Gas in the airbox! (Finally resolved)

[Engraverwilliam]

Walked out to find puddle under bike.

AAA towing her to the Mechanic in the morning.
No I wont try to start it.

[gPink]

Will the mechanic know not to push the button?

[Steve in Sunny Fla]

all mechanics aren't equal. Steve

[gPink]

ain't that the truth

[JDM]

Walked out to find puddle under bike.

AAA towing her to the Mechanic in the morning.
No I wont try to start it.

Didn't you just have your Connie serviced? Was the petcock left on PRIME? If not you need to look at the petcock as well as the carbs. HTH JD

[timsatx]

Need we say it again? Overflow tubes.

[Engraverwilliam]

I will be advising Hudson not to hit the button due to Hydrolock danger.
I am greatfull that I read everything on this site for this very reason.

.
As for overflow tubes, I am not in a position to be able to remove engine parts and send to (florida?)It is my daily rider.
Bad enough I have to take a vacation day to take care of it.

I took apart and RUINED my last bike so I will leave this one to the Mechanic.

[DC Concours]

oh. I am sorry to hear this. especially after your recent full service. make sure that no one at the shop attempts to start the bike. I would wrap a paper around the handle with a note. you never know who might look at the bike after you tell the first guy that it may hydrolock.

let us know what you discover...

[Two Skies]

Hey Engraverwilliam!

I know you had a lot of faith in this mechanic, so I am very sorry to hear that this happened.

Your low mileage numbers after the repairs, even with you being in Cali stop & go traffic, did still have me wondering.

Might I make a suggestion?  Check Ebay, etc. for C-10 Carbs, plus the classified section of this forum and the COG forum.  If you can acquire an extra carb, send it to Steve In Sunny Florida, have him rebuild that one, and then swap out your current carb once you get it back.

That way, you won't have any more down time, assuming that your mechanic can get your bike in working order in the meantime, and solve your issue in the short term.

Also, I'd suggest that you think hard about rebuilding/replacing your petcock, if it wasn't left on prime.

We weren't kidding when we said we had very little faith in most mechanics, which is why most of us recommend just saving yourself the headache and having Steve do the job.

At least you caught it BEFORE you hit the starter button.  A cylinder may still not have flooded, but yeah that's a scary thing...


Sorry to hear about your woes!  Hopefully you get this straightened out in short order, and that you can continue to enjoy this bike after it's all said and done.

[Engraverwilliam]

It is in the shop.
I put masking tape on the off swtich and wrapped the throttle and covered the key hole and wrote HYDROLOCK HAZARD DO NOT ATTEMPT START.

They guy who brought my bike into the shop said it was a smart note to leave right off, so at least there is that.

[JDM]

If you did not leave your petcock on prime, which could help cause this event, then your petcock is a peace of crap, and you better bone up on HYDROLOCK prevention, or install overflow tubes as a minimum. If you choose not to address this issue, it won't be long before your Connie will not be your daily driver. That is just how it is, and, no shop will take the time to fix it for you as they don't know how. Remember, it's a old C10 Connie and you have been given the right advice to keep her running for many years if you will just take the time and advice given to you........................ 

[Two Skies]

One more thing!

Most of us really enjoy our Connies.  Once you get this issue put behind you, I'm sure it'll all be worth it!  The potential hydrolock issue is a weak point, but once you've solved this issue (hopefully permanently), they really are otherwise very dependable and great bikes for what they do!

Not many bikes are good for 100K+ miles (dunno what the C-10 record currently stands at), but these bikes can go the distance, and make you look good doing it!

Even if some people think they are Beemers (BMW's)...  Hey is that guy still selling those KMW (Kawasaki Motor Works) stickers?

[timsatx]

So what would be the best answer if it is the petcock? I know about going the manual route but I know for a fact that I would forget it in the on position, and I also hear the rebuild kits suck.

[Steve in Sunny Fla]

I can rebuild almost anything... that said, I just buy new oem from Kaw for Shoodaben. Old petcocks often have multiple issues, including the figure 8 failure, so WTH, buy new and call it good. Steve

[Engraverwilliam]

would an inline "off" valve be a good choice for a future mod? I still cannot understand why petcocks do not have an "off" position.
Mu old bike did and I turned it off for the night when I was don riding. Keeping the fuel where it should be...the tank

[DC Concours]

A petcock with off would be a good option if you want it. A properly functioning vacuum petcock doesn't need an off position. It's off when the engine is off.

Btw, what's the news on your bike??

[timsatx]

I can rebuild almost anything... that said, I just buy new oem from Kaw for Shoodaben. Old petcocks often have multiple issues, including the figure 8 failure, so WTH, buy new and call it good. Steve

Steve, do you use the 51023-1388 part number? That is for the whole assembly including the filter.

[Engraverwilliam]

Bike is still at the shop. They said it could be a week. They are short staffed due to a race someplace out of town. They have a few bikes that they run at races.
Going to call Friday to get a progress report. In the mean time I am driving a rented cage.

[Steve in Sunny Fla]

yes, the whole thing. Steve

[timsatx]

What does that run? I am looking at maybe doing that myself.