Hey guys,

I hope someone can lend me a bit of advice/guidance.

The background:

The bike is a 2014, two previous owners, as far as I can tell it's stock. I bought it with 1500 kms on it and have added about 2000 kms in about 3 months. I added a Dyna muffler and have been experimenting with carb jets. Currently at 52.5/152.5 and spacer at 50%. Runs really well with a little after-firing, and a very slight bit of surging at 1/8 throttle in lower gears.

The problem:

In the last week or so I've noticed the smell of petrol when I stop the bike, and sometimes it wafts up while I'm riding.

What I've checked:

I did some research on here and discovered it might be the petcock or a stuck float in the carb. I've had the bottom of the carb off a few times in the last few weeks and the float moves freely. The carb looks clean. So, the petcock is the next point of focus.  I started trouble shooting. This is what I've found.

1. The vac tube smells like petrol, and when I disconnect it from the carb, the nipple is a little bit wet with fuel. I pulled the tube off and inspected it and it seems fine.

2. The air filter is dry, but the bottom part of it smells slightly of petrol.

3. I took the oil cap off the engine and dipped my finger in there - slight smell of petrol. The oil level has not gone up on the little window so I don't think it's a lot, but enough to create an odour. I can still distinguish the smell of oil (if that makes sense).

What I think needs done:

Based on my research here, I need to change the oil and the oil filter, and replace the petcock with a 660 raptor petcock.

My questions are:

Is my solution a sufficient plan of action?
Is there something else I need to check?
Is there anything else I don't know that I don't know?

Would really appreciate any advice guys

Thanks Kenny, that alleviates my concerns a bit. I was hoping it's a little problem, not a big one. I'm looking up raptor petcocks right now to see if I can source one locally. Otherwise, it's ebay. I'll make sure it's genuine OEM - I got the part number from another thread.

My bike is a 2015 model...Dave from the forum here came and did mine...changed the petcock...what a difference and have not had a bit of trouble since...of course i still have back firing... but nothing else..again, yes make sure you get the genuine part...comes in a white box...not knock off on Ebay oe else where ...good luck

Thanks for the tips guys ☺

I've found a couple of suppliers for the genuine part, online last night.  I'm going to call around some local suppliers this morning to see if I can get one locally, and a bit sooner.

I think I would change the oil at least. Then you will be sure there is no gas in there. A couple of litres of  oil is pretty good insurance.

Then give it a good long run to boil off any remaining petrol.

IslandRoad wrote on 01/15/17 at 10:06:01:


Mine was only a couple of bucks higher locally!

piedmontbuckeye wrote on 01/15/17 at 12:50:37:


She only lives a few miles from me.....and it was a great chance to take a ride on my bike!

After you resolve the petcock issue, if you still have the surging you need to consider adjusting the white spacer a bit more. I have a similar set-up and I had that ever so slight surging at 1/8 throttle and after I took another hit at the spacer it seems to have resolved my surging.