I have read in a few posts that some have had their petcock to continue leaking even after repairing with a rebuild kit.
Therefore, I'd like to share my recent experience in case it might be of help to someone.
I noticed last week that the petcock on my '05 800 Classic had begun to drip from the nipple 1 drop approximately every 4-5 seconds.
I figured since this bike had been sitting up for several months before I got it, the diaphragm may be rotted out.
Since petcocks are so expensive (for what they do), I decided to purchase the rebuild kit (K&L 18-5023) and give it a shot.
Upon tear-down, to my surprise I noticed o-rings and diaphragms were still in really good shape. Therefore, I seriously doubted that the diaphragm itself was the problem. However, since I had bought the kit I figured I would go ahead and install it anyway.
This petcock (in the "on or Reserve" position) allows fuel to flow to the carb when the engine is running because a vacuum is created which sucks the spring-loaded diaphragm away from the inlet. When the engine stops, the spring causes the diaphragm to seal the inlet shut.
Before installing the new kit, I noticed the new spring was just a tad longer than the old spring. I took the new spring and carefully stretched it as much as I could without damaging it (approx. twice it's original size), put everything back together and it works like new.
I will try to update this post weekly to verify that this fix holds up for the long haul, but so far I'm grinning again.
Therefore, I'd like to share my recent experience in case it might be of help to someone.
I noticed last week that the petcock on my '05 800 Classic had begun to drip from the nipple 1 drop approximately every 4-5 seconds.
I figured since this bike had been sitting up for several months before I got it, the diaphragm may be rotted out.
Since petcocks are so expensive (for what they do), I decided to purchase the rebuild kit (K&L 18-5023) and give it a shot.
Upon tear-down, to my surprise I noticed o-rings and diaphragms were still in really good shape. Therefore, I seriously doubted that the diaphragm itself was the problem. However, since I had bought the kit I figured I would go ahead and install it anyway.
This petcock (in the "on or Reserve" position) allows fuel to flow to the carb when the engine is running because a vacuum is created which sucks the spring-loaded diaphragm away from the inlet. When the engine stops, the spring causes the diaphragm to seal the inlet shut.
Before installing the new kit, I noticed the new spring was just a tad longer than the old spring. I took the new spring and carefully stretched it as much as I could without damaging it (approx. twice it's original size), put everything back together and it works like new.
I will try to update this post weekly to verify that this fix holds up for the long haul, but so far I'm grinning again.