Hello all it has been awhile since I have been on the site and have a sanity check question for you

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holandboys244

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Hello all hope you are all well..........it has been awhile since I have been on the site and have a sanity check question for you. So I have read and heard that one of the nemesis for these bikes is the fuel petcock and you cant cheap out and pingel is the way to go. And this is suggested because when the stock ones fail it allows gas into the carbs then the cylinders and can cause bent valves or a ruined starter clutch or both. So I ordered the valve and adapter plate and about to remove my tank and hear is why I want my sanity checked...once the new petcock is installed if the gas is not shut off can it still fill the cylinders? like what if I forget to turn petcock off is that like the same as a faulty stock petcock? If that is the case how fast does it need to be shut off? If that is the case which I hope it is not....what does one do if he knows he left his fuel on for an extetened period of time..would I need to pull the spark plugs and crank it to clear it....I really hope I am over thinking this....please provide some clarity and sanity
Rob from NJ
 
As long as your needle floats in the carbs are working correctly, neither petcock will flood your cylinders. The floats only allow gas into the bowls as needed.
 
Thank you and yes was my thinking as well ....so what if any benifit is it for the new petcock? and am I totally wrong or have people been suggesting this and stories of starter clutches and bent valves? Should I keep my stock valve installed if its working correctly or should I replace it..?
 
Your call. If your stock one is functioning correctly and you fear that you won’t be able to remember to turn off the Pingle, why change it? It would be more concerning to me of having a float stick. That should manifest itself during a ride by running rich I believe
 
If you bought a manual pingle, they sell both manual and vacuum, you will want to get used to using the valve every time on and off the bike. No, the world will not end of you forget to turn it off if everything is operating as it should, might be embarrassing when it stalls out a minute into your ride because you forgot to turn it on.

I have no problem with the factory valve, they need rebuilt every 10-20 years. Even pingles may need service in which case you can send it back to them because parts aren't available over the counter.

Like prfixer says, it's the float valve that is what's critical to pouring fuel into your airbox/cylinder.
 
:hello: I 3rd all said above. A few years back I bought a ZG 1000 fuel valve for my Zl 1000. $90. https://www.partzilla.com/product/kawasaki/51023-1388? . 2001 to 2002 CONNIE. ref=33e1e87717081056e8d80857533332cc3250c1e6 . It now costs $116. Yesterday I installed a manul MURPHYs kit for the Connie's petcock. $45. https://murphskits.com/concours-manual-petcock-conversion-kit-from-murph/ . It now costs $66. I have not rode my ZL 10 as of yet. Petcock rebuild kit from MURPHYS. https://murphskits.com/petcock-rebuild-kit-for-your-concours-1/ .
 
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Agree with all responses. I have pingels on all of my ZL's for peace of mind as I suffered from the hydro lock on one of my 1000's and it cost too much money to repair it. I got into the habit of shutting the valve off about 1/4 mile before arriving home thus insuring to prevent any overflow into the engine. This distance allows me to make it home with enough fuel in the carbs and no worry of any future problems. As an added bonus, if you ever have to transport your bike via truck or trailer it makes it simple to empty the carbs by shutting the valve off and running the engine 'till it shuts off. Thus no sloshing of fuel within the carbs that otherwise could get into the engine.
 
:hello: Yes I highly agree with the fuel getting into the motor while huling bikes on a trailer. It happen to my ZL 1000 while coming back from VMD 2018. I had gas in cyn. #1. I removed all four spark plugs to get out all the gas from cyn #1. I didn't see any come out from the other three cyns. I didn't go with a PINGEL because I didn't want to file out my fuel tanks petcock port/opening. Also the ZL STORE never ever got back to me on me trying to order one. I don't remember which member owned it. I PMed him several times and called his phone # many many times. The three orders that I did place with him was canceled with absolutely no rime or reason why. No EMAIL, TEXT or CALL!!! Has anyone ever called him to see what was going on with him. This past week when I installed my carbs I didn't run the breather hose from the air box to the breather port on top of the back center of the motors aluminum cover. I used a 3/8" I.D. of fuel line two feet long using a hose clamp and run it down the back center of the motor between the frame. Is this OK? Over the past 12 years or so I've had fuel get into my motor. The first time it happend I install a rebuilt petcock. The next time I rebuilt it. The third time I installed a new OEM one from a CONNIE. This time I put in a MURPHYs manual petcock kit on the CONNIE petcock. One other think I cleaned the carbs or sent them to Rick West to be done each time. As far as I know I've done everything the correct way. OH! I forgot about this time my floats having fuel in them. Cyn. #1 had no fuel in it. Cyn #2 & 3 was about 3/4 full and #4 had just a bit of fuel in it. I'm wondering if the floats being bad was an on going problem that was getting worse over time? Thoughts please.
 
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If the fuel is being sloshed around, it could get into the cylinders or airbox but if the bike is just sitting stationary, the fuel level can't go high enough for that to happen because the overflow tubes sit much lower and will empty into the bowl drains.
20230419_084825.jpg
 
Ed, I don't believe the CVK carbs have an overflow to the bowl drain as shown in your picture. If the float valve has a bad seal when sitting, or valve gets jostled up and down during transport it will allow fuel into the circuit.

When my float valve was bad fuel was leaking out of the hole at carb air intake. I think it was leaking out the air inlet jet hole as shown in Marks cleaning CVK thread.

cv (40).jpg

When the petcock goes bad and float valve malfunctions the airbox fills till it spills over into a cylinder, usually #1 when it's on its side stand. Then bent rod.
 
:hello: Doesn't the breather hose from the motor's breather run to the bottom of the air box. If it does then fuel can get into the crank case.
 
Yup, that slipped my mind since I've never had an airbox on mine.
 
That diagram was taken from the service manual. The top of the tube is well below the carb throat. It would have to be jostled quite a bit to get into the throat. It can't get into the airbox while sitting still either.
 
If you're getting fuel in carb throat, it's more likely it's leaking past the petcock vacuum diaphram and dripping right into it. The only way the bowl level can get higher than the vent tube is if it's clogged.
 
There are no overflow tubes in the bowls on the ZL900/1000. Pic taken from site. If ya want one, it needs modified like prfixer linked to shouldabeenengineering does.
SANY0065.jpg
 
The diagram I posted was for the 600. I figured the 900 was the same. It should still have the bowls venting to atmospheric pressure somewhere below the level of the carbs bore. If you look in SM it should show it.
 
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