90% of the time I just leave mine on.
2007-04-21 22:53:00 · 9 answers · asked by V-Starion 5 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Motorcycles
I always turn mine off everytime, but that is just a habit, from years ago when I used to ride old british bikes, because if you didnt turn the fuel off you could easily come back and find all your petrol was in a big puddle on the ground, and maybe even a cylinder full of fuel causing a hydraulic lock, which as everyone knows can destroy engines. A friend of mine had an old triumph and left his fuel on overnight and it all drained down past he rings and filled up his crankcase, and when he started the bike it literally blew up underneath him causing him severe injuries (3rd degree burns)and totally destroying the bike and setting his fence on fire. So now you can understand why I always turn it off
2007-04-21 23:13:18 · answer #1 · answered by thewopster2u 2 · 4⤊ 0⤋
Up - res (reserve) Down - on Sideways - pri (prime) Your model has what is called a vacuum petcock. When the petcock is in the on or res position, the fuel will only come out if the engine is running (or the engine is cranking over). A safety feature in case the bike is in a crash and the engine shuts off - no excess fuel to add to a fire. The vacuum that the engine creates when running, sucks open a diaphragm in the petcock to allow the fuel to flow out. The petcock will be off, when it's in the on or res position when the bike isn't running. Pri - the fuel flows normally without any vacuum from the engine. That position is used when the carbs are empty - like after a carb rebuild, engine work, or the carbs have been drained for storage.
2016-05-21 00:20:37 · answer #2 · answered by raguel 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I turn it off; leaving it on in any carbureted bike is risky.
See, the carburetor bowl floats in a bike carb can stick rather more easily than the floats in a car because of the lean angle and the gravity-fed fuel flow. If this happens, the fuel will over-fill the bowl and either run out on the ground (causing a mess) or run through the intake system and into the cylinder, leading to damage to the bike.
If your bike has an electric fuel pump and/pr fuel injection, it makes no difference. But if (like mine) your bike has carbs, then turn the petcock off or you may find that the fuel has all run out sometime.
Otherwise, don't worry. Be happy.
2007-04-22 01:31:01 · answer #3 · answered by Grendle 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
At least one of the old Kawasaki triples I had had NO off position. It was pretty cool. The valve had a vacuum line to it from one of the carbs, you only had fuel if you had vacuum, so by shutting off the engine, you shut the valve off. You had enough fuel in the carb bowls for it to start, so that wasn't a problem. If it seemed like you did run out of fuel trying to start, the reserve would work w/o vac, so you weren't supposed to shut it off and leave it in the reserve position, the normal position was "ON". It always worked great though, no problems with it.
2007-04-22 02:28:12 · answer #4 · answered by Baron_von_Party 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
it depends on how old your bike is. i had a honda when i was 18, and it would leak. then i bought a 2003 suzuki. it didn't have a petcock to turn off. your bike does, though. i would turn it off. one these days it may leak on you. i'd rather be safe than stranded.
2007-04-22 00:06:48 · answer #5 · answered by richie 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Hi, I would switch it off when I store it for longer times. however if you plan to use it within a day or two it should be OK to leave it on.
2007-04-22 00:38:02 · answer #6 · answered by Hlynur_H 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have a 99 harley and never hve I turned it off and it has sat for weeks dut to travel. Never had a problem.
2007-04-22 02:49:52 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I ALWAYS turn the petcock off.....it's there for a reason.
2007-04-22 00:47:49 · answer #8 · answered by strech 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
on my dirt bikes every time,our road bikes are fuel injected so it is not a problem with them..
2007-04-21 23:02:27 · answer #9 · answered by greg e 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋