Padraig
XS650 Member
I finally got around to fitting proper fuel filters to my '78 650E.
My initial attempts were foiled by the stiffness of the generic 1/2" OD - 1/4" ID fuel hose from the auto parts store. It was too rigid to make the necessary bends and two thick to fit between the carb body and frame. I had recently had similar trouble trying to route 1/2" OD line on a snowblower, and ended up buying a box of Briggs and Stratton fuel line. It's 7/16" OD and 1/4" ID. Doesn't seem like it would make much of a difference, but it certainly does. It's considerably more flexible, and just small enough to get between the carb body and frame. There is so little distance between the petcock outlets and the carb inlets that fitting a filter in between seemed futile.
As you can see in the pics, I routed the line around the airboxes to avoid kinking, and wrapped the line with mesh wire loom to protect it from rubbing. It was very disconcerting at first that the fuel filters did not appear to fill up (freakin' physics), but the carbs get all the fuel they need as long as all the line is below the tank. The clamps I used are the Oetiker type (I buy them by the 100s), and are properly crimped to the petcock and carb, but not to the filter. They fit snuggly enough on the filter without crimping and,that way, disconnecting the filter for tank removal is not a problem. Just put the clamp where it belongs on the hose first, spray some silicone lube in the hose end and fit the hose to the filter. Also, you can't see this in the pictures but the line from the left side petcock ends up on the right side carburator and visa-versa. That keeps the fuel lines straighter.
The parts I used: Briggs & Stratton 395051R 25-Foot Fuel Line (about 5' worth); AutoZone Duralast Fuel Filter FF2314DL; Oetiker clamps (11.3mm open diameter); generic mesh wire loom.
Hope someone finds this useful!
My initial attempts were foiled by the stiffness of the generic 1/2" OD - 1/4" ID fuel hose from the auto parts store. It was too rigid to make the necessary bends and two thick to fit between the carb body and frame. I had recently had similar trouble trying to route 1/2" OD line on a snowblower, and ended up buying a box of Briggs and Stratton fuel line. It's 7/16" OD and 1/4" ID. Doesn't seem like it would make much of a difference, but it certainly does. It's considerably more flexible, and just small enough to get between the carb body and frame. There is so little distance between the petcock outlets and the carb inlets that fitting a filter in between seemed futile.
As you can see in the pics, I routed the line around the airboxes to avoid kinking, and wrapped the line with mesh wire loom to protect it from rubbing. It was very disconcerting at first that the fuel filters did not appear to fill up (freakin' physics), but the carbs get all the fuel they need as long as all the line is below the tank. The clamps I used are the Oetiker type (I buy them by the 100s), and are properly crimped to the petcock and carb, but not to the filter. They fit snuggly enough on the filter without crimping and,that way, disconnecting the filter for tank removal is not a problem. Just put the clamp where it belongs on the hose first, spray some silicone lube in the hose end and fit the hose to the filter. Also, you can't see this in the pictures but the line from the left side petcock ends up on the right side carburator and visa-versa. That keeps the fuel lines straighter.
The parts I used: Briggs & Stratton 395051R 25-Foot Fuel Line (about 5' worth); AutoZone Duralast Fuel Filter FF2314DL; Oetiker clamps (11.3mm open diameter); generic mesh wire loom.
Hope someone finds this useful!
