[Bobber Griff]

Just acquired my 500 and replacing tank and petcock.

Just serviced my recently purchased petcock and think I may be missing a spacer due to length of screws.
Do the pictures look right.
Or is there very little movement in the plug on the diaphragm?

 

[yorkie]

looks fine to me. there is limited movement on the diaphragm to allow fuel to pass behind it the workings should be self evident once it has been apart. beside if that one is new you should have the old one to compere it to.

I don't have that issue I dumped my OEM petcock years ago. once you forget and leave the tap on while it is parked only to find the crankcase full of fuel requiring yet another petcock strip down you may feel the same.

 

[Bobber Griff]

looks fine to me. there is limited movement on the diaphragm to allow fuel to pass behind it the workings should be self evident once it has been apart. beside if that one is new you should have the old one to compere it to.

I don't have that issue I dumped my OEM petcock years ago. once you forget and leave the tap on while it is parked only to find the crankcase full of fuel requiring yet another petcock strip down you may feel the same.

looks fine to me. there is limited movement on the diaphragm to allow fuel to pass behind it the workings should be self evident once it has been apart. beside if that one is new you should have the old one to compere it to.

I don't have that issue I dumped my OEM petcock years ago. once you forget and leave the tap on while it is parked only to find the crankcase full of fuel requiring yet another petcock strip down you may feel the same.

Hi
I have just pulled off the plunger oring and capped off the tube to the carburetor. It didn't seem right and there was no movement when I pushed the diaphragm from the tap side so I think there should be a spacer . Anyway basic is best ...

 

[ducatiman]

The diaphragm is, in fact, comprised of 2 "flaps" which should be separated by the plastic diaphragm frame (missing from your pic) . Rebuild kits containing diaphragm only require installation, reusing the plastic spacer housing. The spacing is necessary to allow positioning of the diaphragm to perform as required under both vacuum (flow allowed) and no vacuum (fuel unable to flow). There should be a "return spring" in there too.

So the spacer a must have...if yours was found missing, I'll surmise a prior owner removed the entire diaphragm housing, chucked it and attempted a "rebuild" using diaphragm only....a BFM as we say.

 

[ridervfr]

I got a Pingel.

 

[ducatiman]

OP doesn't

 

[Bobber Griff]

The diaphragm is, in fact, comprised of 2 "flaps" which should be separated by the plastic diaphragm frame (missing from your pic) . Rebuild kits containing diaphragm only require installation, reusing the plastic spacer housing. The spacing is necessary to allow positioning of the diaphragm to perform as required under both vacuum (flow allowed) and no vacuum (fuel unable to flow). There should be a "return spring" in there too.

So the spacer a must have...if yours was found missing, I'll surmise a prior owner removed the entire diaphragm housing, chucked it and attempted a "rebuild" using diaphragm only....a BFM as we say.

Yes you have it covered exactly , being new to the EX 500 I was unsure why the previous owner had put on a moped Petcock which I replaced with an OEM one ( thought to be complete) then seeing a possible problem i have pulled the guts out of it until i find a replacement spacer.

 

[Bobber Griff]

I got a Pingel.

I got a Pingel.

Pingel ?

 

[FlipFlop]

Pingel ?

I am asking the same thing. What eeeeees eat?

 

[ridervfr]

PINGEL® - Fuel Valves - Motorcycle Petcocks

We Pass more Gas! Pingel Enterprise has long been known for our fuel valves, also known as petcocks. This product is one of the first motorycle parts from Pingel manufacturing. Our valves set the standard for quality and high flow with substantially higher fuel flow than any other fuel valve...

www.pingelonline.com

funny, when I posted it, it was curt with a humour twist mixed in.

side bar story, true story. We got my first race bike back in 93, it happened to be a EX500. Bought from a widow/wife whose husband was strong armed robbed and was in a coma. We got the bike on the trailor and me and my cousin were talking about how we would set it up for the race track and we settled on a pipe configuration. it was a HINDLE. Well, my father was driving the car and he asked, "whats a Hindle?" It's one of those things that I guess you had to be there for, but the ongoing joke between me and my dad was, "lets put a Hindle on it" or "Whats a Hindle?" BTW I ran a regular exhaust system on that bike, it was a 93 first year with the 17 inch front wheel, nicely set up bike. The one I have now is as good but does not have a toby steering dampener on it. Peace

 

[ducatiman]

Yes you have it covered exactly , being new to the EX 500 I was unsure why the previous owner had put on a moped Petcock which I replaced with an OEM one ( thought to be complete) then seeing a possible problem i have pulled the guts out of it until i find a replacement spacer.

Don't forget the spring needed as well. Of course, many options exist to replace it, but your OP question, discussed and addressed was REPAIR.

 

[Bobber Griff]

OP doesn't

I am asking the same thing. What eeeeees eat?

Don't forget the spring needed as well. Of course, many options exist to replace it, but your OP question, discussed and addressed was REPAIR.

I have tracked down a complete diaphragm with spacer spring and new o ring from Holland so will return to standard once received .Just had a borescope in new tank and it looks squeaky clean .
thanks for your input......

 

[yorkie]

I am often surprised how many times petcock (we call it a fuel tap) servicing is mentioned on this very forum. why is this.
many bikes use the same one (or similar) without any issues at all. now obviously some bikes will go a lifetime without any issues but the EX seems prone to it.
I myself had issues early on with the gen 1. I forgot just once to manually turn it off and left the bike stood 3 days on the side stand. resulting in the crankcase filling with fuel. no idea why this seems a EX issue. I dumped the OEM one for a manual type from power sports. (yes I think it was a Pingel valve) no more issues but you have to remember to turn it off everytime you park the bike (even if it's only a few mins) a note placed on the tank helped remind me for the first couple of weeks but now it's second nature to do it. no more problems no more hassle. just have to make sure the left carb vac port is blocked off.

 

[Davenay67]

I am often surprised how many times petcock (we call it a fuel tap) servicing is mentioned on this very forum. why is this.
many bikes use the same one (or similar) without any issues at all. now obviously some bikes will go a lifetime without any issues but the EX seems prone to it.
I myself had issues early on with the gen 1. I forgot just once to manually turn it off and left the bike stood 3 days on the side stand. resulting in the crankcase filling with fuel. no idea why this seems a EX issue. I dumped the OEM one for a manual type from power sports. (yes I think it was a Pingel valve) no more issues but you have to remember to turn it off everytime you park the bike (even if it's only a few mins) a note placed on the tank helped remind me for the first couple of weeks but now it's second nature to do it. no more problems no more hassle. just have to make sure the left carb vac port is blocked off.

Fuel tap reliability was a hot topic on the Bandit forum I frequented when I had my B12. Lots of folks criticized the OEM tap and praised the Pingel replacement. I had no issues with my OEM tap over many years and thousands upon thousands of miles.

 

[Bobber Griff]

Fuel tap reliability was a hot topic on the Bandit forum I frequented when I had my B12. Lots of folks criticized the OEM tap and praised the Pingel replacement. I had no issues with my OEM tap over many years and thousands upon thousands of miles.

I had issues with my 1450 where the fuel tap was left on and it filled the cylinder and engine with fuel and touch wood never get off it without switching fuel off. The 500 has been a learning curve and safe to say I can strip rebuild the carb in a very short time thanks to the practice. Going to run it with the OEM fuel tap ( no guts ) until the correct Diaphragm arrives I will then swap it out.

 

[Davenay67]

I had issues with my 1450 where the fuel tap was left on and it filled the cylinder and engine with fuel and touch wood never get off it without switching fuel off. The 500 has been a learning curve and safe to say I can strip rebuild the carb in a very short time thanks to the practice. Going to run it with the OEM fuel tap ( no guts ) until the correct Diaphragm arrives I will then swap it out.

The main thing to remember here is that cylinders and crankcases get filled with fuel because the float needle in the carb bowl has failed to do it's job, and prevent further fuel entering the bowl when the needle is in the closed position. The vacuum operated OEM unit is supposed to be an extra safety measure by only flowing fuel when the engine is turning, but in can have its own set of issues by not flowing fuel when it should.

BTW....what part of the UK are you from?

 

[yorkie]

interesting point however you will have heard of the term hydrostatic pressure (pardon me if that is the wrong term) fluid always finds it's own level and will exert pressure to accomplish it. now the carbs have two floats filled with air the buoyancy of the combined pair of floats is enough to shut the float valves because in the carb the fuel is level and exerts equal force on both floats. now if the bike is left on the side stand and therefore tilted. so are the carbs.
the fuel is then not level in the bowls so the shutting force of the float valve is reduced. if the petcock doesn't shut off and allows fuel to pass. the combined weight of a tank full of fuel by gravity can be greater than the force trying to keep the float valve closed. so fuel is forced out of the carb into the inlet. once any air is expelled then a syphon effect contributes to keep the fuel flowing until the tank is empty or the crankcase is full.
you can eradicate the issue doing one or all of 3 things . always close the petcock. park the bike on centre stand only or only park the bike with a empty tank.

 

[bpe]

I always turn off my OEM petcock. Except when I'm riding. 😄

 

[Bobber Griff]

The main thing to remember here is that cylinders and crankcases get filled with fuel because the float needle in the carb bowl has failed to do it's job, and prevent further fuel entering the bowl when the needle is in the closed position. The vacuum operated OEM unit is supposed to be an extra safety measure by only flowing fuel when the engine is turning, but in can have its own set of issues by not flowing fuel when it should.

BTW....what part of the UK are you from?

Hi I am in Norfolk

 

[Bobber Griff]

interesting point however you will have heard of the term hydrostatic pressure (pardon me if that is the wrong term) fluid always finds it's own level and will exert pressure to accomplish it. now the carbs have two floats filled with air the buoyancy of the combined pair of floats is enough to shut the float valves because in the carb the fuel is level and exerts equal force on both floats. now if the bike is left on the side stand and therefore tilted. so are the carbs.
the fuel is then not level in the bowls so the shutting force of the float valve is reduced. if the petcock doesn't shut off and allows fuel to pass. the combined weight of a tank full of fuel by gravity can be greater than the force trying to keep the float valve closed. so fuel is forced out of the carb into the inlet. once any air is expelled then a syphon effect contributes to keep the fuel flowing until the tank is empty or the crankcase is full.
you can eradicate the issue doing one or all of 3 things . always close the petcock. park the bike on centre stand only or only park the bike with a empty tank.

From Now on the fuel tap will always be shut off