Let me preface this post with a huge thank you to the guys who helped out with my little exhaust issue. Thanks! I'll be throwing this site a few bucks over paypal once I get paid, its been a valuable resource and has saved me a lot of cash and frustration.

Took the Savage out today for a very nice, pop-free ride. No issues whatsoever. When I stopped for gas, I realized my inspection was due at the end of this month. Time to see my new-found friends around the corner for an inspection. Passed with no issues, though I was told to keep an eye on my petcock because it felt stiff, and that it was common for these petcocks to seize up entirely.

I know you senior members and others got rid of your stock petcocks long ago, which is understandable. Long ago, my father, in his sagely 4-beers-into-a-six-pack voice told me, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Mainly, don't throw money at a problem you don't have yet, and I still tend to follow this advice with my other two vehicles. I have no problems now, but are any of you guys still using the factory petcock? Its not that I want to be a cheap SOB to put out the modest sum for a raptor, I just want the time spent riding to exceed the time I spend in the garage.

I guess its just a matter of opinion, but if replacing it now will save me a bunch of time and frustration later, I'll go for it.

Yup PJ, I'm still running mine on my 87. That being said, the stock petcock   is the next thing I'm replacing with a raptor. After an engine swap including swapping the carb, I still have phantom intermitant surging. I am convinced it is the petcock. If your bike runs fine, ride it. But if you have wierd seemingly carb related issues, go with the raptor.

I'm still running the stock, and no change is coming soon. If it ever does give me trouble, I'll repair it or replace it w/ the same.
I like it for the saftey features that it was designed for.
If I believed it was operating on borrowed time anyless than my motor is, I would change it in a heartbeat.

That's that safety feature that prevents fuel from leaking when you're not riding, but allows it to leak when you're on the bike with the engine running, going down the road at 60mph...
... at least until it goes bad... at which time, it leaks furiously all the time, and has no manual shut-off to stop it...

I'd like to personalty thank Suzuki for one...

Personally,.. with a 3 gallon bomb in front of my nuts,... and a sparker just below them... I like a positive manual shut-off...
I'm just a control freak... ...

Have I sold you yet?...
...it also makes tank removal easier... ...

Basically,... ask any person, that's never had one go bad... and they'll say it's fine...
... ask any person that's ever had one go wacky,.. and they'll curse it's existence...

Do you learn from your mistakes?...
... or do you learn from the mistakes of others?...

I learned my lesson before I got to this site...
I was at a light,... in front,... at an 8 lane intersection, with the engine stumbling and cutting out...
... as it turned green,... I'm crossing, with one hand on the throttle and the other, on the petcock, trying to find a position would give steady fuel... alternately, dragging to a stop, and popping a wheelie,, as the engine died, and fired... with my thighs drenched in fuel...
They don't make underwear for that... ...
Ahhhhh,... the good ol' days... ...

At the very least......order the Raptor and have it ready.  That way instead of your bike sitting and waiting for it to arrive........you will already have it.

I believe thats a too rich pilot jet when the idle dips then returns to the set speed. Do you have the chock on when this happens.

My post was simply a "IMO" reply to the OPs question.
Why is it that I get slam banged and ganged up on by the MODs w/ the same ole stupid questions to a simple post, every time this thread comes up,........and the same questions which I have answered, answers which Mods have deleted and for which I have been repromanded for ?

I have been repromanded and deleted for telling what I believe really goes on in these petcock threads,.....that in Mods sorry excuse for  words "Mite confuse a NB"

Since then, I have stayed out of the mods replies,.....how about the mods staying the hell outta mine !!

TheSavagePJ wrote on 04/27/13 at 09:31:23:


When you first get the manual petcock it is hard to remember to turn it off when your ride is over.  I have a trials bike that has a manual petock and I never forget on it.....but it always required that you turn it off.  The Savage I rode for a few months and got used to not turning the petock off.  I finally just started to turn it off as soon as I got to my driveway....and eventually it became part of the routine.

For your idle dip......it could be too rich at the idle fuel/air mix.  It could also be that the slide is sticking open for a bit.  If adjusting your fuel/air screw in a little bit doesn't help....then maybe cleaning the slide would help.