Valkyrie 97 Petcock fuel Flow

[Valklee]

First time on here, so be gentle !

Recently purchased a 97 Valkyrie that had been off the road for about 2 years due to covid etc. and have had some initial problems.

intermittently total electric failure, everything dead when turning key to on, no power anywhere, thanks to this forum "NOW FIXED" Bad connection on Starter Relay, new connectors and a new relay, jobs a gooden

The other problem seams to be fuel starvation, after a few miles at motorway speeds it runs sick, very sluggish, loss of power and pinking sound, had a look at vent line, there was nothing connected to the tank, found the tube so will push on in place.

while draining the tank to renew parts in petcock, i noticed with a vacuum applied and the tap set to on/res the flow was very minimal, see video via link below, should this be a lot more flow as it took over an hour to drain 15 litres, and suspect this could be the cause of my problem, what do you think ?

https://www.facebook.com/100002586133274/videos/781591339661199/

[sidecarwilliam]

Pull the petcock and clean the screen.
Easy Peasy.

[Steel cowboy]

The fuel starvation causes could be a clogged vent line creating a vacuum. You can check on that by opening the gas inlet while driving. Your tank vent should have a T fitting half way down from the tank to the end so as to avoid causing a vacuum while driving in rain. Nothing should be connected to that open fitting. If it’s not de smog’d check for a bad vacuum line or a cracked vacuum plug. Pull them out and inspect them closely, especially the vacuum line from #6 to the petcock. Are the intake runners showing any signs of brown oil were they meet the heads, that could be bad O rings too.
Just my 2 cents.

[Willow]

Cleaning the screen is a good idea but additionally you need to check the tank to see if there's rust inside.  The rust could result in plugging the petcock screen or even plugging the vent line inside the tank.

[Valklee]

Cleaned the screen, not much crud on it though

Should i be able to blow through the vent pipe in the tank and tubing, where does the end of the vent tube go ?

Thanks for the suggestions so far !!!

[The emperor has no clothes]

Sounds to me like a cover set rebuild is in order.

[Valklee]

Have Got the parts here to do that next, then going to remove carbs, not saying it is related to my original problems so far, but while the tank is off would probably be good to have a look at what is going on inside the carbs.


As i say this bike is new to me, and don't know the history of any maintenance done previously

[Willow]

...
Should i be able to blow through the vent pipe in the tank and tubing, where does the end of the vent tube go ?
...

Yes.

Top of the fuel tank.  It also serves as an overflow.

[Valklee]

Thanks Willow - seams to be clear when i blow through it, i also ran some small cable (similar to brake cable inner on a bicycle) through it to be sure, went in about 20"

[RonW]

..... where does the end of the vent tube go ?



Front side of kickstand bracket.

[RonW]

"..... i noticed with a vacuum applied and the tap set to on/res the flow was very minimal, see video via link below, should this be a lot more flow as it took over an hour to drain 15 litres ....."


if there's a tear in the diaphragm the vacuum won't open the fuel valve as full as should.
 








Also, here, on back side of 20 year old diaphragm.

[Jims99]

I agree with the emperor and Ron. Cover set replaced or rebuild and check vacuum lines. If it runs good, I would leave the carbs alone. Change air filter if you haven’t already and desmog will get rid of a lot of possible vacuum leaks.

[Valklee]

Cover set replaced or rebuild and check vacuum lines. If it runs good, I would leave the carbs alone. Change air filter if you haven’t already and desmog will get rid of a lot of possible vacuum leaks.

I couldn't see anything wrong with the diaphragms, but have now replaced all the parts in the petcock and the flow rate has increase 10 fold and has good seal when releasing vacuum, clearly it needed doing !
 (see video link below)

https://www.facebook.com/100002586133274/videos/573312331159625/

Decided not to touch the carbs as suggested, too much trouble, but will have a go in the winter to see if there is any gunk and replace anything needed, i live in the UK and our bikes don't need to desmog, already done

It started OK, although that was never an issue, runs good, and will test ride tomorrow to see if the problem still occurs, hopefully it will be OK or back to drawing board

[Jruby38]

Can the OEM POS for a Pingle. You cant out run it WFO.

[Tazman11]

Pringle all the way. I got tired of messing with the OEM setup and went with a Pringle. Couldn’t be happier and it removed the only problem I ever had with the bike. I have one sitting on my counter for the trike.

Good advice.

[steveB (VRCC UK)]

All Valks (USA, UK and Euro) after '98 have PAIR valves yours must be an early one. Bin the stock tap it's rubbish. Fit a Pingle 1311CH, and change the float needles, cheap insurance against a hydrolock. BTW I have a new Pingle in stock (not used still in box) shout if you want go that way. Try VRCC UK Facebook page to meet UK members.

[Valklee]

Have been following a lot of talk on here about the Pingle, but not sure yet if I want to go down that route, pretty sure the Honda development team should have known better than me why they chose to use this vacuum method, seams to work OK on my other Honda. Think I'll go with a restrictor/snubber to help protect the diaphragm for now.

I'll bow down to your knowledge on the PAIR valve SteveB, (am a VRCC UK member) all I know is this 97 has none of that on it, but it may have been removed in the past . . . .  Have looked at the #6 Vac Hose and no leaks there , but I have read on here you cannot tell just by looking if the vacuum caps are faulty or not ?, one of them looks to be home made, just a piece of black rubber tubing with what appears to be a bolt/screw in the end, possible leak there ?

Only got the chance to go out on it earlier today, so far so good, but going to do a longer run tomorrow as confidence grows in getting it back home . . .  it definitely was a lot better and not holding back like it was before, have also added some COBRA 6-6 now (MUCH MUCH LOUDER), not sure if I am imagining it and now looking for faults, but I feel the throttle response is not as good as when the OEM exhaust was on, any thoughts anyone ? . . . . So still more to be done until I'm happy, and going to kick myself hard every time I drop the bike at a road junction . . How Embarrassing was that !!!  

[Jruby38]

The Pingel is the way to go. Buy once, cry once. Been on my bike for 15 years and over 100K miles without a problem.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Have been following a lot of talk on here about the Pingle, but not sure yet if I want to go down that route, pretty sure the Honda development team should have known better than me why they chose to use this vacuum method, seams to work OK on my other Honda. Think I'll go with a restrictor/snubber to help protect the diaphragm for now.

I'll bow down to your knowledge on the PAIR valve SteveB, (am a VRCC UK member) all I know is this 97 has none of that on it, but it may have been removed in the past . . . .  Have looked at the #6 Vac Hose and no leaks there , but I have read on here you cannot tell just by looking if the vacuum caps are faulty or not ?, one of them looks to be home made, just a piece of black rubber tubing with what appears to be a bolt/screw in the end, possible leak there ?

Only got the chance to go out on it earlier today, so far so good, but going to do a longer run tomorrow as confidence grows in getting it back home . . .  it definitely was a lot better and not holding back like it was before, have also added some COBRA 6-6 now (MUCH MUCH LOUDER), not sure if I am imagining it and now looking for faults, but I feel the throttle response is not as good as when the OEM exhaust was on, any thoughts anyone ? . . . . So still more to be done until I'm happy, and going to kick myself hard every time I drop the bike at a road junction . . How Embarrassing was that !!!  

I (and many others here) have got many miles on the OEM petcock. (The Cobras are reputed to lose about 6hp)

[rww930]

if its a california like mine, there are lots of potential leaks.

[Pappy!]

Never have had a problem with a properly functioning OEM valve. Pingel is a choice not a requirement for proper running.

[Jims99]

I have 3 with stock petcocks. I’ve never shut them off unless trailering. Never a problem. I’ve been riding since 8, never had a bike I needed to shut off so not in that habit. Maybe it’s luck, but no problems here.
I’ve also upgraded the float valves when ever I’ve rebuilt carbs. (18-8955)