ILoveThumpers
Everywhere is thumpers!
Here's how I replaced my knackered petcock with an Acerbis replacement available cheap online or at ATV shops.
My requirements:
It's the exact same mounting hole spacing as a lot of common petcocks (34mm center to center) and the pickup tube/filter assembly is narrow enough to fit in the oval shaped holes on some stock petcocks that have the main/reserve tubes side-by-side.
I did have to make a gasket and an adapter plate, though... here's that process.
The stuff:
First, I popped the pickup tube/filter off the old one and traced around it for the general shape of the adapter plate. I just used some scrap aluminum I had lying around.
Next I cut out the rough shape on my band saw.
Then I sanded it smooth and drilled the holes for the new petcock.
Next I traced and cut a new gasket... the original petcock has an oval seal that fits into a groove on the bottom, but the mating surface on the tank is just flat so there's no reason to try to duplicate that. I suppose if I had a CNC machine I would try to do that, but as long as you use the right gasket material and sealant, it's no problem.
You can see in this picture how the new gasket covers the whole area that used to be sealed by the oval seal. (That's the stock petcock under the new gasket)
The Acerbis fuel petcock comes with an o-ring seal that will seal against the adapter plate, then the new gasket is sealed with some sealant against the adapter plate and the tank. Here's how it's all assembled:
One last issue: the mounting holes are through to the tank meaning there's a chance gasoline could leak past the threads, seal, adapter plate and mounting flange to the bolt head. I just smeared a little of the sealant around the head of the bolt before inserting it and that should seal it up nice.
Here's a shot of it all mounted up and ready to go.
The petcock cost me $19, the gasket material and sealant were about $10 and it took about 30 minutes to make the adapter plate. Be sure to use gasket material and sealant designed for use in fuel applications. Cork and fiber will leak and eventually break down.
The petcock itself has one moving part: the handle, which is plastic. I'm not sure I dig that but we'll see how it holds up. The replacement gasket for the petcock is $5.
-Deek
My requirements:
- No cutting/drilling of the tank
- Same flow rate or better
- Easily serviceable
- Cheap!
It's the exact same mounting hole spacing as a lot of common petcocks (34mm center to center) and the pickup tube/filter assembly is narrow enough to fit in the oval shaped holes on some stock petcocks that have the main/reserve tubes side-by-side.
I did have to make a gasket and an adapter plate, though... here's that process.
The stuff:
First, I popped the pickup tube/filter off the old one and traced around it for the general shape of the adapter plate. I just used some scrap aluminum I had lying around.
Next I cut out the rough shape on my band saw.
Then I sanded it smooth and drilled the holes for the new petcock.
Next I traced and cut a new gasket... the original petcock has an oval seal that fits into a groove on the bottom, but the mating surface on the tank is just flat so there's no reason to try to duplicate that. I suppose if I had a CNC machine I would try to do that, but as long as you use the right gasket material and sealant, it's no problem.
You can see in this picture how the new gasket covers the whole area that used to be sealed by the oval seal. (That's the stock petcock under the new gasket)
The Acerbis fuel petcock comes with an o-ring seal that will seal against the adapter plate, then the new gasket is sealed with some sealant against the adapter plate and the tank. Here's how it's all assembled:
One last issue: the mounting holes are through to the tank meaning there's a chance gasoline could leak past the threads, seal, adapter plate and mounting flange to the bolt head. I just smeared a little of the sealant around the head of the bolt before inserting it and that should seal it up nice.
Here's a shot of it all mounted up and ready to go.
The petcock cost me $19, the gasket material and sealant were about $10 and it took about 30 minutes to make the adapter plate. Be sure to use gasket material and sealant designed for use in fuel applications. Cork and fiber will leak and eventually break down.
The petcock itself has one moving part: the handle, which is plastic. I'm not sure I dig that but we'll see how it holds up. The replacement gasket for the petcock is $5.
-Deek
