Twist Tie Those Petcocks Folks!

[Dan Filetti]

I thought it would be a good idea to yet again, post and account of my ill-fated FJ experience with the hopes that others will not suffer the same fate. 

CTRL-C/ CTRL-V from an earlier thread:

My FJ died an untimely death, due to a poorly designed "L" fitting/ outlet in the fuel line coming off of the petcock.  The fitting worked its way loose while I was riding and the bike continued to run on the fuel in the float bowls.  The still-attached vacuum line kept the petcock happily open and pumping the gas onto the hot motor.  I came to a stop at a stop sign, began to accelerate away and the back tire slipped a bit.  -"Must be oil on the road" I thought -when in fact it was my own fuel I had just slipped on.  The bike stalled a hundred yards later, out of fuel, finally having exhausted the fuel in the float bowls.  A woman drove by me and asked if I needed help -I answered that I did not my house was .5 miles away and it was down hill.  (what I should have said was "I think I have a bent rod, can you help me straighten it out?" but I didn't) Smiley

As I looked down at the bike under me, blinking, as it had always been so very reliable, and I knew I had enough gas when I notice the smell of gas for the first time (and waaaaay too late).  An instant later, I and the bike were completely engulfed in an 8 foot fire ball, or so says the lady who had just passed me -who saw it in her rear view mirror.   She stopped and got out of her car expecting to find me dead.  In the meantime I abandoned ship, somehow, like a cat jumping straight back and landed on my feet behind the bike.  I watched in amazement and horror as my now-burning FJ fell over and crunched to the ground.  The woman called 911 and it took 15 minutes for the fire truck to arrive.

In that time the bike met it's maker -never to be run again.  When the tank burned through, flames shot high into the air (30' +/-)  In fact, the fire got hot enough to melt the aluminum clutch cover into the clutch housing (I saw this after they had gotten the fire out.)  There was nothing left besides metal, the bike was unrecognizable.  My beloved FJ was unceremoniously dragged onto a tow trailer and trucked off, never to be seen again.

I was given a little less than I had paid for the bike 5 years earlier by the insurance company...

I post this, as I sometimes do, to let everyone know that the early FJ's simply press-fit those rigid aluminum "L" / outlet fittings into the petcock.  They can, and do come loose.  Glue and Wrap a twist-tie around it to ensure they do not.

Doing this simple thing may well save you from suffering the fate I did, or worse.

Wrap a twist-tie around those fittings folks.

Dan

The original Thread:

http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=7647.0

[CanDman]

Thanks for sharing Dan....... I had no idea CanD had any flaws to her......but I will likely get a hold of Randy and get whatever he has concocked for it......

[red]

A twisty-tie is just common iron, and it is a very thin wire.  It is vulnerable to vibration and corrosion.  If the tie has a plastic coating, you will not see this happening.
Stainless steel safety wire is far better here.  Stainless Steel will not corrode easily, and the .032" wire is heavy enough to withstand vibration.  You can get heavier grades, if needed.  It will probably outlast the bike.  I like the Stainless Steel safety wire, for anything that must not dis-assemble, on any vehicle.

0.032" Safety Wire

This is one guy's method:

http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=3265.0

Cheers,
Red

[racerrad8]

FYI,

There is now not a single 84-86 FJ petcock that was installed new from Yamaha that is not 30 years old. The glue used to hold the nipple in ages and deteriorates. The removal of the fuel tank disldges the fitting and the filter is usually shrunk up and not sealing properly.

A new petcock from RPM is cheap insurance, it does a couple of things.

1) It is a new petcock which is safety wired, with S/S wire for added security.
2) It also ensures the petcock is working properly, both sealing at shut down and flowing while running.
3) Gives you the proper filtering with a new screen.

84-85 Yamaha Fuel Tank Petcock
86-88 Yamaha Fuel Tank Petcock

Randy - RPM