Bike died on me...

[JD88Kat600]

Okay, the bike is an '88 600... When I pulled the bike out I had a hard time starting it. I was thinking the battery was dead, but I held the switch down for a second and it finally turned over. It was almost like a hydrolocked cylinder....

I let the bike warm up for a minute, and it ran fine for ten or fifteen minutes, and then started to sputter a bit... I headed back home, and tried to keep the revs up to burn off any plug fouling that might have occured, but I couldn't get anything more than 3500-4k out of it. Shortly after this, the bike died completely. I could get it to fire up if I pulled the choke, but it would just rev to right around 6k and then immediately stall out again.

There is gas in the tank, and I believe the petcock is turned to reserve. (The knob is missing from the bike, but the flat side is towards RES) I have noticed that after the bike has sat for an hour or so, I'll have a small wet spot of gas under the bike, but it's just a few drops, never more... Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

[JD88Kat600]

Okay, so I got all of the plastics off and the tank lifted and it looks like the petcock is leaking a bit. But I also noticed that there is a barbed fitting on the bottom of the tank itself that doesn't have any line running to it. I've been digging around looking for a line that's not hooked up to anything, thinking maybe I pulled the line off when I picked the tank up, but no joy... Is this P/N 18 in this schematic?

http://houseofmotorcycles.bikebandit.com/partsbandit/oem_schematic_view~schem_dept_id~1027995~section_dept_id~1~section_dept_name~OEM+%28Stock%29+Parts~dept_type_id~2~model_dept_year~1988~model_dept_mfr~Suzuki~model_dept_id~987354~model_dept_name~GSX600FJ+KATANA.asp

[JD88Kat600]

Here's a photo of the fitting I'm talking about...

[FloridaKat]

On my 05' 750, there is a vent and overflow drain hose that runs down to the bottom of my bike. Are you missing the hose(s)? Sounds and looks like it to me. One of the hoses goes from the bottom of my airbox to the bottom of the bike, the other goes from the bottom of the fuel tank and goes to the same location as the previous hose I just mentioned. The airbox hose has a cover on it, but I drain it about 1/month to see if any moisture or condensation has formed.

[JD88Kat600]

Thanks, I've been digging through the "search" feature for quite a while, and just found the same information on another post a few minutes ago... The hose must just be missing, because I'm not seeing anything coming from anywhere near the right footpeg... If those are just vent tubes, it's not going to help with the bike running poorly anyway... I guess I'm going to try to put the petcock in prime and see if it does it again, which brings up another question...

The knob is missing from my petcock, so which way would the arrow on the knob be pointed in relation to the flat side of the shaft? I'm assuming it should be pointed towards the flat part...

[The CyberPoet]

for more details, see

http://www.katriders.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=209

PS - replace your plugs before you do anything else. Post pics of the old plugs.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[JD88Kat600]

Well, I put everything back together and put some more fuel in the tank just to be sure I didn't have the petcock switched to on and not enough fuel in the tank.

It started up just fine, and I let it run for a minute or so, then killed it... I pulled the left fairing back off to check for anything strange and noticed that fuel is leaking out of the vacuum line for the petcock... Looks to me like it's time for a rebuild. Is this the sole source of my problem, or does it sound like I have some carb problems also?

[JD88Kat600]

I've checked the diagram, there's also a plate on the actual petcock. My problem is that I don't have the knob, so I'm trying to find out which way the arrow on the knob points in relation to the half-moon shaped shaft... Does it point towards the flat half of the shaft, or away from it?

[The CyberPoet]

Rotate it and figure it out.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[JD88Kat600]

Okay, the petcock is trashed... It's bypassing the diaphragm on all of the settings. Is it worth the time an effort to rebuild it, or would I be better off spending the $80 or so to just buy a new unit?

I don't have a spark plug socket here, so I'll pull the plugs after I can get into storage to grab some of my tools... I'll post pics at that point.

I also found out that the knob's indicator points away from the flat side of the shaft.... Thank you guys for all the help.

[ironhorse]

Is it an '88 or a '98??
When my petcock was leaking, the small pushrod inside the valve was bent, causing it to let fuel through all of the time. I had a shop working on it, so I don't know which way or how it was bent, but it did not require a new petcock or rebuild.
Search for "stuck float" or "leaking petcock" with the site's search engine. It seems to ba a common problem. Look up "rust in tank" also.
If you are having to do ANY work on the fuel tank or carbs it is a very good idea to thoroughly clean the tank and check for rust. It takes only a very tiny speck to clog a jet. It's a good idea anyway if the bike is older.

[The CyberPoet]

Petcocks very rarely fail in the open position, and it would make me suspect that either a previous owner removed the spring mechanism that pushes the diaphram closed without vacuum to overcome it, or there is something else in the spring mechanism that's blocking it's motion. The good news is that it really doesn't sound like you need a new diaphram, the common reason for needing a rebuild kit. Open it up!

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

[JD88Kat600]

Thank you guys again for the help... I just wish I had known I was going to have to pull the petcock before I put more gas in the tank. I have actually already drained and flushed the tank. That was my first endeavor after buying the bike. It appeared to be in pretty decent shape. No sign of rust or sludge build up, and I drained the first pint or so into a beaker to check.... The guy I bought the bike from seemed to be a bit of a "shadetree mechanic," so I'm wondering if the petcock has a diaphragm in it at all. It wouldn't suprise me a bit if I open it up and find that it's missing completely. I do know that it's been swapped at some point, because the reserve and primary locations are backwards, the same as someone had in a previous post...

[Court93kat]

You can get a rebuild kit on E-bay. Just search for them. I think they are $22. Might be your best bet.

[macgyver]

sounds like the petcock is switched to prime which may be flooding your carbs. pull the fuel lines and see if any fuel is running out. turn the petcock and whatever setting makes fuel run out is the prime.