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My petcock has never been very good, typical of most KDXs.

I pulled it apart and it had some dirt inside it. Removed the plastic/rubber bits and cleaned it with kerosene. Read a thread where someone said a groove tends to form which they JB welded and sanded back to original shape. I couldn't see a groove, where abouts does it form, near where the o-ring is?

The little piece of plastic with the 4 holes in looked fine, the o-ring was a little dry, I greased it. Put it back together, movement of the petcock seemed a lot smoother.

I was switching between two carbs and it won't switch off in any position, off is about 1/2 of normal flow which sucked as gas got everywhere.

I cleaned it out as the bike tended to pee gas if left overnight but I clearly didn't help things much.

Can it be r-and-r'd back to actually working like a normal bike or is this a fools errand? Not sure if it's as simple as a new o-ring.

Tony

The groove will be about half way down the shaft. If it isn't there then your good to go.

KDX petcocks aren't very good? It has on/off/reserve, works great for me.

2001kdx wrote:KDX petcocks aren't very good? It has on/off/reserve, works great for me.

They are notorious for not shutting off when in the off position. Mine is now worse than it was before but they are never brilliant in the first place.

m0rie wrote:The groove will be about half way down the shaft. If it isn't there then your good to go.

The shaft attached to the dial switch? The one you turn to change position?

I wonder if me greasing the o-ring wasn't a smart move as it's just leaking like crazy now.

crazybrit wrote:

2001kdx wrote:KDX petcocks aren't very good? It has on/off/reserve, works great for me.

They are notorious for not shutting off when in the off position. Mine is now worse than it was before but they are never brilliant in the first place.

First I ever heard of it

Re: 'They are notorious for not shutting off when in the off position.'

True.

There is approximately one nanoinch of position that turns it off..IF it turns off.

9:00? OK. 9:01? Nope. 8:59? Nope.

I'm not referring just to my bike. Others have voiced the same gripe over the years.

It's not something you notice if your float/valve/seat are in good shape. They will usually stop any petcock dripping. I notice my petcock being not up-to-snuff after a trailer ride up the hill. Bike is getting bounced around pretty hard, its suspension being tightened up. Even with the petcock off there is almost always a good bit of fuel that has 'bounced' out and sitting under the bike.

I asked Jeff Fredette. Oddly for a problem that doesn't exist he was quite familiar with it, quote: "petcocks have been leaking on the kdx's for sopme time" and recommended replacing the o-ring and the round 4 hole rubber gizmo. My shaft looks ok to me. I'll get these and see if it fixes it. Fairly cheap.

crazybrit wrote:I asked Jeff Fredette. Oddly for a problem that doesn't exist he was quite familiar with it, quote: "petcocks have been leaking on the kdx's for sopme time" and recommended replacing the o-ring and the round 4 hole rubber gizmo. My shaft looks ok to me. I'll get these and see if it fixes it. Fairly cheap.

Mine used to almost shut off as CC mentioned, that was until I removed all the dirt, now it won't shut off in any position

Fredette?

First I heard'a that name....

CC, He's been racing kdx's for years. He also fixes and tunes them, his popularity among kdx owners has netted him the name 'Mr. KDX'.

Never heard of 'em.....

Yeah, Brad Fredette, first American to win the world 500 GP title (on a Kawasaki prepped RM500 with Simons USD forks, y'know before the buy-out). We used to ride together at Ascot. Nice guy, now he mostly sells T-shirts at Harley rallies and fixes KDX's as mandatory public service to work off his public exposure sentencing. I felt sorry for his kid after that affair. But y'know that 50ish testosterone can really blow your mind if you don't take enough estrogen supplements to balance it out. Yet another example of a critical social issue our churches and state refuse to acknowledge.

What were we talking about?

Good grief...I don't believe it.........


REEEEEEEELLLLLLL in the guppy....


sheesh....

Brad Fredette graduated from Spaulding High School in Rochester knowing he wanted a career in automotive technology. He entered NHCTC because it was reasonably priced and it offered the program he wanted.

"Earning an (associate's) degree will give me an edge that other non-associate degree employees won't have," Fredette says, knowing he has a leg up in his specialized field and a job waiting.