78 E petcocks

[mack]

I've got one that is rusted solid on this tank. Right side of course. Do we have a replacement for these that work or is there a kit available to refurbish the originals? The gas cap drain is also rusted closed. Rather than poking a hole in it trying to ream it out, figure I'll leave it as is and just cut the spigot off the bottom rear of the tank and solder it closed permanently. That way if it disintegrates in the tank,I wont lose a whole tank of gas on the road.

[natemoen]

Georgefix on ebay had rebuild kits for the petcocks, if that is what you are talking about.

There are a few people that have removed the old drain tubes by drilling into the drain tube with a just slightly larger drill bit to disconnect the tube from the tank. Then you snake a new tube (1/4 inch copper line works well) thought the tank and then braze the new tube inplace.

[crazy steve]

As long as the petcock isn't corroded internally, it can be rebuilt. As Nate said, Georgefix sells the kits. The standard petcocks are a bit harder to work on though, as the filters are rivited to the body. The only way to remove the filters for a thorough cleaning is by grinding the heads off the rivits.

The tank drain is another can of worms. These aren't quite that easy to remove as there's an internal brace at midpoint that the line is welded to, so cutting the ends loose still won't get it out as I found out the hard way. If you can't get the line clear, I'd replace the tank. All the '78-80 standard tanks are the same other than color, so finding a replacement won't be impossible.

[natemoen]

Never heard about the brace! I only remember reading a couple times about people replacing the tube though. Even if the brace is there once the tube is loose from the ends you should be able to grab the tube from the filler neck and work the brace loose.

[Rasputin]

Yup there is definetly a brace in there. Not sure how to circumvent it but it is there. If I can get my photobucket to work today I can show a pic of where it is and what it looks like but I have been battling with the bucket for over a week now.

[fredintoon]

- - - If I can get my photobucket to work today I can show a pic of where it is and what it looks like but I have been battling with the bucket for over a week now.

>
Hi Rasputin,
yeah, Photobucket has been reinventing itself lately.
I finally got mine to post my photos again but I dunno about installing new ones.
Back in WW2 the Marshal in charge of Soviet weapons production had a big sign on his office wall. It said:-
Seek out those who want to improve an in-place functional weapons system
And shoot them.
Perhaps Photobucket needs such a sign?

[Rasputin]

The old bucket worked just fine so why re-invent itself?

[mack]

Here's a question

The kits I saw on G/f said they were compatable with the 650 as well. Does this mean a 650 petcock would fit on the 11? As for the drain, I'm just going to abondon it in place. Plug both ends and leave it. Buying a used gas tank without being able to see it could have me buying one worse than what I have.

[crazy steve]

Never heard about the brace! I only remember reading a couple times about people replacing the tube though. Even if the brace is there once the tube is loose from the ends you should be able to grab the tube from the filler neck and work the brace loose.

Yeah, that's what I thought too.... But the tube/brace connection is stronger than the brace/tank spot-welds. I got mine out, but ended up with two holes in the top of the tank where the welds ripped....

[natemoen]

Yeah, that's what I thought too.... But the tube/brace connection is stronger than the brace/tank spot-welds. I got mine out, but ended up with two holes in the top of the tank where the welds ripped....

Well, then....

Glad I do not need to deal with that!

[crazy steve]

The kits I saw on G/f said they were compatable with the 650 as well. Does this mean a 650 petcock would fit on the 11?...

The left side petcock is the same as some of the later 650 bikes. The right side was also found on the XS750/850 bikes, so you might be able to find a replacement. This is if you want to keep the correct 'handedness', if that's not important a generic 650-type replacement should work.

[Rasputin]

I happen to have 2 petcocks here that are in ok shape for rebuild.