the o-ringed plunger tip, and thus allowing it to seat and seal properly.
$ 1.00

You put it on backwards... :wink:

Aftermarket Complete ON-OFF-RES FUEL VALVE. Not really a "petcock" in the XJ sense of the word. Yamaha designed their petcocks to be a very clever "automatic" fuel supply valve, meaning it has to have engine vacuum for it to function. Great idea (when it works) because it allows us to basically "set it and forget it". Bad news is that when the seals go bad, or as age wears the internal components, it can become a really bad idea, since it will leak fuel into the carbs when it's not supposed to, leading to flooded carbs, fuel in the crankcase, spun bearings, etc.

This true fuel VALVE is either ON (in either the standard "ON" or the "RES"erve positions) or it's OFF. And it doesn't depend on engine vacuum, just gravity. So it won't ever leak or pass fuel in the OFF position. That's the good news. The bad news is that you have to remember to turn it on or off manually (as in every time you start your bike up or shut it down) or, instead of blaming a faulty petcock for your resultant problems, you'll have to blame yourself!

Once installed, this unit fits and looks somewhat the same as an original XJ-series petcock, what with the chrome faceplate and selector lever. It obviously has no vacuum nipple, only a rear-ward facing fuel outlet, which means you will need to remove your petcock vacuum line from the #3 intake manifold boot nipple and replace it with a rubber block-off cap plug.
This fuel valve uses the same size fuel line as original.

You also must use a adapter plate on the bottom of your fuel tank that this fuel valve screws into, and the brass-mesh, in-tank fuel filter (included with this valve) is actually larger than the opening in the bottom of the gas tank (just ever so slightly), so you'll have to grind the tank opening with a dremel tool or steel file to allow the filter to go into the opening. Our complete HCP630SET (below) includes a bolt-on grinding template so you'll know exactly how much metal to remove.

All-in-all, this is a both a great value and a fine idea. It forever eliminates the dreaded "leaking petcock" problems associated with 20+ year old factory petcocks for a price just slightly more than what it costs to rebuild a factory petcock. On the downside, you will have to remember to turn this unit off or on every single time! And, once you modify your tank (by enlarging the petcock opening), an original petcock will never seal up properly to it again (or, not without alot of effort on your part to "shrink" the enlarged hole!).

HCP630SET Complete aftermarket FUEL VALVE KIT, contain everything you'll need to replace a factory XJ550/650 (except Turbo)/750 petcock. Includes the HCP630 fuel valve, the HCP99 adapter plate, the HCP632 mesh in-tank fuel filter, the HCP1281 tank grinding template, a single HCP81 intake manifold nipple PLUG CAP, and a single HCP542 cap plug PINCH CLAMP.
$ 44.00

(my note: Honestly I would simply rebuild the valve rather than change it out to the full manual valve. If it's got new rubber in it, you've got another couple decades of trouble free use.. I am completely spoiled by the full auto, and I know I would forget to turn it off the first time I parked it.)

 

Thanks Taz!

And speaking of petcocks, if you want to rebuild your original one CORRECTLY, well, what perfect timing:

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic ... html#53921