I'm sure at some point I'm going to sound like a real idiot here, but please excuse me, I'm young, ha.
So, as far as I understand it, the petcock allows you to switch from on, reserve, and prime, which according to a website I found "bypasses the diaphragm so you can fill the carbs with gas after they have been drained."
So if my bike runs better on prime, there is an issue with the petcock?
I'd like to understand this a little better. I don't know as much as I'd like. So the carb controls the mixture of fuel and oxygen, meaning whether the bike runs lean or floods, correct? and I know (from removing the tank) that there one line that connects from the top of the petcock to the gastank, and one that connects from the petcock to the carb.
So, obviously gas flows down from the gastank into the petcock valve. What does the connection from the petcock to the carb do? Why is it important to plug up the passages while they are disconnected (in the "test your petcock" article) ? Would anyone mind explaining how the petcock and carb work just a little better?
I'm thinking there is a probability that the issue could be the valve.
Backup - I had taken the tank off, and actually removed the back wheel in order to paint the gas tank and rear fender around this time. Just flat black, go figure. Anyways, I HAD noticed a couple of days before this problem that I had some smoke coming off the engine, but I had sort of dismissed it that maybe I had dropped some oil or gas on it accidentally and it was just burning off.
And to your response about Cam Chain maintenance. I'm not really that advanced and had some trouble understanding exactly where to start even, and I don't have a whole lot of tools. Is this something you think I could try myself? Is it worth trying if I'm going to have to purchase a lot of tools, if I'm not even sure this is going to be the problem?
Thanks a lot verslagen and serobot!