noooobie here. fuel filters.

[these2boots]

thoughts on the tank filters vs. inline filters? my tank filters are shot, the mesh is just fused together. at 35 bucks a piece, i am thinking of just installing inline filters till a later date when i am sure i am not dumping money down a hole. the bike has sat in a garage for 14 years with fuel in it and i'm just about to get the tank finished. i'll drop the dough later on if all else seems good. i rebuilt the petcock rubber already. can i just mount them without the tank filters?



thanks in advance for this and the million and one dumb questions i am about to ask! i'm not a mechanic, just a fairly intelligent guy wanting to learn to wrench and ride.

[Guy_b_g]

You could do that, but you will lose the reserve function of the filter towers, if you choose to remove them and go with inline filters.

[cywelchjr]

Meaning that when it sputters, you will be out of gas, and waiting for someone to bring you some gas to get it going again.

In your situation I would put inline filters in, cut the filter mesh out of the towers and keep them in. That way they won't filter, but you would retain the reserve function and the inline filters would give you your filtering. And then I would just leave it like that and not bother ever replacing the towers, you don't HAVE to use them to filter as long as you have inline filters.

[these2boots]

thanks guys!

that's pretty much what i figured, and leaving the towers in for the reserve action to work is a smart idea.

next question...should the petcocks (not installed yet) be super hard to turn after putting the rubber in? i assume since they are dry, the friction is making it difficult, and when the gas soaks in there it should move more freely? or should they be oiled if that won't break down the gasket?

[BigRed]

I'm pretty sure any rubber that can take gas can also handle oil. I used a real light smear of grease when I had mine out and put them back in. I'm waiting on a rebuild kit to come in the mail. For now, I just flipped the rubber around so that the chafed part isn't against the petcock. Funny... most times if you flip the rubber around, it doesn't work, but this seems to be holding... no leaks yet.

[draketrumpet]

I rebuilt my petcocks about a month ago. I did just like that, putting grease on the rubber gasket that goes on the handle part. It was pretty stiff, but moved smoothly with a firm grip. I haven't had to move them since than as I usually fill up at 1/4 tank, so I don't know if they are still hard...I'll check tomorrow if I remember.

[ManitoulinLad]

Put Di-eletric grease on the "O" ring & assembly & use fine sandpaper to shine up the flat part on the inside of the lever that goes against the flat rubber. The grease wash away when the gas hits it. I wrecked my O ring b4 I knew this trick & had to take it apart again. When the new kit is in (with the di-electric grease) it will be smooth as butter & no rubber tears - so no leaks. I always shut mine off & on all the time its been over 2 mths & they are still smooth with no resistance & leak proof. Use the sand paper, di-electric grease, & save some grief. - Dan

[draketrumpet]

reason I haven't moved mine is its a standard=no shut off switch. Lucky for me, the vacuum shut off junk still works...at least after the rebuild