Valk died while riding in rain. Why?

[jabster]

So I was riding home yesterday, and ran into that massive storm that hit Chicago around 5pm yesterday. Heavy, driving rain. Lots of lightening.

As the rain started, the engine started sputtering (at only 97 miles), so I switched to reserve. Then the rain REALLY hit, so I started heading for shelter, but I got about 1/4 mile and it started sputtering again. And then it died on me.

Got it started again, and got another 1/4 mile or so, and it died again. Walked it the rest the way to a gas station. All in heavy rain. Ugh.

I filled it up, and after hitting the starter several times, it started up. It did not start when I got to the gas station, out of the rain, before filling it up.

Waited until the rain stopped, and again it started right up.

Now, I have not had any petcock (stock) problems, and typically ride until the main tank runs out, switch to reserve, then get more gas.

So what the heck happened?

Can heavy, driving rain cause problems? Or is my petcock suddenly worn out, and I'm stuck on Reserve when I think I'm On?

Thanks,
John

[Chrisj CMA]

check the tank vent tube and the airbox vent, and all vacuum lines.  Shes sucking water from one of these, should be a simple fix.  Honda puts T fittings in these vent lines to prevent this. Might be helpful to print out the fishe for the vacuum system and tank/airbox so you know how things are supposed to be

[Thunderbolt]

Seems like I remember a post  about the "t" in the tank vent line being stopped up and the long side of the "t" was sucking up water.  I believe the solution was to shorten the vent line that exits near the kickstand and clean the short or horizontal side so the tank could vent properly.

[Skinhead]

check the tank vent tube and the airbox vent, and all vacuum lines.  Shes sucking water from one of these, should be a simple fix.  Honda puts T fittings in these vent lines to prevent this. Might be helpful to print out the fishe for the vacuum system and tank/airbox so you know how things are supposed to be

+1 Same thing happened to my BIL on the 1st HHR.  If it ever happens again, open the gas cap and put something (a coin, small piece of wire) under the cap seal before closing to vent the tank.  Make sure the TEE is in place, and it also helps to cut the end of the vent hose at an angle.

[jabster]

check the tank vent tube and the airbox vent, and all vacuum lines.  Shes sucking water from one of these, should be a simple fix.  Honda puts T fittings in these vent lines to prevent this. Might be helpful to print out the fishe for the vacuum system and tank/airbox so you know how things are supposed to be

Thanks. I'll start there.

There's no danger (assuming dry weather) riding as-is, is there? (IOW: It's Monday and I likely won't get to checking/fixing until the weekend, but still want to ride.)  :-)

Thanks,
John

[Skinhead]

check the tank vent tube and the airbox vent, and all vacuum lines.  Shes sucking water from one of these, should be a simple fix.  Honda puts T fittings in these vent lines to prevent this. Might be helpful to print out the fishe for the vacuum system and tank/airbox so you know how things are supposed to be

Thanks. I'll start there.

There's no danger (assuming dry weather) riding as-is, is there? (IOW: It's Monday and I likely won't get to checking/fixing until the weekend, but still want to ride.)  :-)

Thanks,
John

No harm at all.  If it quits, do as I suggested.

[Rio Wil]

Now, I have not had any petcock (stock) problems, and typically ride until the main tank runs out, switch to reserve, then get more gas.




You do now, its just a coincidence it started in a rain storm....

[garyheskett All 49 x 3 st.louis]

Mine did the EXACT same thing 2-3 years ago.  I had been riding in the rain for 1-2 hours with some buddies (all on Harleys) and it just quit, like I turned off the key. Instead of thinking what's wrong, is it safe to get to the shoulder (we were on the Interstate), etc., all I could think of was of the "sh_t"  I was going to get cause the Honda broke down.  Sat on the side of the road for about 30 minutes in the rain, bike started up, drove it about 2-3 miles, quit again. I was only about 15 miles from home and trailered it home. Backed the trailer in the garage and tried to start it on the trailer. Started right up. The next day, I washed it real good, it started right up and ran fine. I posted the problem on the board. Can't remember exactly what I did, I think I did a cover set on the petcock, but I do remember cutting the vent line (the one with the tee on it) shorter. I have ridden in the rain numerous times since then, it has never done it again.  But, one of the Harley guys took a picture of the Valk on the trailer, and has shown it numerous times!!  

[Skinhead]

You do now, its just a coincidence it started in a rain storm....

I beg to differ, have seen it happen too many times to be coincidence, that and popping the fuel cap solves the problem.

[Rio Wil]

I would be willing to bet that  no one has EVER sucked enough water up through the tank vent tube to put enough water into the tank and contaminate  the carbs to the point the engine will not run..........a crimped/stopped up tube above the t-vent will allow eventual starvation of the carbs but think about it.......fuel is removed so slowly from the tank in normal running that it can't possibly create a large enough vacuum to draw water into the tank from this vent tube........this tube is too large to permit capillary action and not enough vacuum is pulled by a decreasing fuel volume to suck water up into the tank......thus this theory is ALL WET....

Popping the tank filler cap addresses a vent vacuum issue or a petcock low flow issue,not a water issue.  

[Mr.BubblesVRCCDS0008]

Mine did the exact same thing. It was the kill switch on the handlebars getting wet. Cycled the switch several times and bike starter and ran like new. Just a thought.

[Chrisj CMA]

I would be willing to bet that  no one has EVER sucked enough water up through the tank vent tube to put enough water into the tank and contaminate  the carbs to the point the engine will not run..........a crimped/stopped up tube above the t-vent will allow eventual starvation of the carbs but think about it.......fuel is removed so slowly from the tank in normal running that it can't possibly create a large enough vacuum to draw water into the tank from this vent tube........this tube is too large to permit capillary action and not enough vacuum is pulled by a decreasing fuel volume to suck water up into the tank......thus this theory is ALL WET....

Popping the tank filler cap addresses a vent vacuum issue or a petcock low flow issue,not a water issue.  

Where did the gas contamination "theory" come from?  No one I can see is saying that.  Water temporarily plugging a vent line will allow the engine to run until the carburetor bowls empty then it dies.  After the vacuum stops the water drains out of the vent and it starts again.

[Rio Wil]

Do you have any idea how slight the vacuum is that is created by the fuel in the tank being consumed. You can't possibly even measure it with a extremely sensitive vac gauge. There is NOT enough vac created to hold any water in that tube......also the end of that tube is subjected to a water mist which makes it even more difficult for the tube to hold a water column that would create a vacuum. And again, that tube is too large to hold water even as capillary action.....

Take a tube of the vent line diameter into the shower, point the end of the tube down, create a VERY VERY (remember this is NOT engine vacuum) small vacuum on the tube (any method of your choice) and see how much water you can induce to come into the tube and block it......

Remember, the vacuum created in the fuel tank is created by the level of fuel dropping.

[Daniel Meyer]

I would be willing to bet that  no one has EVER sucked enough water up through the tank vent tube to put enough water into the tank and contaminate  the carbs to the point the engine will not run..........a crimped/stopped up tube above the t-vent will allow eventual starvation of the carbs but think about it.......fuel is removed so slowly from the tank in normal running that it can't possibly create a large enough vacuum to draw water into the tank from this vent tube........this tube is too large to permit capillary action and not enough vacuum is pulled by a decreasing fuel volume to suck water up into the tank......thus this theory is ALL WET....

Popping the tank filler cap addresses a vent vacuum issue or a petcock low flow issue,not a water issue.  

Doesn't draw water into the tank...just draws enough up the tube to create a vacuum so that fuel can't flow enough. It can happen remarkably fast, especially of the temperature is falling or the sun goes away...tank cools off, vapor condenses, and "suck".

The "T" is either missing or clogged in the tank vent...also possible that you just have a kinked tank vent line and rapid cooling is what got you...

[Rio Wil]

This is what prompted the comment about sucking water up into the tank....

check the tank vent tube and the airbox vent, and all vacuum lines.  Shes sucking water from one of these,

Daniel, I usually agree with your diagnosis, but in this case I  think something else is at play..  A couple of clues: 

 **As the rain started, the engine started sputtering (at only 97 miles), (so the tank was less than half full reducing the pressure feed of fuel)

 **I filled it up, and after hitting the starter several times, it started up. It did not start when I got to the gas station, out of the rain, before filling it up.

I suspect the normal operation of that vent tube is :

At freeway speeds, the tip of the tube is exposed to air flow, as  such it will have a slight venturi effect and pull a slight vacuum on the tank. The t-vent upstream is to prevent a high vacuum from being drawn on the tank while riding at very high speeds or in heavy head winds.....either would increase the venturi effect and hence the vacuum on the tank  and possibly starving the carbs. When little or no air flow over the tip (opening) of the tube it is simply a passive vent.

If the water blockage theory is to hold water.. , then the blockage would have to be above the t-vent and before the tank....otherwise the t-vent would bleed off the vacuum or the water would likely be drawn into the tank......to have just the right amount of vacuum to balance gravity and the weight of water  to keep it in the tube is a bit of a stretch. It would have to hold this balance condition for some 1-2 minutes at hwy speeds to empty the carbs.....anyway, I still think the water theory is all wet.......and is likely one of those theories that gets circulated enough that it begins to become "fact".

I have ran some pretty sloppy muddy roads for extended miles and have never succeeded in blocking this hose or the t-vent....not saying it never can happen.....

Still think he has a bad petcock and needs to check to see if it will hold a vacuum at the nipple on the petcock....JMHO

[pancho]

Sounds like typical petcock problem to me.

[Daniel Meyer]

Still think he has a bad petcock and needs to check to see if it will hold a vacuum at the nipple on the petcock....JMHO

Oh, I agree he should check the petcock...I sound like a broken record talking about checking the durn petcocks...there's lots of bad ones out there because for some reason folks think they can ignore them for a decade or more...but...I can tell ya, I've rescued bikes sidelined by the vent tube issue...the "T" gets clogged (by little spider around these parts, mud daubers other parts, gawd knows what elsewhere) or worse, removed because folks don't know what it's for...and either fuel overflow, or sucking up water in the rain stops the air flow into the tank and presto, dead bike...especially if it is cooling off temperature (or in the desert heat, riding under a cloud even!).

Just a kink can do it too...ride all day, but until the fuel level is right and the temps up/down/whatnot line up it's fine, then suddenly, no fuel.

Pop the top and it should start right up when it's the tube. I've simply jammed a wire tie in the cap to break the seal to get several folks home where it was easier to fix the tube (kind of a bitch when the bike is hot).

Shrugs.

It's a simple fuel system...and the Valks are so bullet proof it's seldom anything else...if you have a runnablity issue, check the petcock and vents.

[pancho]

I certainly agree that water up the vent line is a plausible explanation, and I'm certain it has happened before..... simply cracking the cap like Skinhead suggested would prove it out.....   BUT from the description in this post, I'm leaning towards the petcock,,,, even with the rain.

[jabster]

Here's what I've got so far.....

1) Drain tube had a wee bit o' water in it. Drained and re-plugged.
2) The carb drain hose on the middle right carb (#4?) was off. Put that back on. That wouldn't cause a problem, would it?

Nothing else seems amiss. The T behind the alternator has three hoses attached (those were a real pain to get reattached last year). Nothing else seems loose or off. Vacuum tubes are all brand new as of last summer.

Engine starts now with no problems. Petcock has been On since yesterday. Just now turned it off.

-john

[Chrisj CMA]

Here's what I've got so far.....

1) Drain tube had a wee bit o' water in it. Drained and re-plugged.
2) The carb drain hose on the middle right carb (#4?) was off. Put that back on. That wouldn't cause a problem, would it?

Nothing else seems amiss. The T behind the alternator has three hoses attached (those were a real pain to get reattached last year). Nothing else seems loose or off. Vacuum tubes are all brand new as of last summer.

Engine starts now with no problems. Petcock has been On since yesterday. Just now turned it off.

-john

should only be 2 hoses hooked to the T

[Rio Wil]

Yeah, kinda interesting about three hoses on the tee-vent.  Should only be the hose from the tank on top of then tee, a hose coming off the bottom of then t and the horizontal port on the tee has no hose attached....so what'cha got  there?

Do us all a favor and remove the vacuum hose from the petcock nipple, attach a hose of appropriate diameter to the nipple and apply a gentle vacuum orally (no puns) and see if it bleeds off....it should not at all. Don't get carried away with applying the vacuum, you can actually un-seat the diaphragm.....

Since the engine runs now and you have done nothing to remove/straighten  any kinks nor have you removed any obstruction blocking the vent tube then those things were not a contributor.

I think Daniel said it well:
It's a simple fuel system...and the Valks are so bullet proof it's seldom anything else...if you have a runnablity issue, check the petcock and vents.

As a practical example of how much air is pulled into the tank, ie, creating a vacuum at the opening of the vent tube while running at 60 mph.  Exhale all the air from your lungs and slowly start to refill at a rate of 1.5 -2 liters of air over a 15 minute period.....if you pass out in this interval.....ya gotta start again!   This is about the amount of air flow in a decreasing volume of fuel, if the vent tube is unrestricted, not a issue.  If it is, then fuel vacuum lock can occur.

But I still think that pulling water up this tube and causing fuel starvation is pure fantasy.....would be a good case for those guys on tv ( Myth Busters) that prove or disprove a theory.

[jabster]

Here's what I've got so far.....

1) Drain tube had a wee bit o' water in it. Drained and re-plugged.
2) The carb drain hose on the middle right carb (#4?) was off. Put that back on. That wouldn't cause a problem, would it?

Nothing else seems amiss. The T behind the alternator has three hoses attached (those were a real pain to get reattached last year). Nothing else seems loose or off. Vacuum tubes are all brand new as of last summer.

Engine starts now with no problems. Petcock has been On since yesterday. Just now turned it off.

-john

should only be 2 hoses hooked to the T

Are we talking the same Tee? In talking about the upper left corner of page 5-0 in the Valk owners manual. One son the air box, one from... Not sure what that is.... And the third going out the bottom (drain tube, plugged at the bottom). I remember pulling one of those off and it being a real pain getting all those reconnected without pulling another one off.

I will check the petcock, tho I did rebuild it as well last summer.

Thanks,
John

[PhredValk]

What model Valk do you have? This may not be a vacuum issue. If you have an IS it could be that the big harness connector under the swingarm finally had too much and failed. When you turn on the key do you have lights? Dash components (if it's an IS)?
Fred.

[pancho]

No John,, different T, the one you are looking at is the crankcase breather,, the one referred to here is the fuel tank vent. Check the petcock as Rio suggested, if it is leaking vacuum, you have found your problem and replacement parts are reasonable on eBay.. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Honda-97-04-GL1500-Valkyrie-Interstate-Tourer-Fuel-Petcock-Repair-Kit-18-5018-/310690403930?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3AValkyrie&hash=item485697565a&vxp=mtr

[gordonv]

I agree with all said, most likely a fuel delivery issue. But I don't recall you saying how much full was in the tank? This doesn't happen at a fuel tank, but somewhere around +/- 1/2 tank.

Another issue all together different is the main harness block at the front of the rear fender, and water sometimes gets into there and cause the same issues you mention.

If you try the fuel problem, and again it happens in the rain, especially at any level of fuel, look into this wire block. Separate, clean and re-apply dielectric grease to keep it dry.

[BradValk48237]

I didn't see anyone mention it, but these flat 6 (and 4) motors can have a problem in heavy rain Had it happen on a 1200 Wing.... and I have read of other having these issue on the site.....

The plug holes can fill with water and short out the plugs... even if the weep holes are clear..... definitely if they are plugged.. just need the right conditions and the boots to be a little loose.

I was riding on the highway, hit torrential rain and could not stop.... all the sudden the bike started loosing power and then 20 feet from getting under a bridge died completely....     One of the guys with me suggested looking in the plug holes, as this had never happened to me before, and what do you know water in all of them. Got some wire and poked thru the weep holes and towels and engine heat dried them out..... Fired right up. Since that time I always check the weep holes, but another time I had it happen again, but not a complete engine fail, just a couple of cylinders... ONce again it was a downpour at slower speeds.

SO FYI.. might not be a fuel issue at all.....

Brad

[Skinhead]

Do you have any idea how slight the vacuum is that is created by the fuel in the tank being consumed. You can't possibly even measure it with a extremely sensitive vac gauge. There is NOT enough vac created to hold any water in that tube......also the end of that tube is subjected to a water mist which makes it even more difficult for the tube to hold a water column that would create a vacuum. And again, that tube is too large to hold water even as capillary action.....

Take a tube of the vent line diameter into the shower, point the end of the tube down, create a VERY VERY (remember this is NOT engine vacuum) small vacuum on the tube (any method of your choice) and see how much water you can induce to come into the tube and block it......

Remember, the vacuum created in the fuel tank is created by the level of fuel dropping.

Believe what ever you want, I've seen it happen and repaired it on a VTX, Tee was missing.

[Daniel Meyer]

Remember, the vacuum created in the fuel tank is created by the level of fuel dropping.

Significant vacuum is created by dropping the temperature of the tank, like raining on it, especially if it is half full or LOWER, just like significant pressure is created by raising the temp (assuming the vent is blocked).

I hate arguing on the 'net, but please don't discount the experienced mechanics and riders that have encountered this issue so easily.

[jabster]

Just a few more comments, along with one question:

1) While I've looked at things a bit, I still haven't lifted the tank to look at everything underneath. ie: I haven't looked at the correct Tee yet.
2) I was indeed out in the sun all day at an ARC class. And it was pretty darned hot out until the rain started.
3) I was driving maybe 50 mph when it died the first time.
4) I rebuilt the petcock about 9 months ago, after the bike had been sitting for about 10 years. The only things that would fail on the petcock are all the rubber pieces, right? ie: Does having been rebuilt that recently eliminate the petcock as a potential issue?
5) I was thinking about this again, and I really don't recall if I tried starting it before I put gas in. I may have been wrong about that.

thanks,
John

[b/mp]

Several years ago a friend of mine and I were riding to Daytona from Chattanooga. He was riding a brand new Indian with the powerplus engine. When we left it was POURING down rain. After awhile his Indian started to die. We would pull over when it quit and it would start right back up. I told him I thought it must be electrical due to the rain and due to the downpour it wasn't the place to start checking stuff on the side of the road. It rained the entire way and it would quit after running for short periods of time.

When we arrived in Daytona we went by the Indian dealership, told them what the bike was doing. The shop guy walked out to his bike, flipped open his knife and cut the tank drain hose well up from the bottom of the frame where it had been previously located. His explantion was it was pulling up water from the heavy rain, the hose vacum then would shut off the gas flow. He said they had made the hose too long and had other people with the same problem.


IT rained each and every minute we were on our trip and after the drain hose was cut shorter it never quit again.   Blake

[pancho]

"Significant vacuum is created by dropping the temperature of the tank, like raining on it, especially if it is half full or LOWER, just like significant pressure is created by raising the temp (assuming the vent is blocked)."

Very good point,,, the Petcock can be eliminated or verified within seconds by testing as Rio suggested.

[Rio Wil]

John, here is a pic of the tee location...Down under the right foot peg and up by the clutch slave cylinder.....inside the circle.  Simply cover the open port and apply vac/pressure to the open end of the hose and see if it is clear through to the tank.

I would still encourage you to apply a gentle vac to the vac nipple on the petcock and see if it holds and doesn't drop off. Also inside the petcock, the diaphragm has a hole in its center that slides over a little nipple.....if that has come off it wont work properly.

[Rio Wil]

Several years ago a friend of mine and I were riding to Daytona from Chattanooga. He was riding a brand new Indian with the powerplus engine. When we left it was POURING down rain. After awhile his Indian started to die. We would pull over when it quit and it would start right back up. I told him I thought it must be electrical due to the rain and due to the downpour it wasn't the place to start checking stuff on the side of the road. It rained the entire way and it would quit after running for short periods of time.

When we arrived in Daytona we went by the Indian dealership, told them what the bike was doing. The shop guy walked out to his bike, flipped open his knife and cut the carb drain hose well up from the bottom of the frame where it had been previously located. His explantion was it was pulling up water from the heavy rain, the hose vacum then would shut off the gas flow to the carb. He said they had made the hose too long and had other people with the same problem.


IT rained each and every minute we were on our trip and after the drain hose was cut shorter it never quit again.  Blake

Carb drain hose or fuel tank vent hose?

[Rio Wil]

Remember, the vacuum created in the fuel tank is created by the level of fuel dropping.

Significant vacuum is created by dropping the temperature of the tank, like raining on it, especially if it is half full or LOWER, just like significant pressure is created by raising the temp (assuming the vent is blocked).

I hate arguing on the 'net, but please don't discount the experienced mechanics and riders that have encountered this issue so easily.

Don't intend to do that at all, I am just thinking there are some incorrect conclusions being drawn from observations of the problems surrounding vent of the tank.

Don't mean to pick on you but the above conclusion seems to be one of those instances. In my mind, if a significant vac is drawn on the tank as a result of a cooling effect, it would pull any column of water from the tube into the tank and clear the obstruction. If the vac was insufficient to
pull in the column of water , ie, just balance it in the tube for 60-90 seconds while the carbs reached starvation.....quite a unique feat..

And I have to admit this in intriguing me way too much.  I got curious as how much vac would be required to prevent the gas cap from popping open with the key.  Attached a hand vac pump to the vent and blocked off the tee vent.  Pumped the vac device 50 times (with half a tank in a I/S), checked to see if the vac was stable. Inserted and turned the key, cap popped up and got a vac whoose.  Did the same thing to estimate how much vac was pulled, uncovered the vent tee port and it 2-3 seconds to equalize the tank to atmosphere......so there was considerable vac pulled....it did only register about 1-2 inches on the pump gauge.

Conclusion: If you ever hear a vac/pressure whoose when opening the cap....you have a vent issue.

Not sure if that amount of vac would starve the cards, if I make a Starbucks coffee run this afternoon, may I will try a little test.

[b/mp]

Several years ago a friend of mine and I were riding to Daytona from Chattanooga. He was riding a brand new Indian with the powerplus engine. When we left it was POURING down rain. After awhile his Indian started to die. We would pull over when it quit and it would start right back up. I told him I thought it must be electrical due to the rain and due to the downpour it wasn't the place to start checking stuff on the side of the road. It rained the entire way and it would quit after running for short periods of time.

When we arrived in Daytona we went by the Indian dealership, told them what the bike was doing. The shop guy walked out to his bike, flipped open his knife and cut the carb drain hose well up from the bottom of the frame where it had been previously located. His explantion was it was pulling up water from the heavy rain, the hose vacum then would shut off the gas flow to the carb. He said they had made the hose too long and had other people with the same problem.


IT rained each and every minute we were on our trip and after the drain hose was cut shorter it never quit again.  Blake

Carb drain hose or fuel tank vent hose? I said carb drain but mean't tank drain, sorry.

[Daniel Meyer]

Conclusion: If you ever hear a vac/pressure whoose when opening the cap....you have a vent issue.

Not sure if that amount of vac would starve the cards, if I make a Starbucks coffee run this afternoon, may I will try a little test.

Conclusion is true, and yep, it's enough....

It's not so much "significant vacuum" it's "is there any fluid in the tube below the level of the carbs".  More of a siphon balance than how much vacuum...(we're assuming the T is missing or clogged here. Air can also come back up the needles/carb vents if they are starving.

You can also do it by overfilling...and venting some fuel, perhaps as the bike sits in the sun...without the T, the fuel can hang in the line. The correct location of the breaker (T) is above the level of the carb bowls for this reason.

Once you get going it can starve the carbs just as readily as the vent line being pinched off. The conditions have to be right though...I've seen bikes that have been riding all day, get into cooling conditions and die...to find a clogged vent line. Pop the cap, relieve it, and go again (at least far enough to get off the road and fix the vent line.

Seems more common with lower gas levels...which does make some sense as you have more fuel vapor in there that can condense in a cooling situation.

Some of aren't guessing, unless we specify that we are. Don't believe this can shut you down? Pinch your vent hose off. As long as your gas cap is good, it'll shut down suddenly...eventually. Like I said, seems conditions have to be right...temps going up (and engine heating the tank) seem to stave it off for a while...

[Rio Wil]

I have no disagreement at all that if there is a vac long enough on the tank due to a obstructed vent hose, it will eventually starve the carbs. A fully obstructed vent hose will accomplish the same results as turning off the petcock. My issue is if the vent tee and tube are clear of obstruction, how can it happen. If someone has removed the tee for some reason and has just a straight tube, I can see possibilities of a problem, especially at speed and air flow over the end of the tube creating a bit of a vac.  I think the tee was installed to prevent just that and compensate for any water mist that might enter the tube.

We get involved in these discussions as a result of someone having a problem and we try to guess-ta-diagnose what happened and kind of leave out what the preventive side might be.

In the case under discussion, the bike had been running for an undetermined (at this point) time and obviously the vent line was clear else he would have suffered a vac starvation in the minutes before the rain. I am not sure what the fuel level in the tank was at the time of the incident, but it if was in the half tank or less range, it smells of the poorly functioning stock petcock issue.

John has not stated as to whether his vent tube is obstructed as of now, but I am not sure I can buy into a solid column of fuel remaining in the tube long enough to cause starvation.....it simply doesn't have the surface tension to cling to the inside of that vertical hose. I am not sure where the terminus of the vent pipe is inside the tank, I always fill the tank with the bike upright and fill it to just a inch below the top of the neck......hate going to filling stations! I have never seen any indication of fuel spill due to overfilling...probably done it this way a 1000 times.

Anyway....my take away from this is:  keep the vent line and tee port open (clean them at least once in a thousand years), make sure you have a properly function petcock,  and your carb's will happily sip fuel and give you thousands of miles of wind and keep the smile on your face.  

[jabster]

OK....Just so I'm entirely clear here....the "tank drain hose" is the one at the center-rear of the tank, correct? And that hose should have a Tee in it, right?

If so, that's the problem: No tee.

When I removed the tank last year, that hose more or less disintegrated when I pulled it off. I never put it back on, as I had someone else clean my carbs. So it looks like he replaced that tube, but didn't put a Tee back in there.

So...I need a Tee, and then I'll probably shorten the tube a smidge as well.

Thanks,
John


(That lift I picked up at Sears last year has been worth every penny!)

[pancho]

Check your petcock with a line and oral vacuum as Rio suggested way back ,, either verify or eliminate it as the problem....................  divide and conquer

[pancho]

verify that it will hold a vacuum as it should, or if it leaks down and your recent rebuild has failed,, just takes seconds and a piece of hose.