Do you shut your fuel off?

**Coldrider** · 9th August 2007, 16:52

1993 CBR600 handbook stated quite clearly no need to turn the fuel tap off due to the vacuum valve.
Kawasaki ZX9 handbook doesn't mention (or care).

**breakaway** · 9th August 2007, 19:36

It had to be done on the RG, the bitch flooded one night and I couldn't for the life of me figure out what why it wouldn't start. Took over 9000 kicks to start it.

Never done it on the CBR.

**davereid** · 9th August 2007, 21:02

Originally Posted by surfer

A big fat YES, turn that sucker off dude.

If you leave the tap on when you are not using your bike you run the risk of fuel filling up the carbs and then dribbling down through the cylinders into the engine itself.

Dead right - bling coming.

If your bike has a manual tap use it. If you don't, you rely on the float valve in the carb. If it leaks fuel will leak, and it may leak into the engine, or on the ground to be set alight by a careless smoker.

On a 2 stroke, the carb is at the top of the crankcase. If the port is open raw fuel gets into the engine. Only happens once, as the enine hydralics and you get to buy a new one.

**breakaway** · 9th August 2007, 21:26

Originally Posted by davereid

Only happens once, as the enine hydralics and you get to buy a new one.

.....what?

I tried to dechiper it but got lost. "Engine hydraulics and you get to buy a new one"?

What?

**Transalper** · 9th August 2007, 23:06

I'll assume you really don't know what it means when an engine hydraulics and try answer the question...

It is when your cylinder fills up with fluid, be it petrol or when off roading often water after a dunking in a river for example.
Then you try start it with out draining first and results are you bend stuff inside thus requiring major repairs or just go get a new engine.
Unlike an air/fuel mixture, the engine can not compress a cylinder full of fluid.

I had an old GS500E once and a VFR400 later that both leaked fuel in to their sumps if I didn't turn off the tap overnight.
I heard the next owner of the GS500E didn't fix it and forgot to turn it off a few times killing the engine.
I still leave my taps on most of the time, I have faith in my needle valve bits... for now. (transalp has vacuum and CRF230, DR650 IMS taps are manual on my bikes)

**xwhatsit** · 9th August 2007, 23:55

Originally Posted by breakaway

.....what?

I tried to dechiper it but got lost. "Engine hydraulics and you get to buy a new one"?

What?

`To hydraulic' is a curious verb known only to mechanics. It's a shortening of hydraulic-lock, or probably a bastard spelling of hydro-lock.

**Transalper** · 10th August 2007, 00:40

Originally Posted by xerxesdaphat

....or probably a bastard spelling of hydro-lock.

bling for that man, that's brilliant, google hydro-lock and you get your answer, i had tried googling Engine hydraulic and got nothing useful i could copy past here to answer the question.

**The Lone Rider** · 10th August 2007, 17:35

I have an "On, Off, Reserve" knob on my 1994 cruiser. I was told you only use off when you are storing your bike. But the guy could have been full of it.