Petcock won't shut off

[miragebass]

Went to finally winterize my 86 vt1100 today and when shutting off the petcock (as I usually do on my 97 vt600) the engine just keeps running. I am sure it is in the off position, and it ran for almost 30 minutes and was still going strong, so I'm pretty sure the petcock or switch isn't working right.

My question is; is there a way I can manually shut it off or disconnect this to drain the carbs somehow (that's what i am doing with the switch off, right?) I don't know a ton about this kind of stuff, and I couldn't find a thread on here about it.

Any help is appreciated, thank you guys! And sorry for the noob question

[justinmahn]

The fuel line is easy to pop off the tank, but you'll want to cap the tank barb and plug the fuel line to get the job done. I think they sell rebuild kits for the petcocks.

[Bowie-]

I don't want to hijack, but mine will still dribble just a little when "off ". I can only notice if the tank is removed. Is this normal?

[justinmahn]

It should completely shut off after dripping dry.

[miragebass]

Okay, I'm assuming the barb is the piece sticking out of the tanks the fuel line is attached to? This particular bike does have a line right above the peacock, but I don't know if that's the main line to the carbs or if that is a line that connects the lower fuel tank to the upper part where you fill it. Anyone with an 86 have a better idea? Having a hard time figuring this hose routing out from the generic manual I have.

[rkforrest]

Take a pair of Needle Nose vice grips and gently pinch off the Fuel line or buy the 10 dollar plastic Pinch off Pliers to stop the flow til you can fix it

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...040%7CL3*16175

[justinmahn]

the small line should be a vacuum line, and is not necessary to remove if you're not removing the fuel tank.

And yes, the barb is the small tube that the hose goes over.

[justinmahn]

Originally Posted by rkforrest

Take a pair of Needle Nose vice grips and gently pinch off the Fuel line or buy the 10 dollar plastic Pinch off Pliers to stop the flow til you can fix it

Or that

[adlowe]

Originally Posted by miragebass

(that's what i am doing with the switch off, right?)

Not really. Running the bike without the fuel tank (either removed or with the petcock turned to off) will partially drain the carbs. It still leaves fuel in the bowls to slowly evaporate and possibly leave behind residue. You can increase the potential mess by adding stabilizer to the fuel before running down the carbs -- or -- you can avoid it altogether by draining the bowls manually. (The carbs do NOT have to be removed to do it.)

[vonh]

I think I read some where that you can remove the fuel line at the T just befor the carbs turn the bike on and pump out the fuel if thats what your looking to do. If you just want to drain the carbs then pinch the line as mentioned above then drain it from the bowls. Fastest way to drain the tank is syphon it out directly from the tank into a can.