Yes, use a crescent wrench. Remove the carb from the bike, wrap the inlet fitting with a rag, then turn the fitting. It is really low drama compared to how it sounds. I think you would be pretty hard pressed to kink that fitting! If you are going from the 12 o'clock stock position, just spin it clockwise to the 3 o'clock position. I went from 12 to 9 to 3 o'clock without any issues. My plan if I kinked it or broke it was to tap the hole and put in a straight fitting, which is what should have been on this from the factory! Tim
Good Day I just wanted to post a pic of the Yamaha Roadstar petcock on my IMS tank, I can not take credit for the idea as I seen it on this forum or another, but just wanted to say it work's great, no leak's in a year and a half and look's great and only cost 30.00 CDN. Take Care
Thanks to Shu and Procycle: How to remove and replace the carb inlet after bending it trying to rotate to 9pm or 3pm. Link courtesy of Notarat. http://www.johnsmotorcycleparts.com/fuel_elbow.htm
Does anyone have a picture or diagram of what is in the stock vacuum petcock? Someone suggested I take mine apart to grease the piston that the vacuum works on since the petcock free-flows when in the 'On' position (with the vacuum line off of it, and the fuel line off of it). I want to just clean the piston-area out, but would like to prep by seeing what the petcock looks like when apart.
Using the stock vacuum petcock with the Acerbis isn't a 'bolt and go' option. Stock Acerbis. I suggest changing the order that I did this project. File the flat first, if you loose interest or decide this is too much trouble, you can still use the Acerbis petcock. Once the hole is ovaled, there's no goin' back. If your tank has a raised boss on the surface like the Acerbis 5.3, you'll need to file it flat or the rectangular o-ring on the stock petcock won't seal. The o-ring isn't very 'fat' and won't seal over the four red circles shown below. You want to be real careful here, since the o-ring is so thin, if you nick the surface with a power tool, it won't seal. I used a hand file, it took forever and I'm happy with the result. File til my fingers hurt, watch TV, file til my fingers hurt, watch TV.................................................. I used single file strokes, making sure the file was flat to the surface every stroke. Petcock hole elongated for the double tube stocker. Once you commit to this point, the Acerbis petcock o-ring won't seal anymore. Stock petcock on the left, Acerbis on the right. The Acerbis 5.3 drains down very well without a second, right side petcock. This is mine, run until it quit on a smooth county road and no weaving to slosh fuel to the left. I don't think there's a cut of fuel left. Where it's going to leak. Original debris inside new tank doesn't matter since the filing to fit added more (And why you want to rinse out your new tank before you use it). A benefit to the neutral color; it was easy to see inside the tank, all surfaces. I used hot faucet water to rinse the tank, shook it up good and drained it, three times. To get the remaining droplets out, I rubber banded a paper towel to a dowel. The neutral color made the drops sparkle, easy to blot up. Another difference, the stock petcock is 1" taller than the Acerbis. This might be a problem since the uphill loop is now 1" higher. The uphill loop and potential vapor lock. When the fuel level gets low, there isn't enough head pressure to overcome the air bubble in the loop. This means the bike quits running even though you can still see gas in the tank. It's a common problem on both the IMS and Safari aftermarket tanks, some work, some don't. I haven't heard anything on the Acerbis yet. (edit: yes on the Acerbis too) And: the vacuum petcock is thicker where it screws to the tank. I don't like the idea that there aren't threaded metal inserts in the tank, the mounting screws thread into the plastic. My point is, now the provided 2 screws are too short for a good secure bite in the plastic. OCD, maybe. The provided screws are 3/4", I bought a pair 1" long (size 12x1 SAE stainless is just a bit larger O.D. [.17mm] than the 5mm that were supplied). Before: Reason, low profile front tire: After: Stock 3.4 gallon tank: Acerbis 5.3 gallon tank: Edited to add: After ruining my one gallon auxillary tank (hokey but completely functional) in a low speed tipover (flat front tire), I decided that it's time to upgrade to one of the 5 gallon tanks available for my DR. I chose the Acerbis 5.3 because it's a bit more modern and its angularity matches the DR headlight cowl. I really don't care about appearances, it's a dirt bike. I chose the natural color because I want to be able to see my fuel level. I had always reset my odometer when fueling, and the DR was very consistant with when it hit reserve, but I wanted visual feedback. If you look closely, you can see the fuel level, right at the top of the A. It's much more obvious in real life. The dots mark each gallon, in this pic, the bike is on the side stand so the fuel level doesn't align with the dots. Tonight, as I was headed to the store, I glanced over at the bike (level on the stand)..................... kewl, I have 1/2 a tank. There's no way I'd have known that without looking at the odo. But for those of you that are concious of appearances, this is what mine looks like at 900 miles. I used some Zep high performance degreaser something or other to try to clean the smudge, it didn't help, not even a little bit. I don't care, dirt bikes are for riding, any aftermarket plastic tank is likely to stain; white and natural are probably the worst. You take yer chances.
Interesting on the inserts not being there. I've only had a Safari tank with the inserts, I hope your screws hold... That is not a selling point. After you replace the petcock seal a few times or rebuild it, the screw holes will be shot.
I wasn't happy when I heard about it (before I bought the tank). It almost turned me to the IMS, but I don't know what they use. Now that I've secured the petcock, I'm comfortable that it won't be an issue.
I take it that there's no good way to reach inside of an Acerbis tank to hold nuts in place if bolts could be used on the outside? I agree - I'm not liking the wood-screw "fix" Acerbis came up with to attach a petcock since I'd hope to have the tank long-term, but since ethanol eats / shrinks gaskets in the mid-term.
Right side is where the petcock goes and the fuel cap is large enough to work through. I don't think it's going to be a problem anyway, the screws seated firmly.
I have an IMS tank and Pingle tap, and the fuel line from one to the other can be quite problematic, to the point where you might want to do as others have, and twist the inlet in the carb so it doesn't go straight up. I was getting ready to do this fuel pipe twist but thought I'd give one last try to getting a hose to fit without all that unpleasant carb removal/heating/twisting/swearing/breaking/cursing/searching for another carb which would have been inevitable, considering my luck so far this week... So I'm finally happy with this: I think the most important part with making this line work is to not have the hose too long. When I first tried it, the bend at the top of the carb connection was quite tight, and it was solely because the hose was too long and needed to make more of a tight curve to go back down towards the Pingel. The hose I ended up with is probably only 3" long, but it has no tight bends.
Has anyone had issues with vapor lock, or other issues related to the Acerbis 5.3? Who uses the Acerbis petcock and how's it work for you? Do you like the stock petcock option better. What is the benefit of one over the other. I want the most plug-n-play option. Thanks.
Aces- I don't know anything about the tank or petcock, but I believe the locking gas cap on my IMS tank is Acerbis. That cap is known to cause vapor issues- the 'fix' is to poke a hole in a rubber gasket inside the cap. That sort of works for a while, but must be redone occasionally in my experience. ..............shu
Yes ... same here. I believe Jeff at Pro Cycle described the technique for poking those holes. I did mine, no trouble so far. Don't think it's a Petcock problem either. I have an Acerbis fuel tank on my little WR250F Yamaha. That Petcock is LEAKING! I've yet to get to it. When shut off it does not leak, but in Run, it has a slight drip. Don't think I can take it apart so will most likely replace it. I am not impressed. The tank is only two years old, hardly used.
Huh, I really like the looks and more importantly the capacity of the Acerbis, but I want to put it on and ride, not have to worry about installing a certain way or certain petcock or worry about routing of fuel lines or anything else...I guess I'll keep my Rotopax at this point, at least for a while.
The Acerbis tank does not have threaded metal inserts in it??? :eek1 You have to use screws. I'm sure it works, but i'm not a fan of that design. The IMS tank has metal threaded inserts. I've used the included IMS petcock with the included bolts and put some lock-washers on for good measure. I've snugged down the screws on the front plate of the IMS petcock and this whole assy has been used for over 5 yrs with zero issues. I'm in the the habit of turning off the petcock each night and my IMS tank has expanded to aprox 5.2 gallons. Works for me. I know some are not a fan of the IMS petcock but It's been rock solid for me. I works as expected as a petcock. Maybe the front plate has loosened for some and leaked, but I snugged the 2 phillips screws early on with no issue so far.
I have that cap on my IMS. Yes it's an Acerbis and the same Acerbis tank owners use. It's valve is so so in the field. It's a one way valve that is only suppose to let air in and not push out (& and release gas fumes). Some have a problem where the inlet function is not right from time to time and you need to crack the cap open to let fresh air come in. The bike stall and this gets it running again. It's not consistent. The other issue is outlet of air or the lack of it. As the engine temp warms the fuel it causes the tank to expand rock hard. This happened with mine but the upside is the tank capacity expanded. I was worried about the tank seems over time from this pressure so I punctured the inner gasket per ProCycle. Air can move in and out. At 1st i poked it with a hot needle, but realized the rubber would just expand (from ethanol gas and reseal this hole from pressure). I think took me smallest drill bit and drilled the poked hole rubber. This opened it up more and has been working ever since. To access the center rubber disc, unscrew the green plastic insert. Solutions sometimes produce a downside or another problem. I found now that when I fill up the tank to max, gas seems to wick it's way up the green insert and out the top of the cap through the key slot. 1st time I did this I was sitting at a gas station and filled up. I put the cap back on and had not left yet. I got some food inside and cam back and saw gas on the side of my tank. Wasn't much, but could see gas slowly coming out of the top of the cap through the key slot. I quickly figured it was the green insert. I put a paper towel on top of the cap and then my Giant Loop bag zipped over top and held it on place (tip: can't use an IMS supplied cap with GL bag). Rode some and the fuel level went down fast and no issues since. I now do not completely fill and stop a few inches from top. Haven't been on monster long sections yet where I need every oz of fuel. I wonder if I remove the green insert if it will work better or will leak more. I may experiment 1 day. For now it works just fine and have no issues with vapor lock, nor tank expansion nor leaking fuel.