The School of Hard Knocks will make you wiser. I'm just alumni. I can show you where the lockers are and the schedule. Stuff like that. I may know things like where to smoke during class and not get caught.....peeky holes in the girls locker room. This info comes at a price...

What did you end up doing, stretching the spring a bit to increase tension? I too, hope that cures your ails. Keep us posted!

 

Lol, yes sir, gave it a stretch or two increased its length by 1/4 inch. Great utube video, any one who wants to know how a vacuum petcock works should watch this... One day maybe I will pay for the info you charge for! Ha! I will update as I do more for sure

 

Quick update. I cleaned the sealing surface for the petcock where it mounts to the tank replaced the gasket and remounted it to the tank. Added some fuel and performed a suction test ( not sure how I feel about posting that part on the web!), and so far ZERO leaks and drips and plunger is working as it should in the reserve and ON position. Going to start the bike with the tank next to the bike to test and see if any leaks or problems occur related to the carbs and get a good view of what is going on. I detected previously (before the petcock and hoses were fixed)a tiny bit of smoke coming from somewhere under the tank at the top section of the motor. With the tank off I can better see any issues ,if any , that are still there. Replaed many vacuum lines, in line filter. So far so go. Will see what happens when I start the bike with the tank off

 

Ran the bike with the tank off next to the bike to view the carbs in more detail and get a good look at the top of the motor as well. No leaks from the petcock and no smoke anywhere ( i suspected I had some residue from cleaning the pits and tarnish off the exhuast headers that trickled down to where the headers meet the mufflers. The smoke snaked its way up towards the gas tank during two starts in which the bike got warm enough to burn off the aluminum oxide residue). By the way, here is a link with some scientific background and "how to" on cleaning/ polishing chrome with Aluminum foil.
http://www.robertscycle.com/chrome-clean.html

 

As it turns out ( which Someone had mentioned might happen) the vacuum petcock performed properly for a week or so then wasnt cutting off the fuel after turning off the bike. My best guess is that the plunger that plugs the fuel hole when the vacuum has stopped wasnt seating properly. So I decided to go with a manual petcock. I actually found a guy on ebay (Brown family racing is the seller), the petcocks are new and this guy makes a professional custom adaptor plate for more than a handful of bikes. The price was 49$ and included shipping out of Iowa. Got it, looked good etc, put it on the bike, tested flow and for leakage before putting the tank on the bike and all is good. Ran the bike, cracked open the throttle a few times and shes purring like a kitten.

 

Thanks for the update. I hope any future problems are regarding wore out seat material and wore out tires.

 

Absolutely, need to take care of low odometer problem.

 

Congrats on the fix. Happy riding

 

Well, I was faced with the same issue with the petcock on my KZ1000p. I had gotten this bike from an owner who stored the bike for 4 years with a full tank of gas. The gaskets, vacuum diaphragm and seals were shot, which caused the fuel leak.

I took the petcock apart a few times, thinking that I would be able to correct the leak condition. I quickly realized that the only way I could fix the leak would be to purchase a petcock rebuild kit. I got mine on Ebay. Once installed, NO MORE LEAKS! Make sure you know what you need when purchasing the rebuild kit or, you will end up with the wrong kit, like I did. Good luck!