prime position

do you guy's put the petcock into the prime position every time you start your bikes? only on cold starts or all the time?

I never use Prime for anything except filling the carb bowls after pulling/working on the carbs.

the thing is is my bike is very hard to start. for whatever reason today i decided to put the petcock in the prime position w/ no choke. the bike popped but didn't start. I put the choke on and it started. i'm thinking i still have clogged pilot circuit. I will sea foam it and see if i can start the bike with the prime position. When i moved the petcock to the prime position i saw the gas move quite a bit. now i'm wondering if my carbs are actually draining into the motor. making it out of gas when i normally start it. I see no evidence of gas in the oil though.

like cafekz750 said, the only reason to use the prime position is to get gas into the carbs until the vacume valve, in the petcock, actuates, w/the engine running. Once you start the bike, move it back to the ON position. Under most circumstances there should be enough gas in the carbs to just leave it in the ON position. Unless the engine is warm, you really need to engage the enrichener circuit the "choke", it's pretty much the way the bikes were designed. If you don't see gas flowing in the ON position, but you do in the PRI position, you may have a problem w/the petcock.

thanks guys.. Ron, in the prime position i see the gas move when the bike is not running. i'm sure i have a pilot circuit problem.

Other than the obvious smell of gas how can you tell if the gas is getting into the oil. What needs to be done to stop that as well?

Just wondering:unsure:

is the oil level going up? is the oil not lasting as long as it should? usually the petcock is at fault when there is gas in the oil.

Which is better to do replace or repair it? Just starting to work on bikes so not sure on troubleshooting (I can do good things on computers and printers though).

The oil level has gone up. I just changed it and it is now at the top of the viewing window. Would the extra oil level also explain why the plugs on the left side have oil on them since the bike leans that way when parked? The other two plugs look good.

i would replace it.. i bought one last year from z1enterprises.com a vacuum replacement from a suzuki. it fits fine. about $50.00 total.

A cheap quick fix (I did this and it worked for me) is to go to your local small engine shop and get a generic on/off lawnmower petcock for about $5. Install it between your existing petcock and the carbs, that way when you are parked, you know for sure that no fuel is leaking past into your engine.

I only ride my bike once or twice a week, and always put the fuel petcock to Prime for a few minutes before I start her up. Seems she needs to have the carbs filled, as the gas has evaporated somewhat while sitting.
I've never had any gas leak or flow into the engine.

The oil level has gone up. I just changed it and it is now at the top of the viewing window.

Once you run the bike and let the oil settle, it could look a little higher than when you've just added it.