Fuel line replacement 1/4" ID

[Narcisist]

So my old fuel lines dried and cracked, who knows how old they were. I grabbed some fuel line from the autozone and replaced the ones that were worst. Turns out that automotive fuel lines don't really work on these bikes, mostly because the ports on the petcock are too close together. But I made it work, for a little while, then they started to leak because I couldn't get hose clamps all the way up because of the tight fit. So I got some new line last week on ebay, neon orange, but it works. I left lots of slack so I can take of the fuel tank without having to undo the lines. I used small zip ties to secure the lines, but I think they would've been fine on there own, they fit on really tight. Pretty easy, only took about 30 minutes or so.

P.S. On a side note, my left side petcock leaks from the rear port even when it's off, anyone know where I can find one that doesn't?

[wingnut]

Somebody threw spaghetti under your carbs!

Best bet would be to get a rebuild kit for the petcocks. Old Bike Barn has nice kits. You can take the petcock apart and re-bend the spring washer,turn the rubber gasket over and polish the seal surface of the leaver. I've had that work 2 out of 5 attempts but its a shot.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Rich,

I think you may have some problems with those fuel line loops that long and that far below the float bowls! Running the loops from the left petcock to the right side and vice versa usually provides adequate slack for being able to lift up the tank without having to unplug the lines.

As for the spigot, IIRC, they are press fitted in there, some folks have taken a light hammer and tapped them back in a bit more snugly, and others have used JB Weld to secure them. There are 2 versions of JB Weld, and I believe that the quicker setting stuff has been inadvertently used for float post fixes and such, and folks have found that the JB weld doesn't hold up to the fuel. But the other longer setting stuff is the JB weld that will hold up to fuel.
T.C.

ps I just read Wingnut's reply, I Thought you were saying that it was leaking from AROUND the spigot, not just that fuel was still coming out of the spigot? Different problems, different solutions!

[CatatonicBug]

I second the rebuild kit for thee petcocks. Its cheap and easy. Lots of places to get them too. A quick seach on ebay will find a few. I'm thinking georgefix might have them there.

[Narcisist]

Well, I've ridden a full tank of gas through the new set-up and I haven't had any problems at all. Cool part is that I have enough fuel line that I can take the tank off, spin it around and set it down where that seat goes without having to disconnect any lines. Totally worth it.

[xs11bobber]

I'd be leary of the lines rubbing through. These aren't the smoothest running machines. And I've seen it happen with steel tranny and brake lines on a car rubbing a simple piece of plastic. Just advising some caution be taken.

Maybe with enough neon oragne fuel line, it'd make you a little more visible... , just a thought.

[Larrym]

DayGlow Octy!!

Nice Pics! My bike came without the octy so I've never seen what one looks like all connected. Neon makes them easy to track as they wind in and around stuff, eh? The lines appear to be sorta "see-through". Or is that just a trick of the light?

I found some yellow "neon" fuel line at the local lawnmower shop and am using it for now. I also used zip-ties as clamps but I used one of those "zip-tie Guns" to tighten them up. (Radio shack has them..)

Where did you put the inline filters for the carbs? You know, 1+2....3+4? I put them in at the bottom of those loops where it looks like the lines rub against the motor. Easy for me to get at them for inspection and replacement. So much room down there that I used the big honkin' filters. Not as pretty as using the tiny ones tucked up away somewhere out of sight.