TOPIC:

Greetings all,
After much maintenance (chain and sprocket rpl, oil and filters rpl, petcock rebuilding, cleaning, etc) Saturday morning I finally got my bike back on the road. Boy it sure ran great...for about 25 miles!
At that point the bike suddenly began to lose power and started surging. It felt like the bike was running out of gas or was firing on less than 4 cylinders. So I turned around and headed home to investigate, but after a few more miles it seemed to run better again.
When I got home I checked out the bike thoroughly, but found no problems at all.
I figured that it must have been a bit of crap stuck in my carbs or moisture maybe...but everything seemed OK now. So I headed back down the road.
Well, after another 20 miles or so...you guessed it...the bike began to run bad again. This time though it ran REALLY BAD. Then it stalled. Oh CRAP! I pulled over to the side of the road and checked it out. It looked like a carb was pissing gas all over the place. Maybe a stuck float?
I got out the tool kit and tried (gently) rapping on the carb/float bowl but no luck. I tried to restart the bike but no luck there too. Probably flooded the cylinders with gas, I thought. I also realized that the fancy, vacuum assisted petcock, that I had just rebuilt, was NOT shutting off the gas with the engine off. Crap again! So I took off my gas tank, gasoline leaking all over me, the road and the bike, and set it aside and waited awhile for the fuel system to air out. After about a half hour I finally got 'er restarted and I rushed to put the tank back on and get it back on the road.
When I finally got back home (Thank GOD I wasn't stranded) I checked it all out and determined several things:
1. It was carb #3 that was stuck;
2. The power loss was likely from flooding the cylinders with gas;
3. The fancy petcock was leaking through badly and my $20 rebuild did not work.
Not quite certain what to do about the carbs, I went to my most trusted source: KZRIDER!
After a couple hours Sat afternoon checking out this forum I found much valuable info on these problems. I see that many folks here have had similar problems. Realizing I may need to remove the carbs and rebuild them, I felt a bit intimidated and frustrated. I really did not want to remove the carbs and spend more money or lose riding time. Then I came across a couple references to a carb cleaning product called SEAFOAM, supposedly the greatest stuff since sliced bread. So I decided to try two ideas. First I bought the Seafoam ($7 at the local parts peddler) and second, to install a simple in-line fuel valve (found for another $7 at the local lawnmower shop) to shut off the gas.
I mixed 2 oz Seafoam into 1 gallon of gas, installed the fuel tank shutoff, crossed my fingers and tried to start it.
After kicking it over for a couple minutes it started up and I took it on the road. It ran badly for several miles but gradually began running better and better. I took it down back roads and really opened it up. I was determined to thoroughly blow out any residuals from my carbs. I went for about 20 miles this way and returned home to check it over and to re-fuel with Seafoam added gas.
After a complete check over, the carb overflow problem seemed to be solved...no more leaks of pissing from the carb!
Again on Sunday we went out and the bike ran great. I mean REALLY great. I couldn't believe it. I kept expecting it to foul again but it never did. My wife and I put on nearly 100 miles Sunday without any problems at all.
I hope this problem has been solved for the season. Although I realize that I may still need to rebuild the carbs, I am hoping to postpone this work until next winter. I am still investigating a permanent petcock replacement but the inline shut off works OK for now.
I encourage others who have these problems to consider both options: Install an inexpensive shut off on your gas line and try the Seafoam. It really worked for me and I will use it regularly from now on.

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davenkids2001 wrote:

Greetings all,
After much maintenance (chain and sprocket rpl, oil and filters rpl, petcock rebuilding, cleaning, etc) ....

Hi davenkids and welcome to the forum.
Just want to know about something. After you rebuilt your petcock and before you reinstalled your tank, did you try any tests to see if petcock actually stopped all fuel flow with no vacuum present? I disassembled mine recently and checked to see how it all works as far as the different positions is concerned. Mine seems to cut flow very nicely as expected, but have not had much road testing yet as I have other engine issues.
Again, welcome to the forum.

Hi guys,
JMK: I brought in the petcock to my work shop, disassembled and cleaned thoroughly in a parts washer and blew dry w/compressed air. It did not look pitted nor did I see anything that would indicate a problem in the casing. I did not polish it. The kit was from Z1 but I dunno what brand it was. I DO know that the kit did not contain all the parts I found in the valve. (The diaphram was there but the diaphram seat gasket was not).
Jim: I did not test the rebuilt valve prior to riding the bike. I should have. My mistake.
All: The bike is 28 years old but only has 14000 miles on it...and it shows. The valve looked fine internally and was thoroughly cleaned and carefully reassembled. Maybe the polishing was needed.
All I know is that this valve has never worked correctly since I bought the bike 18 months ago. I would feel better just replacing it.
Thanks everyone.

davenkids2001 wrote:

....Oh CRAP! I pulled over to the side of the road and checked it out. It looked like a carb was pissing gas all over the place. Maybe a stuck float?
I got out the tool kit and tried (gently) rapping on the carb/float bowl but no luck.... So I took off my gas tank, gasoline leaking all over me, the road and the bike, and set it aside and waited awhile for the fuel system to air out....I finally got back home (Thank GOD I wasn't stranded) ....

Thank God you didn't explode! You very easily could have, you know.

....and second, to install a simple in-line fuel valve (found for another $7 at the local lawnmower shop) to shut off the gas....

Do you have only one fuel supply line and one vacuum line connected to your petcock, or do you have two supply lines?

.... My wife and I put on nearly 100 miles Sunday without any problems at all....

Now that's more like it. Glad you didn't get stranded,,, err, nearly stranded, again.
Are you sure the petcock rebuild did not work? I trust you know about the three positions of the switch. If it is like my vacuum actuated one, there is a "PRI" setting which allows gas to flow when engine is off.
No chance you had yours in that position?
At any rate, just be careful and keep an eye open for fuel spills till time proves it is trustworthy, as that is not something to mess around with. I have two different friends who, long ago both burned up their bikes on the side of the road.

JMK Thanks for your reply.
Yes, I know about the PRI, ON and RES settings on the valve. It was on ON. I have only a single fuel line supply (with vacuum line in the back). I know it was set up correctly. It simply doesn't work well...apparently a common problem.
I had this petcock off again last night and took it apart and checked it against the diagram. I had it right and all the parts look OK. I think I will just buy the Suzuki valve and solve this problem for good.
Yes...Thank GOD we didn't explode! He's not done with me yet, I guess!
Last night (Monday) we again went riding. The bike ran great. I think the Seafoam stuff really helped. No more leaks or gas overflow...even with the gas valve left on. We went about 88 miles and no problems at all. Zip. Nada. Zilch.
Over time, as I gain confidence in this chemical fix, I will ride it further. I thoroughly check it out after every ride, during refuelling and whenever my old butt gets too sore
Thanks everyone

davenkids2001 wrote:

JMK Thanks for your reply.
Yes, I know about the PRI, ON and RES settings on the valve. It was on ON. I have only a single fuel line supply (with vacuum line in the back). I know it was set up correctly. It simply doesn't work well...apparently a common problem.
I had this petcock off again last night and took it apart and checked it against the diagram. I had it right and all the parts look OK. I think I will just buy the Suzuki valve and solve this problem for good.
Yes...Thank GOD we didn't explode! He's not done with me yet, I guess!
Last night (Monday) we again went riding. The bike ran great. I think the Seafoam stuff really helped. No more leaks or gas overflow...even with the gas valve left on. We went about 88 miles and no problems at all. Zip. Nada. Zilch.
Over time, as I gain confidence in this chemical fix, I will ride it further. I thoroughly check it out after every ride, during refuelling and whenever my old butt gets too sore
Thanks everyone

Kewl; good replies in all concerns.

Thanks Jim