another petcock question...

[650mark]

would one petcock flow enough fuel to allow an '80 xs1100 special to run properly? i'd like to find a way to go to reserve on the left side only and still drain the right side of the tank. anybody done this yet? thanks

[donebysunday]

Hi 650Mark !

I don't think so ? I had trouble on the slab running just one petcock on the 650 that was the 2 petcock version. Would start to stutter after 10 miles or so, pull over, sit a few minutes and then take off just fine for another ten mile slab run and do the same thing. In town, no problem.

Don };~)

[crazy steve]

You should be able to run on one petcock (assuming you still have the octy installed).

Don, your problem sounds like a partially blocked fuel tank vent. A pretty common issue, you need to disassemble the cap and clean the vent.

[natemoen]

I think it is bikerphil that only runs one petcock and it works fine. You will loose a little bit of reserve fuel capacity though.

[650mark]

i still have the octopus assembly installed. so if i'm reading this correctly if i go onto reserve only with the left side petcock all 4 carbs will continue to receive fuel until the gas on the left side is gone,the bike stops running probably leaving some gas in the right side of the tank?

[bikerphil]

i still have the octopus assembly installed. so if i'm reading this correctly if i go onto reserve only with the left side petcock all 4 carbs will continue to receive fuel until the gas on the left side is gone,the bike stops running probably leaving some gas in the right side of the tank?

That is correct, the fuel will flow from the left petcock, thru the octy, out both hoses with T fittings to both 1+2 and 3+4 carbs. You need to turn only one lever to reserve to feed all four carbs. There will be a small amount of fuel on the right side of the tank if that lever is not turned to reserve. I would imagine you could then open that right side lever and go even a bit further down the road. BTW, I run single left side petcock on both my 11's and there is plenty of fuel available at all times.

[650mark]

phil, do you leave the right side petcock "on" or "off" while riding?

[bikerphil]

phil, do you leave the right side petcock "on" or "off" while riding?

I use a block off plate with a gasket eliminating the right petcock altogether. I have an inline vacuum shutoff valve that takes the place of the octy, it only has 2 fuel line hookups (in and out) and a vacuum line, nice simple setup.

[650mark]

so, do i just leave my right side petcock "off" all the time?

[fredintoon]

Hi Mark,
if you look at the gas tank tunnel you'll see that it very nearly reaches the tank floor at the back.
This means that almost all the fuel on one side can flow around to the other so there is no meaningful amount of "extra reserve" fuel to be had, no matter how you switch the gas taps.
I'd say, ditch the octopus and it's eight gas lines and hook up the fuel the simplest way you can because complexity reduces reliability.
And, as far apart as gas stations are where you live, think about swapping in a Standard gas tank.

[bikerphil]

so, do i just leave my right side petcock "off" all the time?

I would just leave it in the position it was intended to be left in, the on position. If your octy is working properly, no reason to put it to off. If you want, try running the right side in off for a while and see what happens, you should find that the bike will run fine that way too with fuel flowing from the left tap thru the octy to all 4 carbs.

[650mark]

phil, thanks a bunch for all the info. i appreciate it.
and fred, thanks for the advice but i just had my stock tank repainted so i don't want to replace it. and as remote as we are here in phoenix my gps can always find another gas station just before i run out

[Courtney]

I use a block off plate with a gasket eliminating the right petcock altogether. I have an inline vacuum shutoff valve that takes the place of the octy, it only has 2 fuel line hookups (in and out) and a vacuum line, nice simple setup.

Phil, I just bought a special tank from Andreas and it will have no octopus. I'd like to do your conversion with a single petcock and an inline vacuum valve. Where did you get the valve? That is a better idea than shutting off the petcock every time I stop the bike.

[bikerphil]

I got mine thru Amazon, if you type in "pingel vacuum valve" you will get a bunch of different suppliers and you can find the cheapest one. If you don't have an amazon account, try Ebay or just do a google search. Average price for one is about $90. Worth every penny, JMHO

[bikerphil]

Looks like they have gone up in price a little, no surprise there...

http://www.powersportparts.net/Pinge..._p/4609416.htm