petcock pickle
Posted: Sat Jun 24, 2000 5:16 pm
Problem: Intermittent Missing at high speed/high rpm. Started 100 miles
from Moab continued till today. Most typically the engine misses on a series
of long uphill grades at interstate speeds, very irritating. Never misses
around town or on the trail. So far I addressed the problem by: Opening the
gas cap at speed while engine was missing; didn't help. Cleaned air filter.
Took off float bowl then blew out fuel line entrance. Installed new vacuum
line from carb to petcock. Checked coil for resistance then had it checked
for spark; all read fine. Spark plug has less than 2k.
Today I took the bike for a ride engine commenced to missing. Though the
tank was full I decided to try something, I switched to reserve; the engine
stopped missing immediately and ran great until.....I moved the lever back
down to regular open position; in a mile or two it started missing. When I
moved back to reserve it again ran fine. Repeated experiment with same
results. As a final test I stayed at the reserve position and ran the bike
at 80-90mph for 40 miles on a stretch of I 25 that climbs about 1200' from
Pueblo to Colorado Springs. Exactly the situation where the problem would
usually manifest itself. The engine didn't miss a beat.
.......I've installed Skip F's petcock mod but since the problem started
before the mod was added, it doesn't look like it's a factor. I don't have
much experience with petcocks. (I do have a dog.) Has anyone heard of
something like this? Is the main line dirty? Can't see how; it's always had
a filter on it. Is it one of the O rings or a gasket? Do I need a rebuild
kit? Any comments/advice appreciated. Bogdan