PETCOCK: On or OFF?? POLL

[BIG--T]

I'm just curious how many leave the petcock on all the time except for reserve, repair, or storage.

Thanks  

[Titan]

Well, I selected "Off" but at the moment it's on. I've turned the petcock off on every bike I've ever had since the Sears MoPed I had when I was a kid. It's as much a habit to me as turning off the ignition. But the recent thread about all that made me leave it on last week when I parked. I feel really freaky about it being on and I'm liable to break down and go turn it off.

I hope whomever it was on here that said it's best to leave it on all the time knows what the hell he's talking about!

[Steve K (IA)]

Same here...habit since I was 10 years old.  Who the hell is telling people to leave the petcock on?  That's just silly! 

[Jess from VA]

Same here...habit since I was 10 years old.  Who the hell is telling people to leave the petcock on?  That's just silly! 

Nope, it's just lazy. 

[Farther]

I have a belly tank and the petcock is on all the time.

[six2go #152]

For the 1st 12 years the only time I turned it off was for Winter storage, never went on reserve. Then the diaphragm failed, I replaced with a Pingel, now I turn it off every time I shut the bike down.

[BIG--T]

Well, I selected "Off" but at the moment it's on. I've turned the petcock off on every bike I've ever had since the Sears MoPed I had when I was a kid. It's as much a habit to me as turning off the ignition. But the recent thread about all that made me leave it on last week when I parked. I feel really freaky about it being on and I'm liable to break down and go turn it off.

I hope whomever it was on here that said it's best to leave it on all the time knows what the hell he's talking about!

That's the very reason I'm doing the poll since the last one.  I believe they know what they're talking about bc that is what the manual says.

[BIG--T]

Same here...habit since I was 10 years old.  Who the hell is telling people to leave the petcock on?  That's just silly! 

The Valkyrie Honda Manual!

[BIG--T]

For the 1st 12 years the only time I turned it off was for Winter storage, never went on reserve. Then the diaphragm failed, I replaced with a Pingel, now I turn it off every time I shut the bike down.

I would think after 12 years the diaphragm could possibly go out regardless.

[Scott in Ok]

Same here...habit since I was 10 years old.  Who the hell is telling people to leave the petcock on?  That's just silly! 

I never turn mine off, except to remove the tank.  Its worked just fine for me for over 12 years, and more than 100K miles of Valkyrie ownership.  To each their own, however.

-Scott

[bogator]

 I turn mine off everytime I stop------old harley habit-----so far no problems----knock on wood---

[BIG--T]

I turn mine off everytime I stop------old harley habit-----so far no problems----knock on wood---

When I forgot to cut it off my old harleys, nortons and more, the worst that would happen they would leak a little gas- never heard the term "hydrolock" back then or heard of anybody experiencing anything like it. It wasn't until I come to this forum that I heard the term!!

[fordmano]

Leaving it on all the time now since I added the pingel and the Dan-Mark electric shut off,,, should have the belly tank installed shortly so I will be double covered for fuel shut off when the power is off...



With that said, when I was running full stock I always shut it off when the motor goes off the valve gets put in the OFF position on the FatLady and any other vehicle I have that has a physical fuel shut off (petcock)...

[Maddog vrcc#508]

As I understand the mechanics of the Honda Petcock, it needs a vacuum to open the Diaphragm inside the petcock so fuel can flow. If the Fat Lady is not running, with no vacuum produced  --  no fuel flow.  With that said, with a belly tank the need for a vacuum is eliminated.  The fuel drains from the main tank into the belly tank by gravity and is then pumped to the carbs by an electronic fuel pump from the belly tank.  once again shut the Fat Lady off - no fuel flow.  When you get your belly tank installed the vacuum line for the petcock is plugged and sealed.  I learned this from the horse's mouth, as I watched my tank installation at R&M Works.

[PhredValk]

My first bike was a 1980 GL1100, had a fuel pump so no flow without the engine running. On the Valk I never touch it except to go to reserve (once a month to keep the tank bottom gunk cleared out) and for winter storage. I just never think about it.
Fred.

[X Ring]

I voted on but it depends on which bike I'm talking about. My Tourer has a belly tank so I leave it on.  There's no chance of a hydrolock with it.  My I/S doesn't have a belly tank so I turn it off.  They both have Pingel petcocks.

Marty

[Rowdy]

  Interesting

The one time I did turn it off - I forgot to turn it on and ran out of gas with a full tank - turned out, I had a bad vacum line, when I did turn it back on thier was not enough vaccum to pull gas from the tank    -  Once I replaced the vacum line I was good to go.

So I have decided to leave it on - turn it off over winter and during tank removal 

On my other bikes I always turn then off the Valk is another animal 

Belly Tank ????? First I have herd that term ????

[BIG--T]

Ever since I got the bike in Feb. I always cut the petcock off bc of the dreaded hydrolock I've read here. The pass few weeks I've been leaving it on bc I think constantly cut it off and on, like winding a watch, it will wear the seat in the petcock causing it to leak. Now this is my own thoughts but I would like to add the MANUAL states it also!!

As Rowdy said What is a belly tank and it's purpose? More gas? I also have never heard of it. 

[DarkMeister]

Always 'ON', 99 Interstate. So glad to see I'm not the only one.
Having read the posts here about hydrolock, I've thought about it lately, but old habits die hard.

[sugerbear]

turn mine off only when removing the tank.

[KW]

I've never entered into this discussion thread before because the overwhelming majority has always said – with authority & conviction – that it MUST be turned off. Interestingly enough; they're the same people who have had trouble with theirs.

I have never turned my off. . . except when removing the tank. It's just not necessary and can only lead to the part being worn out prematurely. I'll stop with that . . .

[The Anvil]

There's lots of logic to support the theory that leaving it on is the best approach. Fuel petcocks are typically not "switch rated" which is to say they're not designed to be used frequently and as such, may wear quickly.

Either way, it's not "laziness". I take exceptional care of my machines and from what I've seen here we ALL do. I leave mine on unless I'm storing it for long periods. Why? Because I've never had a problem with that method. I won't say it can't happen, but it's worked for me in my years of owning bikes so why stop now?

[KW]

Oh crap. . . . you mean we agree on something Anvil? 

[rodeo1]

i'm with xguy. never heard of hydrolock until i started reading valk forums.

heres the deal guys. until fuel injection came out, all cars had carbs, floats, and needles and seats. suspiciously, just like the valk does. so why didnt they all hydrolock ? because we drove them. we drove them every day, we kept clean fresh fuel flowing through them all the time, keeping everything squeeky clean in there and not hanging up a needle and seat and causing fuel to leak down the intake.

i have seen virtually hindreds of bikes in my lifetime that were 10 1nd 15 years old with 5,000 to 15,000 miles on the clock. that is wrong, wrong, wrong. no wonder you sludge up the carbs. there is a reason they make products like stabil in this country. boats, motorhomes, and yep! bikes. people just refuse to put any miles on them.

i put about 9,000 miles on mine a year with the CMA ministry. i never winterize it because i live where i can ride year round. ask those who ride a lot about hydrolock, they will tell you they never heard of it.

bikes like the valk get pretty hot. even i have the dreaded exhaust "POP" out of the right bank. the caps and hoses get hot and dry out, then crack and cause leaks that cause that "POP" a few bucks worth of rbber every spring handles that.

moral - ride it ! ride it every day !

[¿spoom]

Maybe I read it wrong. I've never taken the petcock off of my bike, so I voted "leave it on" 

[Maddog vrcc#508]

Ever since I got the bike in Feb. I always cut the petcock off bc of the dreaded hydrolock I've read here. The pass few weeks I've been leaving it on bc I think constantly cut it off and on, like winding a watch, it will wear the seat in the petcock causing it to leak. Now this is my own thoughts but I would like to add the MANUAL states it also!!

As Rowdy said What is a belly tank and it's purpose? More gas? I also have never heard of it. 

http://www.rmworksinc.com/ Check the web site for info about the belly tank.

[X Ring]

As Rowdy said What is a belly tank and it's purpose? More gas? I also have never heard of it.  

Really? Ya'll haven't heard of a belly tank?   ???  

A belly tank is a 2.5 or 3 gallon auxiliary tank that mounts under the bike between the engine and rear wheel.  Hence the name belly tank.  There is a transfer line that uses gravity to transfer fuel from the stock tank.  The fuel is then pumped from the belly tank to the carb banks.  There are filters before the pump and between the pump and the carbs.  The filters are wix fuel filters and are available at any auto parts store.  The petcock is converted to manual operation and ends up being a vent for the belly tank.  You maintain a reserve function in the main tank and it doesn't matter what petcock you use.  The reserve level is determined by the height of pickup tube you have brazed into the tank not the petcock's tube.  When you switch the petcock to reserve the gallon or so of fuel flows out of the petcock down the vent line into the belly tank.

http://www.rmworksinc.com/

Marty

[BIG--T]

Always 'ON', 99 Interstate. So glad to see I'm not the only one.
Having read the posts here about hydrolock, I've thought about it lately, but old habits die hard.

I don't know your mileage, but you must be doing something right and believe you got some good habits!!

[BIG--T]

I've never entered into this discussion thread before because the overwhelming majority has always said – with authority & conviction – that it MUST be turned off. Interestingly enough; they're the same people who have had trouble with theirs.

I have never turned my off. . . except when removing the tank. It's just not necessary and can only lead to the part being worn out prematurely. I'll stop with that . . .

KW those are my thoughts exactly!! It will wear prematurely.  I'm sure Honda has spent a lot of money and time in research and development and I would like to believe they know what they're talking about since it's in the owner's manual.

[BIG--T]

UPDATE: 43 of 37 leave it on.

[franco6]

when I rebuilt the leaky petcock last year I found the O ring on the off ,where the ball sits, had caved in on one side leaking gas on that position. was it worn because of age or because the shaft to the position indicator was not aligned properly.
installed a new one and again found the alignement of the whole assembly to be critical to the proper function.

[Hoser]

Always off, the stock one and the pingle I have now.  No problems in 45 years of riding.  I don,t believe in untested rumors about leaving it on, even from the owners manual.  What do those guys know, they just build them, I ride them.       Hoser.

[Jess Tolbirt]

how can 43 of 37 leave them on?

[BIG--T]

when I rebuilt the leaky petcock last year I found the O ring on the off ,where the ball sits, had caved in on one side leaking gas on that position. was it worn because of age or because the shaft to the position indicator was not aligned properly.
installed a new one and again found the alignement of the whole assembly to be critical to the proper function.

Just curious, did you cut it off when parked overnight?

[BIG--T]

how can 43 of 37 leave them on?

Now it's 46-39

[gwise]

Of all the bikes I've owned over many years, I never turn the petcock off exept when removing the gas tank. If I was to store my bikes, I would consider it, but I live in Florida and ride year round.

[Hoser]

how can 43 of 37 leave them on?

They ain't been at it long enough.  I don't wanna get out of the habit. Never cared for vacumn petcocks anyway. Hoser

[hotglue #43]

If ya ever have the occasion to put yer bike on a trailer.... would be a good idea to shut it off..... what with all the bouncing of the carb floats going down the road.   

[sheets]

If I'm parked for more than 15-20 minutes the gas valve is closed. Shut. Yrmv,

[bigdog99]

mine gets turrned off quite often when i am on a trip, when i go to reserve.
i just leave it on.