xs11 special fuel sys query

[copperhead25]

Greetings, new member here, have been studying the webpage for about a month....great stuff!
Recently purchased a '79 XS11 Special, cleaned her up, rebuilt carbs etc. The other day I went for a ride and it started "surging"...loss of power then return of power. This happened after the battery had died on a long ride(generator?)
I plan to check the generator because it died again after I got it come an took it for a short ride. Battery is good(new). When it dies, it has electrical power, but not enough. Any thoughts???
Additionally, any pros vs. cons on removing the vacuum operated fuel diaphram? I was going to remove it vs replacing it due to cost, availability and generally pain in the ass.......

EXTRA: I replaced the rubber washers in my fuel petcocks for 50cents each! Purchase neoprene/rubber fender washers of a similar size (50 cents @ Ace Hardware) use the old gasket to guide trimming the new one to size. I used a leather punch to punch the 4 feed holes in the new gasket and the center hole in the new gasket to line everything up. Be very careful/exacting and use a very sharp blade when trimming. Works great!

[nashville_bill]

The Pro to having the Octopus is that it automatically shuts off the gas when you turn off the engine. The Con is that there are a lot of fuel lines to get in the way.