Petcock position

[devildrums]

During a maintenance session, my mechanic brought up a question I had never thought of. On a single petcock, does the stem mark what position you are using, or does the stub "point" to it like an arrow? Trying to determine which way is on or reserve, as there is no arrow stamp present, and i have just been using the stem method to pick. Just curious.

Thanks,
James
77 D

 

[rsor]

Stem

maybe take the fuel line off and do a simple test of where is off and on?

 

[devildrums]

Stem

maybe take the fuel line off and do a simple test of where is off and on?

Sorry, forgot to include my reason, which is to determine on or reserve.

 

[GLJ]

On is normally the lever straight down. So pull the fuel line and see which way is off, reserve will be the opposite.
That holds true on 70-73 petcocks.

 

[Jim]

If the stub will reach all 3 positions, the stem won't
If the stem will reach all 3 positions, the stub won't.

Usually, that is.

 

[devildrums]

On is normally the lever straight down. So pull the fuel line and see which way is off, reserve will be the opposite.
That holds true on 70-73 petcocks.

Ok, so you are saying the lever is the marker. He was looking at it as the shaft, like an arrow. I know some petcocks have a little arrow to show direction, which mine does not have.

 

[GLJ]

If the stub will reach all 3 positions, the stem won't
If the stem will reach all 3 positions, the stub won't.

Usually, that is.

As you say usually. On my BMr off is stem forward or back. Down is on and up is reserve.
To really confuse things my original XS2 has aftermarket petcocks. Off on both is stem forward, stem down on and stem to the rear reserve.
My survivor has OEM petcocks. Off on right side is stem forward, on stem down and stem to the is rear reserve. The left side off is stem to the rear, on is stem down and reserve is stem to the front. And yes I have gotten confused depending on which bike was riding.
On all 3 bikes the stem is the marker. Best to pull the fuel line and see where off and on are. Just to be sure.

 

[ckahleer]

Sometimes the arrow on the lever is very small and hard to see Sometimes it is not marked at all. Also, the on and reserve position can differ from bike to bike. I go through too many bikes to rember each one, so I put my oun mark on the petcock levers once I get them figured out.

 

[cra-z1]

I have hade that dilemma when I switch bikes. It seems the Yamaha petcocks are logical to me anyway, but when I get on the Hondas or Suzuki they are backward. So in the off position I put a red dab of paint which faces up on the lever so I know if it's on or off.