I am currently trying to resolve an issue with my T-bird and I am not having any luck with my local dealer/mechanic. The bike inevitably starts to sputter as if it's not gettting any gas and than completely shuts down after being driven for 15 minutes or so with the shut-off valve turned to the "on" position. I simply pull-over to the side of the road, turn the shut off valve to the "reserve" position and the bikestarts up & runs just fine..no problems. Per my dearler's recommendation I had the carb's cleaned. They also suggested that I clean out and re-seal the tank to get any possible debris out. I did this last year but neither of those supposed fix's did a darn thing. I am not looking forward to another year of this. If you have any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for your time!!

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That sounds like your fuel tank vent is clogged up. Some are located in the cap. I just had my Adventurer tank off last weekend and I had it tipped way over on its side. When I reinstalled the tank, I noticed a couple of drops of fuel around the petcock. I tightened up the clamps and then noticed a small steel tube near the rear of the tank on the left side that was damp. That may be a vent pipe! (I didn't check any further because the "leak" had stopped).
You may also want to completely remove the petcock from the bottom of the tank and check the filters on the end of the pick up tubes.

Originally Posted by gregp

That sounds like your fuel tank vent is clogged up. Some are located in the cap. I just had my Adventurer tank off last weekend and I had it tipped way over on its side. When I reinstalled the tank, I noticed a couple of drops of fuel around the petcock. I tightened up the clamps and then noticed a small steel tube near the rear of the tank on the left side that was damp. That may be a vent pipe! (I didn't check any further because the "leak" had stopped). You may also want to completely remove the petcock from the bottom of the tank and check the filters on the end of the pick up tubes.

I checked the petcock valves and they looked fine. I appreciate your suggestion on the fuel tank vent. I looked at a diagram of my tank on-line and it shows a pipe/tank breather, a roll over valve and another pipe..basically a long tube in 2 parts upper and lower both attached to a roll over valve...I'm wondering if this is what you're are referring to.?

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Have you ever just run it on reserve from start up to see if you have the same problem? If it doesn't do it on reserve, it sounds like it would be in the petcock filters or tubes.

Originally Posted by schilzy

The bike inevitably starts to sputter as if it's not gettting any gas and than completely shuts down after being driven for 15 minutes or so with the shut-off valve turned to the "on" position. I simply pull-over to the side of the road, turn the shut off valve to the "reserve" position and the bikestarts up & runs just fine..no problems.

Assuming that's 15 minutes of high-speed riding, then:

Take a close look at the back of the fuel petcock. There should be a single rubber hose connected to it. If there are two hoses someone's swapped in a vacuum-operated valve that automatically shuts off when the engine vacuum drops.

If so then check for a vacuum leak in the hose from the #1 carburetor to the back of the petcock. The hose may have cracked and as the vacuum drops with rpm/throttle it may be closing the fuel valve.


If you've got a single hose on the petcock that goes down toward the bottom of the carbs, that's the standard manual one.

Take a look at the rear of the tank on the left side. There should be a short rubber hose going into a black plastic device that's a tipover valve and normally vents the tank. The tipover valve must be vertical with the big end down. If not it will seal vent to the gas tank and eventually fuel consumption will create a vacuum in the tank that prevents fuel from flowing into the carbs.
Check that the valve isn't stuck by removing it and blowing through it while holding it vertical. Likewise check that the vent lines from the tank and from the bottom of the tipover valve aren't blocked. There's a chance you'll find a plug in the end of the line from the tipover valve that should have been put in the air filter box drain hose.
BUT, that doesn't explain why switching to 'reserve' makes a difference.


If the problem is happening at low rpms/small throttle operation then there's some sort of blockage in the petcock 'run' plumbing and you'll have to remove the petcock disassemble it and see if you can find the problem. It could be caked up inside with fuel additives or possibly something left over from manufacture.


Since the bike runs ok on reserve then it's probably not a blocked duckbill filter.


Of course, the obvious question (that I've been saving for last) is:

Does this happen when the tank is full?


Jim

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Thanks Jim, BBogie & Greg P for taking the time to respond. I really appreciate it. I should have come to this forum first rather than dealing with my local dealer. In response to Jim's question, yes the bike stalls when the tank is full, 1/2, and near empty.

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Hi
Not that i am any help....i just noticed that the short rubber tube is not attached to the black tipover thing and is just hanging straight down. Is this ok? This tipover thing valve and tube extending from it goes all the way under the bike.

In order to attach the short tube to the valve it needs to be bent at a right angle. I am going to remove the tipover valve and long vertical tube and see if it is clogged up.

Originally Posted by mstrmac

Hi Not that i am any help....i just noticed that the short rubber tube is not attached to the black tipover thing and is just hanging straight down. Is this ok? This tipover thing valve and tube extending from it goes all the way under the bike. In order to attach the short tube to the valve it needs to be bent at a right angle. I am going to remove the tipover valve and long vertical tube and see if it is clogged up.

The short hose, tipover valve and long hose should hang vertically with no kinks or bends.

If not, the bottom hose is incorrectly installed. It takes a little juggling sometimes...

Jim

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I don't want to hijack the thread, but....

There's no tipover valve on my bike. I priced the Triumph part--too honkin' much. I'm doing without it. I assume the purpose of the thing is to prevent fuel from spilling out all over the road when I tip over. Thing is, I have no plans to tip over, now or in the future.

Just how important a safety feature do you think it is? Am I taking my life in my hands--even more than I ordinarily am--by going without that pricey little gizmo?

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Are you sure it's fuel related?

Not the CAS?

DaleE I had cause to use the tipover valve the other day.........and I also had no intentions of falling, but skippy had other idea's. So what you plan and what actually happens may not be quite the same thing.

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