Petcock Replacement

[MrOzz]

I am going to replace the stock petcocks on my 80 Special. Anyone have any recomendations for aftermarket petcocks? I am looking for a non vaccum type, since I removed my octy. Also I am looking for a 90 degree outlet that will face the middle of the bike, figure it would be easier for hose routing and less kinks. I will also need a adapter plates too?

I would love to get Pingles but right now I dont have the $$ for them.

Thank you all for your input.

Ozz

[bgrubb7]

Well, I was looking for the same thing, but I ended up getting my originals working. Z-1 has the cheapest Petcocks, but Parts-n-more has $6 adapter plates.

http://www.z1enterprises.com/detail.aspx?ID=1744

https://www.partsnmore.com/cat_index...&category=carb

[COOL TOM]

Petcocks

MROZZ if you are not going to use your petcocks i would be interested in them. Let me know.

[hobbsy84]

I actually just replaced the petcocks on my '81 Standard with non-vacuum ones, I got mine from MikesXS. The part number you need from there is #20-0019.
I guess they're a little pricey, but they work well, and fit straight on, no adaptor plates etc and they don't hit the airbox or carbs when fitted up. I've heard some aftermarket ones don't fit so well. Also come with a 90 degree outlet to make routing fuel hoses much neater. My airbox doesn't turn into a secondary fuel tank overnight anymore, which is a pretty big plus. Couldn't really ask for anything more than that, eh?

[fredintoon]

I am going to replace the stock petcocks on my 80 Special. Anyone have any recomendations for aftermarket petcocks? I am looking for a non vaccum type, since I removed my octy. Also I am looking for a 90 degree outlet that will face the middle of the bike, figure it would be easier for hose routing and less kinks. I will also need a adapter plates too?
I would love to get Pingles but right now I dont have the $$ for them.
Thank you all for your input.Ozz

Hi Ozz,
check MikesXS on-line catalog for an early XS650 tap. The one Hobbsy used for his Standard won't fit your Special because the bolt centres are different.
BTW, Mikes taps ain't exactly cheap neither, a few dollars more will buy those Pingles you wanted.

[Larrym]

PNM Petcocks Versus.....

I bought and installed the PNM version. The adapter plate was required.

The adapter plate brought the petcocks down just enough to make the clearance between the fuel outlets and the top of the airbox a real problem. I had to settle for adding a spacer at the rear of my tank and not being able to trully tighten down my fuel tank at that rear bolt.

Those optional 90 degree fittings turn out to be a nice concept but in actual practice they were problematic. How to get them tight enough to seal and point in the right direction was a real challenge. Ended up that I had to use double fiber washers to get the right angle and an acceptable "aiming" of the outlet nipple..

The adapter plates came with a neoprene (??) rubberish "gasket" which would deform when I tightened the plate to the tank. Definitely not something which would contain flammable liquids. I ended up making my own paper/fiber gasket for this and then coated it with Aviation Form-A-Gasket. (The brown stuff which never hardens and can only be cleaned up with alcohol.) I also used the same brown stuff to seal those wonderful 90 degree fittings.

If I had to do it over again I would not use the PNM version on my special. Way too many things I had to do to compensate and make it work. I'm still twitchy about those 90 degree nipples and have had to go back in and tighten/reseal those little buggers.

[MrOzz]

Hi Ozz,
check MikesXS on-line catalog for an early XS650 tap. The one Hobbsy used for his Standard won't fit your Special because the bolt centres are different.
BTW, Mikes taps ain't exactly cheap neither, a few dollars more will buy those Pingles you wanted.

Fred,

Are you talking about the following ones? Part #20-0050 and 20-0051 (left and right petcocks)? They say for "...non-Vacuum types
used on 1970-77 650's."

Will the bolt holes line up on a 1980 xs1100 special? Has anyone used them for a special.

As far as price goes they seem about half price compared to the Pingles. The Pingles go for around $90.00 USD each comparied to $40.00 USD for the MikesXs ones.


Thanks for the info.

Ozz

[Larrym]

PNM Pics

MrOzz,

Just something to show you what you could have:



Notice the small clearance between the back of the petcock and the airbox. Also see just how far the adapter plate drops the whole petcock downwards. The fuel outlet comes straight out the side then dives back in because that was the only position I could get that 90 degree nipple to behave itself.



Right side shows same drop down due to adapter plate and nipple on this side is pointing down. Access to the small clamps around the fuel line is limited and quite a challenge to deal with.

Blurry pics, I know. But enough for you to get the idea.

Choose wisely and good luck!

[hobbsy84]

Hi Ozz,
check MikesXS on-line catalog for an early XS650 tap. The one Hobbsy used for his Standard won't fit your Special because the bolt centres are different.
BTW, Mikes taps ain't exactly cheap neither, a few dollars more will buy those Pingles you wanted.

Gah! Bugger, I forgot the specials have different fittings for their tanks. My bad.

[MrOzz]

LarryM,

What I am thinking is haveing the left side feed the #3-4 carbs. Right side feed #1-2 carbs. Have the 90 degree petcock with the outlets facing in tword each other.

Thanks for the pics on the way you did yours.

[Larrym]

Concept vs Execution

MrOzz,

Right on! That's the "standard" way of feeding the carbs and I saw no reason to vary from that. My carbs and petcocks do have the left side feeding 3+4, right side feeding 1+2. The fuel lines do go down under the carbs then swing back up to the appropriate fuel Tee between the carbs. I put big inline fuel filters at the bottom of these lower loops.



I put these PNM petcocks in that category where the Concept vs Execution are separated by a wide margin. Consider the "concept" of a picnic: sunny skies, good food, a relaxing time. Then in the actual "execution" it turns out that the food is cold, you can't relax because of the ants, and your back hurts from sitting in that awkward position.

Biggest problem was that those 90 degree nipples are a good idea but getting them to point where you need them to point and be tight enough to seal ....well that was a real finicky process. It was all dependent on how the nipples and the petcock body were a match as far as threading goes.

Mine are on now. They also "work". I'm just saying the end result could have been better but only if I would have gone with another petcock style.

Best of luck to you!

[dbeardslee]

How to get them tight enough to seal and point in the right direction

Use a little teflon tape on all the threads - taps and base plate - when assembling the aftermarket petcocks. You don't have to get them super tight to seal, and teflon tape stands up well to gas.

[Larrym]

Ready...Aim...FIRE!!!

Yeah. Putting teflon tape on the male threads of the nipples would have made the "aiming" a lot easier. I thought about doing that but I remembered all the times that I had used teflon tape before and had the fittings leak gas or diesel after a while.

Maybe I'm using the wrong type of teflon tape? I've always gone into the plumbing department of the local hardware store and grabbed a roll of the "white" stuff. It's worked every time I've used it on fittings where only water is used. Hasn't faired very well in gas, diesel, or antifreeze applications. Square peg in a round hole???

For these fuel fittings I used that aviation Form-a-gasket. Applied it on the fittings and used a heat gun to evaporate all the solvent so it was gummy enough to stay where I put it. This stuff cannot be dissolved by gas or diesel and can only be cleaned up with alcohol.

It's just that I have such a slim comfort zone when it comes to flammable liquids and leaks. YMMV with teflon tape.

I'll put a piece of that white teflon tape in a glass container filled with gas and then post the results.

[MrOzz]

Thanks Larry. The teflon will be a good idea. Let me kow how it holds up to the fuel. I still need to find out if the ones from mikesxs will work and if I need a adapter plate.


Ozz

[dbeardslee]

When I put the partsnmore petcocks on Betsy I used teflon tape on all the fittings. They've been there for well over a year with nary a leak.