Can we put standard gas tank "ON/OFF" valves on our maxims?

If so, what do you do with the vacuum?

 

just plug the line

 

Cool. Thanks MN

 

Just remember to shut the valve off when your done riding for the day.

 

To sit overnight, or at every stop?

 

Re: Can we put standard gas tank "ON/OFF" valves on our maxi

Every time you turn the bike off. The original petcock used the vacuum to only flow fuel when the engine was running (in ON/RES). If a non vacuum ON/OFF is used (I am doing this with an inline on/off valve and the petcock on PRI), fuel will flow anytime the floats open in the carbs. If you have any issues with your carbs the fuel can overflow the float bowl and get into the crankcase, resulting in a very large paperweight. Hope that helps.

 

REMOVE it, and cap off the vacuum spigot on the intake manifold with the same type of rubber cap the other three use.

 

Re: Can we put standard gas tank "ON/OFF" valves on our maxi

Or a blown up house, since it'll also leak out of the airbox drain. When I was taking the MSF course they warned us about people who didn't turn their fuel valve off and leaked gasoline in their garage...where their hot water heater happened to be located...BOOM

So always remember to shut it off.

 

Re: Can we put standard gas tank "ON/OFF" valves on our maxi

If we replace the petcock with a simple on/off type, why do we need to turn it off every time we shut off the bike? My 2001 Honda has that type of petcock and I've never shut it off. It has carburetors and I've never had a problem. Why would the XJ's be different?

 

Re: Can we put standard gas tank "ON/OFF" valves on our maxi

They're not. Your Honda's owner's manual says "Turn the petcock OFF whenever the motorcycle is not in use." It's a good habit to have, just in case there is a problem with a float valve.

 

Of course it does.

You're correct in that properly operating floats will stop fuel flow regardless of petcock position.

But a stuck float can happen on any bike, new or old, for a myriad of reasons. No sense taking that chance.

 

Alot of good info here

 

wally i just bought one from chacal (XJ4EVER), and it came with everything i needed to convert over to the on off valve, the plug, the clamp, the valve with gasket and gasket sealant...i would recommenced it to anyone

 

Re: Can we put standard gas tank "ON/OFF" valves on our maxi

Why not just pick up a petcock rebuild kit off of Ebay and rebuild both of your petcocks and the vacuum valve? They are fairly inexpensive and then your problem is solved.
Mine's been trouble free since I did that...but I still shut my fuel off at night both out of habit and just in case.
Shutting off the fuel also limits the ditance a potential thief might get before running out of gas (unless he remembers to turn on the fuel)...crooks are usually dumb.

 

Re: Can we put standard gas tank "ON/OFF" valves on our maxi

The problem is that with the vacuum operated petcock there is no actual off position. While there is no fuel flow when the engine is not running. The possibility of the vacuum diaphram failing does exsist. This is further compounded by the potential for the float needles to become gummed up by the fuel in the bowls, and line evaporating. This all leads to a crankcase full of fuel/oil mixture.

Not a good situation to have at 4-5am with a 30 min ride to get home after being on the road while the bike sits for a week, or more. With a true on/off/reserve petcock the valve can be shut off, and the bowls run dry to eliminate the potential problems of a failed petcock.

Ghost

 

Re: Can we put standard gas tank "ON/OFF" valves on our maxi

Mabye some of the other Maxims are different, but the 1100's have separate vacuum valves and petcocks...so you can turn the fuel off manually using the two petcocks. Even the petcocks I've seen that have a vacuum valve built in usually have an off position...but I suppose some could exist that don't...not a very safe design though.
So that gives you the vacuum valve and the float valves in the carbs to prevent fuel from flowing on through (when the petcock(s) are open). For most normal use (if they are not leaking) that should be sufficient...but for overnight storage it's a good idea to turn the petcocks off just in case.
In the shorter term (like a days ride) if both the vacuum valve and the floats are leaking then you really should simply fix your bike. Leaking floats can effect your fuel ecomnomy in a bad way too.