quick dumb question

[1st bike]

i am draining the fuel to paint the tank. while i was sitting there waiting, i was looking at the petcock. (it won't shut off by the way, so i guess that is a problem....) they are labeled left and right. is that left as you SIT on the bike, or left as you STAND IN FRONT of the bike?

[81xsproject]

It is always as you sit on the bike.

[1st bike]

kinda what i thought. honestly, i was hoping the PO did it right, and i assumed incorrectly, just to save me the work, but whatever, it sounds like i need new ones anyway. thanks for the info!!!!

[CatatonicBug]

You can rebuild them with new seals. No need to get new ones unless you really want them.

[DGXSER]

Reality is, that I don't think it matters which side they are mounted on from a functioning standpoint.

It does matter if you have the special model and the octopus, it will switch if the prime or on outlet is front or back. Other than that, I see no difference.

As mentioned, they are fairly easy to rebuild. Someone.....did a write up recently on how to do it on the special model petcocks. If you had the standard model, then there are issues with the new valve lengths. Not an issue with the cotopus valve though.

[1st bike]

i do have a special, and it sounds like i need to do something, i pulled the fuel lines from the petcock to drain the tank, and i couldn't shut them off at all. at no point (reserve, off, prime, on) did the fuel stop coming out of the tank. a little bit of a surprise, and a little bit of a mess, but i will take a better look at them (and the post as to how to rebuild) tomorrow. this might also be why i had a fuel leak.....maybe it was neither the carbs or the fuel line, as i thought a minute ago)

[DGXSER]

Fuel should not escape the system no matter if the petcocks shut off or not. Think of the petcock like the shutoff valve to at the wall that feeds your toilet in the house. It is only important if the fill valve in the toilet goes bad and you need to turn the water off.

Same thng with the fuel valves (petcocks) on the tank. They just cut off flow for working on the carbs. If fuel is leaking out from somewhere, you have a problem besides the petcocks not shutting off the fuel flow.

[1st bike]

DGxser, here is my thought. i shut the petcock off, but it has a constant push of fule because it never closes....found that out draining the tank. i noticed one of the fuel lines was wet right at a connection before the carbs, right near the middle of the bike. from that point it is really easy to see the fuel running down, dropping on the top of the air box, running down to where the air goes into the carbs (where i originally thought my leak was) and dripping down onto the floor. i am hoping that this is my issue not the carbs, because the leak was much higher up and it was only wet with fuel right where it would collect as to flow freely in a straight line, just at the clamp from the carbs to the air box. fingers crossed i can fix this without messing with the carbs...

[DGXSER]

That is entirely possible to be the case.

I just did not want you or anyone else thinking that fixing a leaking petcock would in itself fix a fuel leak in a fuel line or the carbs. Now if the seals on the petcock to the tank seam are leaking, THAT could be the issue.

[1st bike]

i appreciate your info! i never want to spend my time working on half of the problem only to be disappointed when it is still broken after i think i fixed it! thanks again