1985 VF700 runs with petcock on off?

Hey everybody, my names Ray. I just recently picked up a 1985 VF700 18k miles.
I have it running pretty good after adding some Seafoam to the tank and getting a new battery. It starts right up and idles great. I paid $650 for it.

The other day I checked the oil and it smelled like gas so I did an oil change and then went and rode it for the day and smelled the oil the following day and it smells like gas again. The petcock was left in off overnight.

I'm suspecting a leaky petcock? I started the bike up and let it run for a few minutes with the petcock on off and even revved it up a few times and it ran fine, never appeared to sputter or die at all.

Anybody have any idea what might be causing the oil to smell like gas? The engine doesn't make any noises and appears to have plenty of power. Thanks, Ray

 

Be very careful, if gas is leaking past your petcock and finds its way into the cylinders, you will do some serious damage on start up. Either rebuild or replace the petcock or get a Pingel.

 

So your pretty sure it's just the petcock needing to be rebuilt or replaced? Thanks

 

you can get an inline one....petcock that is.....(snicker...snicker...)

 

From your description, it sounds like the petcock is at fault, but I would also check the floats as they shouldn't be letting gas get by. Has the carb been rebuilt?

 

I took the gas tank off and when I had the petcock on gas would flow but when I turned the petcock off the gas would stop. Put it on reserve and gas would flow. So does that mean the petcock is good?

I'm thinking it might be these float needles, I have no idea about the carbs being rebuilt, I assume not. Thanks, Ray

 

Check the floats also as they may have developed holes.

 

Even with the petcock off, the bike will still run for quite awhile. It supplies gas to the carbs which supply fuel to the engine. Just turning it off doesn't get rid of the fuel in the carbs and the bike will run just fine. If you leave it running for 10-15 minutes it'll eventually stop starving the engine of fuel.

On my 900RR the petcock came off with the tank when you pulled it. Is that the same with your bike? If so, you should be able to remove the tank and wipe the valve off. If it's leaking you should be able to see it after a few hours.

Just my 2cents.

 

The petcock doesn't come off when you take the tank off, It stays attached. When I had the tank off of the bike and the gas was on it would drain but when I turned the petcock to off the gas wouldn't flow. So I assume the petcock is fine.

If it's not the float needles what else could it be? I have a nice pair of carbs off a 1985 VF500, can I use anything from these carbs to fix the ones on my 85 VF700