Kinked fuel lines

[ross]

hey there folks...got the 2 fuel shut-off's for $9 and bought the fuel line from the auto parts store.....frugal is the rider that finds the cheaper way to fix the problem.....ross

[The Lorax]

I haven't had any significant issues with kinking fuel lines as yet, I have a special tank, no octy, capped the front ports, ran the rear to the fuel inlets. I turned my inlets so they point almost down, made a nice gradual bend up between the pods and onto the rear nipples....done, I must have gotten lucky in how I approached it as I didn't realize it was a common issue until I read this thread. have a nice day and ride safe

[tarzan]

Hey lorax, it isn't much of a problem with pods,you have lots more room.However with the stock airbox its a puzzle.I tried pods when i first bought my bike, but I liked the look better with the box.But I tell ya I'm tempted to go with the pods every time I have to mess with the carbs.

[egsols]

Before I removed the octy and replumbed the lines I used compression springs on my lines to keep them from kinking.

[The Lorax]

The pods vs stock airbox is a different situation, my machina did not have carbs on it when I bought it, much less an airbox so I did not get the fun experience of fooling around with all that hardware. at any rate, I'm certain that there will be a good consensus as to how to prevent kinking, someone's done it, someone's designed it it must work, right? didn't know if perhaps I just came at it from a different perspective being that I had to scrounge parts and actually had to figure out how to make it run before I found this wealth of information known as xs11.com. have a nice day and ride safe

[fredintoon]

Copper tube fuel lines?

Hi Egleaves,
those used to be stock up to the 1930s.
They fit on the gas taps with threaded unions so they can be taken off with a wrench and usually had a couple of coils bent into them to take out the vibration.

[oldyam80sg]

Egsols- That looks sharp! but what does the piece of angle due?

[Axel]

kinky

I added fuel filters recently and after a hasty sync and colortune ,I had some rough idle/running problems . Sure enuf the lines were kinky . I had replaced some with the auto thick type and the old lines couldnt handle it . I had to lengthen the lines from the octy and shorten the lines from the tee to the petcock to get the tee back over the space between the air box boots . Now it runs better .

[oldyam80sg]

I discovered a kinked fuel line so it was taken off and i used the stock line that i got from Andreas Weiss that came off an octy.The stock fuel lines don't kink like the new thicker one.I'm waiting for fuel line from Pingel because i believe that is the best around IMO and it doesn't kink easy.

[egsols]

oldyam80sg, that's a rig I set up to check the fuel levels. I just wanted to show the springs on the lines.

I used the angle iron as a stand for the carbs. I just slip the carbs on it using the space between the bowls and the mounting bar. I then clamp the mounting bar to the angle iron.

[oldyam80sg]

I like that-Where can i get those springs?

[LoHo]

Give this a try:

Buy some clear fuel line from a bike shop.

Cut it in half.

Hook one half to the right carb and run it out the left side. Hook the other half to the left carb and run it out the right side. There will be extra line on both sides.

Put the tank in position. Manipulate the line so that it has a small curve in it, enough to bend, but not so sharp as to kink. A little extra line is better than too little, and it is MUCH easier to shorten the line than to lengthen it. Hold the line next to the petcock (my wife loves that word) and eyeball or mark the place to cut the extra off. It does NOT need to be a straight line down. A little belly in the line is fine.

Attach the lines and ride.

[Axel]

re- colortune

I had to re- colortune after I straightened out my fuel line problems . My settings were quite rich . Might not be related but thats what happened .

[olebiker]

Axel if they were kinked that would starve your engine. If it was tuned to that condition it would make sense that they would have too much fuel after you unkinked them.

[egsols]

oldyam80sg

You should be able to get those springs at any local hardware store. They are simple compression springs about 2-3 inches long. I took a piece of fuel line to the store just to make sure it fit inside the spring.