Need Volusia Help... - Motorcycle-Journal Forums

bandit12 · 10-10-2006, 01:56 AM

A friend of mine has a 2003 800 Volusia, the fuel valve on the tank
does not have a shut off or anything. The petc**k has two lines
going to it, one larger one that goes to the carb and a smaller one
that I would figure to be vacuum to operate the fuel valve, open or
close. Is this the right assumption because his bike was sitting in a
huge pool of gas today and the front cylinder was so full of fuel that
there was gas dripping out of the exhaust pipe and the engine would
not turn over because it was hydrolic locked. I removed the plugs
and pumped out the cylinders and need to change the oil,

But where does that small line go for sure, it seems to go toward the
swingarm pivot, does this bike have a vacuum pump or what works
the petc**k. Thanks in advance for any help, I hope to get a better
look at it Wed.

DrBob · 10-10-2006, 07:32 AM

The '03 Volusia does not have a fuel shut off valve in the petcock. The microfiche shows only the one fuel line from the petcock, so I'm guessing this is a California model and the second line goes to the California-only evaporator system.

Generally if the bike floods while sitting it is caused by a stuck float in the carb, which fails to shut off the fuel flow when the bowl is full, thus causing the carb to overfill and overflow into the intake and cylinders. But I am not sure exactly how the California evapo system is set up, so hopefully someone else can be of more help.

bandit12 · 10-10-2006, 01:26 PM

If this bike doesn't have a vacuum shut-off and no switching ability,
then Suzuki thinks you don't need a reserve and if you can't turn
the fuel off, by vacuum or manually then it may as well be an
Kawasaki Eliminator or a Yamaha Virago, they're junk also. I know two things for certain,
1) I'm glad this isn't my bike and,
2) I miss my Bandit

v0lusia · 10-10-2006, 02:04 PM

The fuel valve is controlled by vacuum but I doubt that is the problem. The "no vacumm" position means the valve is closed. I think the stuck float is more likely the problem. Send an email to nhphotoguy at hotmail.com and I'll reply to you with the service manual chapter on the fuel system

bandit12 · 10-10-2006, 05:00 PM

vOlusia, message sent, thanks.

bandit12 · 10-13-2006, 12:47 AM

The fuel shut off is ran by vacuum, it is either on while the bike
is running or off while the bike is turned off. OK, if the bike has
been sitting for a day and not running, I can see the fuel in the
bowl or fuel line draining into the cylinders if the float is not
stopping the flow. That would amount to maybe 3-4 ounces of
gas, somehow the valve is getting vacuum and opening the
petc**k and allowing gallons of gas to the cylinders, true the
float should stop this flow, but the fuel valve should have
stopped it before that. To see if the valve itself was bleeding
fuel through, I removed the tank and set it on the bench for
over 24 hours and not a drop of fuel leaked where is this darned
vacuum coming from, there is a pump of some sort that the
vacuum hose from the tank hooks to, but I don't know what
operates it and I suspect that to be the problem. I can't find it
on the parts fiche and a trip to the local shop was fruitless as they
told me this bike is fuel injected and it is not, it has a carb.
Has anyone else had such a problem with their Volusia 800?

v0lusia · 10-13-2006, 08:23 AM

This one has me completely stumped. I've been around a lot of VL800s and this is the first I've heard of it. Probably need more info on the bike. Any recent mods? Stock airbox or aftermarket? Pair valve in place, disabled or removed? Carb rejetted? Any other symptoms before he parked it?

There are some pretty knowlegable wrenches on VolusiaRiders.com maybe post this there and see if they come up with more help.

Just checking... did you get the section of the manual I emailed you?
On page 5-14 they cover the accelerator pump system which might be the route the gas is getting in. The way I read it it bypasses the float (although I am not a carb expert).

bandit12 · 10-13-2006, 02:25 PM

vOlusia, no I didn't get the e-mail, I thought you hadn't got
around to it yet or forgot, if it's not to much problem could
you try again. Thanks.

BTW, it has the stock air box, a set of Vance & Hines pipes,
and the Pair valve has been disabled, not sure about jetting.
This was done last year and ran fine this year, the owner
was hospitalized and the bike has been sitting for about 3-4
months but it has been run and ridden a little during that time.

v0lusia · 10-14-2006, 11:00 PM

it was about 2.5 megabytes, let me try something else.... I'll send you another email when I'm done.

v0lusia · 10-14-2006, 11:37 PM

OK I split it into 2 pieces and emailed them seperately

bandit12 · 10-16-2006, 03:19 AM

Sorry vOlusia, they are not showing up on this end, not even in
my quarutine (sp) mail. My server must be rejecting them or
something, I do Thank you for trying though. If I figure out
anything on this bike I will let you know.

v0lusia · 10-16-2006, 08:24 AM

OK, you have a PM

bandit12 · 10-17-2006, 12:49 AM

V0lusia. you are the man, to send all that info. Now, I can't open it,
I get a message that says "Remote Linking Forbidden" and that 50megs
doesn't allow linking to free accounts and when I try to google or
straight access 50megs.com I get a file not found. LOL, a greater
power than us doesn't want me looking up this info. I am much
greatful to you though.

v0lusia · 10-17-2006, 09:03 AM

OK you have another PM

bandit12 · 10-23-2006, 12:54 AM

I got this one and it worked, Thank you very much for your time
and effort. I sent you another PM.

v0lusia · 10-23-2006, 02:38 PM

OK Glad you got it..... Let us know what you find, this one has me baffled.

bandit12 · 11-21-2006, 09:46 PM

v0lusia, I finially had a chance to look at this bike closer and to compare
it to your file you sent me and here is the problem. There was a guy who
worked on it before me and he told me where the lines went, Wrong.
He had me put the ...
the line from the fuel pump to the petc**k vacuum tube,
and the fuel line from the petc**k to the air vent of the carb,
and no place for a vacuum hose in this setup.

Actually, the vacuum hose from the "PAIR" valve goes into the petc**k,
the fuel hose from the petc**k goes to the fuel pump,
and the air vent goes nowhere that I can find, it just remains open.

My guess is that it wasn't a vacuum problem, but since the fuel was plugged
into the vacuum tube on the petc**k, pressure built up from the fuel
system and shoved open the petc**k from the vacuum side and allowed
all that fuel to run into the air vent and flood the cylinders with fuel. Since
the fuel line was plugged into the air vent there was no way to stop the
flow. The guy that worked on it had a mild stroke and probably isn't thinking
real straight. I am going to route the lines as the manual shows and see
what happens, I will let you know, Thanks again v0lusia.

**Clint** · 11-21-2006, 10:51 PM

Petcock isn't filtered here, BTW.

bandit12 · 11-23-2006, 01:40 AM

Praise the Lord, that was the problem. I plugged the lines in
where they were supposed to be and she ran like a top.
I probably wouldn't have had this much trouble, but the other
guy pulled the lines off at both ends when he pulled the fuel
tank off, talk about an easy job turned into a real pain.

v0lusia · 11-23-2006, 07:15 AM

Glad it all worked out....

10-10-2006, 01:56 AM	#1 (permalink)
bandit12 In Training Joined: Sep 2004 Location: ohio Posts: 101	Need Volusia Help... A friend of mine has a 2003 800 Volusia, the fuel valve on the tank does not have a shut off or anything. The petck has two lines going to it, one larger one that goes to the carb and a smaller one that I would figure to be vacuum to operate the fuel valve, open or close. Is this the right assumption because his bike was sitting in a huge pool of gas today and the front cylinder was so full of fuel that there was gas dripping out of the exhaust pipe and the engine would not turn over because it was hydrolic locked. I removed the plugs and pumped out the cylinders and need to change the oil, But where does that small line go for sure, it seems to go toward the swingarm pivot, does this bike have a vacuum pump or what works the petck. Thanks in advance for any help, I hope to get a better look at it Wed.

10-10-2006, 07:32 AM	#2 (permalink)
DrBob In The Zone Joined: May 2004 Bike: several Location: Decatur, GA Posts: 2,765	The '03 Volusia does not have a fuel shut off valve in the petcock. The microfiche shows only the one fuel line from the petcock, so I'm guessing this is a California model and the second line goes to the California-only evaporator system. Generally if the bike floods while sitting it is caused by a stuck float in the carb, which fails to shut off the fuel flow when the bowl is full, thus causing the carb to overfill and overflow into the intake and cylinders. But I am not sure exactly how the California evapo system is set up, so hopefully someone else can be of more help. __________________ Dream like you'll live forever, live like you'll die tomorrow. You MUST obey the pug dog!

10-10-2006, 01:26 PM	#3 (permalink)
bandit12 In Training Joined: Sep 2004 Location: ohio Posts: 101	If this bike doesn't have a vacuum shut-off and no switching ability, then Suzuki thinks you don't need a reserve and if you can't turn the fuel off, by vacuum or manually then it may as well be an Kawasaki Eliminator or a Yamaha Virago, they're junk also. I know two things for certain, 1) I'm glad this isn't my bike and, 2) I miss my Bandit Last edited by bandit12; 10-10-2006 at 01:30 PM.

10-13-2006, 08:23 AM	#7 (permalink)
v0lusia TurtleWax Taster Joined: Oct 2004 Location: Central MA Posts: 555	This one has me completely stumped. I've been around a lot of VL800s and this is the first I've heard of it. Probably need more info on the bike. Any recent mods? Stock airbox or aftermarket? Pair valve in place, disabled or removed? Carb rejetted? Any other symptoms before he parked it? There are some pretty knowlegable wrenches on VolusiaRiders.com maybe post this there and see if they come up with more help. Just checking... did you get the section of the manual I emailed you? On page 5-14 they cover the accelerator pump system which might be the route the gas is getting in. The way I read it it bypasses the float (although I am not a carb expert). Last edited by v0lusia; 10-13-2006 at 08:39 AM.

10-13-2006, 02:25 PM	#8 (permalink)
bandit12 In Training Joined: Sep 2004 Location: ohio Posts: 101	vOlusia, no I didn't get the e-mail, I thought you hadn't got around to it yet or forgot, if it's not to much problem could you try again. Thanks. BTW, it has the stock air box, a set of Vance & Hines pipes, and the Pair valve has been disabled, not sure about jetting. This was done last year and ran fine this year, the owner was hospitalized and the bike has been sitting for about 3-4 months but it has been run and ridden a little during that time. Last edited by bandit12; 10-13-2006 at 02:33 PM.

10-10-2006, 02:04 PM	#4 (permalink)
v0lusia TurtleWax Taster Joined: Oct 2004 Location: Central MA Posts: 555	The fuel valve is controlled by vacuum but I doubt that is the problem. The "no vacumm" position means the valve is closed. I think the stuck float is more likely the problem. Send an email to nhphotoguy at hotmail.com and I'll reply to you with the service manual chapter on the fuel system

10-10-2006, 05:00 PM	#5 (permalink)
bandit12 In Training Joined: Sep 2004 Location: ohio Posts: 101	vOlusia, message sent, thanks.

10-13-2006, 12:47 AM	#6 (permalink)
bandit12 In Training Joined: Sep 2004 Location: ohio Posts: 101	The fuel shut off is ran by vacuum, it is either on while the bike is running or off while the bike is turned off. OK, if the bike has been sitting for a day and not running, I can see the fuel in the bowl or fuel line draining into the cylinders if the float is not stopping the flow. That would amount to maybe 3-4 ounces of gas, somehow the valve is getting vacuum and opening the petc**k and allowing gallons of gas to the cylinders, true the float should stop this flow, but the fuel valve should have stopped it before that. To see if the valve itself was bleeding fuel through, I removed the tank and set it on the bench for over 24 hours and not a drop of fuel leaked where is this darned vacuum coming from, there is a pump of some sort that the vacuum hose from the tank hooks to, but I don't know what operates it and I suspect that to be the problem. I can't find it on the parts fiche and a trip to the local shop was fruitless as they told me this bike is fuel injected and it is not, it has a carb. Has anyone else had such a problem with their Volusia 800?

10-14-2006, 11:00 PM	#9 (permalink)
v0lusia TurtleWax Taster Joined: Oct 2004 Location: Central MA Posts: 555	it was about 2.5 megabytes, let me try something else.... I'll send you another email when I'm done.

10-14-2006, 11:37 PM	#10 (permalink)
v0lusia TurtleWax Taster Joined: Oct 2004 Location: Central MA Posts: 555	OK I split it into 2 pieces and emailed them seperately

10-16-2006, 03:19 AM	#11 (permalink)
bandit12 In Training Joined: Sep 2004 Location: ohio Posts: 101	Sorry vOlusia, they are not showing up on this end, not even in my quarutine (sp) mail. My server must be rejecting them or something, I do Thank you for trying though. If I figure out anything on this bike I will let you know.

10-16-2006, 08:24 AM	#12 (permalink)
v0lusia TurtleWax Taster Joined: Oct 2004 Location: Central MA Posts: 555	OK, you have a PM

10-17-2006, 12:49 AM	#13 (permalink)
bandit12 In Training Joined: Sep 2004 Location: ohio Posts: 101	V0lusia. you are the man, to send all that info. Now, I can't open it, I get a message that says "Remote Linking Forbidden" and that 50megs doesn't allow linking to free accounts and when I try to google or straight access 50megs.com I get a file not found. LOL, a greater power than us doesn't want me looking up this info. I am much greatful to you though.

10-17-2006, 09:03 AM	#14 (permalink)
v0lusia TurtleWax Taster Joined: Oct 2004 Location: Central MA Posts: 555	OK you have another PM

10-23-2006, 12:54 AM	#15 (permalink)
bandit12 In Training Joined: Sep 2004 Location: ohio Posts: 101	I got this one and it worked, Thank you very much for your time and effort. I sent you another PM.

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10-23-2006, 02:38 PM	#16 (permalink)
v0lusia TurtleWax Taster Joined: Oct 2004 Location: Central MA Posts: 555	OK Glad you got it..... Let us know what you find, this one has me baffled.

11-21-2006, 09:46 PM	#17 (permalink)
bandit12 In Training Joined: Sep 2004 Location: ohio Posts: 101	v0lusia, I finially had a chance to look at this bike closer and to compare it to your file you sent me and here is the problem. There was a guy who worked on it before me and he told me where the lines went, Wrong. He had me put the ... the line from the fuel pump to the petck vacuum tube, and the fuel line from the petck to the air vent of the carb, and no place for a vacuum hose in this setup. Actually, the vacuum hose from the "PAIR" valve goes into the petck, the fuel hose from the petck goes to the fuel pump, and the air vent goes nowhere that I can find, it just remains open. My guess is that it wasn't a vacuum problem, but since the fuel was plugged into the vacuum tube on the petck, pressure built up from the fuel system and shoved open the petck from the vacuum side and allowed all that fuel to run into the air vent and flood the cylinders with fuel. Since the fuel line was plugged into the air vent there was no way to stop the flow. The guy that worked on it had a mild stroke and probably isn't thinking real straight. I am going to route the lines as the manual shows and see what happens, I will let you know, Thanks again v0lusia.

11-23-2006, 01:40 AM	#19 (permalink)
bandit12 In Training Joined: Sep 2004 Location: ohio Posts: 101	Praise the Lord, that was the problem. I plugged the lines in where they were supposed to be and she ran like a top. I probably wouldn't have had this much trouble, but the other guy pulled the lines off at both ends when he pulled the fuel tank off, talk about an easy job turned into a real pain.

11-23-2006, 07:15 AM	#20 (permalink)
v0lusia TurtleWax Taster Joined: Oct 2004 Location: Central MA Posts: 555	Glad it all worked out....