Replacement Gas Petcock from Harley Davidson

whopist

Member
3 months ago I installed a gas tank petcock from a Harley Davidson motorcycle on my N Tractor (number one). The installation procedure was easy and the operation of valve is easier than screwing the factory knob. The Harley valve also retains the main and reserve tank function. I like the change on my working tractors.
My N Tractor (number two) just developed a gas petcock leak. You guessed it. I ordered another HD petcock.

Here is how I installed it:

CHROME GAS FUEL TANK PETCOCK 3/8 NPT RIGHT SPOUT FOR HARLEY 55-74
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Steel fuel line: I purchased a 50” length of ¼” dia. Steel fuel line assembly. Cut it in half and have enough for two tractors (or one tractor and one mistake).



Cut and shape fuel line as shown
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Fitting the fuel line
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Ethanol proof rubber hose 2”long
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Assembly of tractor
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Yes, I now have one in the tank and one in the carburetor.

And to look at my fuel I have to drain the carburetor bowl.
 
I like it, gonna order a couple of them,
thanks for sharing. You can add a clear
inline fuel filter downstream of the HD
valve.....
 

It's just not a good idea to have rubber on any part of a fuel line on a tractor with a gravity fed fuel supply.
 

OK guys, when the engine stalls from the fuel starvation from the missing filter screen, [or] water boiling over from battery into the fuel filler inlet and not having a glass bowl to catch it, [or] my rubber hose causing gravity to gum up the fuel supply. What do I do?

You have totally overlooked the Military Surplus mini Harrier Jet Pack exhaust duck pointed down for vertical takeoff. I use it to fly back to the shop and reinstall the OEM petcock.
 
(quoted from post at 17:30:33 08/02/17)
It's just not a good idea to have rubber on any part of a fuel line on a tractor with a gravity fed fuel supply.

Nonsense. Rubber works fine - fuel pump generated or gravity generated pressure. In general fuel pump pressure is a lot higher. Lots of folks worry about physical damage from snagging a line but I can assure you a tree limb will rip a steel line off just as easily as it will a rubber one.

TOH
 
Thanks for posting
....owned a lot of Harleys, never had any trouble with them valves.
Just add a drain valve in place of the carb bowl plug and drain out the bad once in a while. (good practice on any tractor to get rid of water and 'red mist')

As far as rubber fuel lines...use good stuff, keep it short, support the line with clamps or ties...no issues. Even CNH uses some rubber on some of their fuel lines . Like TOH says, you hook a fuel line with something...it's gone no matter what it is.

Even at the dragstrip, tech inspection would allow 12 inches [i:e92af821c9]total[/i:e92af821c9] under the hood.
Lots of heat, pressure, violence getting down the track.....worked fine.
 
(quoted from post at 16:12:04 08/02/17)
(quoted from post at 17:30:33 08/02/17)
It's just not a good idea to have rubber on any part of a fuel line on a tractor with a gravity fed fuel supply.

Nonsense. Rubber works fine - fuel pump generated or gravity generated pressure. In general fuel pump pressure is a lot higher. Lots of folks worry about physical damage from snagging a line but I can assure you a tree limb will rip a steel line off just as easily as it will a rubber one.

TOH

I was thinking more in the line of a fire.
 
You have totally overlooked the Military Surplus mini Harrier Jet Pack exhaust duck pointed down for vertical takeoff. I use it to fly back to the shop and reinstall the OEM petcock.

I noticed that and thought WOW , he should have installed the jet pack 1/2" farther back for better balance . A+ on the petcock valve , I have placed my order :)
 
I like the concept and may use these
Harley petcocks in the future on other
machines too. As for rubber fuel line
everyone is panicked about, well did it
ever occur to you that in the original
setup they used a GLASS fuel bowl,
that's a lot more breakable than any
rubber hose I ever saw. And hose seems
to be plenty safe to have on a Harley
which is air cooled so even hotter
running than a tractor and between your
legs cruising down the highway at 65,
seems to be just fine for that so I
wouldn't see an issue in this
application
 
(quoted from post at 18:18:50 08/02/17) I like the concept and may use these
Harley petcocks in the future on other
machines too. As for rubber fuel line
everyone is panicked about, well did it
ever occur to you that in the original
setup they used a GLASS fuel bowl,
that's a lot more breakable than any
rubber hose I ever saw. And hose seems
to be plenty safe to have on a Harley
which is air cooled so even hotter
running than a tractor and between your
legs cruising down the highway at 65,
seems to be just fine for that so I
wouldn't see an issue in this
application

Back when I was riding, I had a chopped 55 pan head that some aholes liberated from my garage while I was vacationing in Viet Nam. Anyway, about six months before that I had a buddy who had his bike totally burn up on him. He was starting it and somehow it caught fire. Then when the rubber gas line burned through, the gas just poured onto the fire. We were out in the desert and had just slept there that night. No hoses or nothing to put the fire out. Once it really got going all we could do was watch it burn.

Below is the only pic I have of my bike. It's what it looked like when I bought it. I completely rebuilt it before going to VN. Bucket seat, stacks sissy bar lots of new chrome.

F-Motorcycle.jpg
 

IT GETS MY THUMBS UP.... The strainer is probably better than anything a N ever had so you will need a nice clean tank...

As for the rubber fuel line they are ell to get to burn... You could throw a gal of fuel on the engine lite it off and the rubber fuel line would not burn thru... If the rubber fuel line ever became a problem it will give you plenty of warring...
 

I have had my fair share of HD fires it was never the fuel lines fraught... One time while idling it caught fire I went as far as to rip the carb off the engine. I had enoufh since to cut the fuel off...

I had a bud that did burn one to the ground he had installed clear plastic fuel line fire was not kind to that type of fuel line...


My 69 FLH


IMG_0001_zpsjp4xt8vn.jpg
[/url]
 
(quoted from post at 19:27:58 08/02/17)
I have had my fair share of HD fires it was never the fuel lines fraught... One time while idling it caught fire I went as far as to rip the carb off the engine. I had enoufh since to cut the fuel off...

I had a bud that did burn one to the ground he had installed clear plastic fuel line fire was not kind to that type of fuel line...


My 69 FLH


IMG_0001_zpsjp4xt8vn.jpg
[/url]

I'm pretty sure my buddy had clear plastic fuel line on his bike also. Heck, we were just dumb kids back then. What did we know?
 
I've got a couple of those petcocks in my stash,I'm sure it'll work fine except for the sediment bowl aspect. I've never been keen on the rubber of a tractor fuel line. I recently had a fire on my tractor here's a pic of my pot metal/aluminum petcock remains,as it dumped about 8 gallons of gas on my starter,which is poopoo toast now.Caryc and Hobo,nice bikes,I'll try to find a picture of my 69 flh
1459.jpg
 
oops the other parts are my gate opener remains that I forgot to snatch off tractor,....I'm sure it'll buff right out!!!
 
(quoted from post at 16:04:30 08/03/17) Why not pull the hose barb off, flare the hard line, and be done?

I would keep the rubber hose myself , but I would take my steel line and do the first half of a double flare to form a bulb on the end of the steel line . The hose clamp will dig into the rubber and not allow the hose to slip off of the steel line .

If there was ever a problem with the rubber hose I would simply turn the valve and shut off the fuel flow . I see a lot less of a chance for any failure with the Harley valve and a rubber hose than I do the with the Ford set up .

Your mileage may vary :wink:
 

Ken, that's exactly what I did on tractor Number one.

Working on tractor Number two I forgot the half flare (taking pictures and all).

I plan to remove the line and put the half flare on the end and reinstall the rubber hose junction.

Thanks for pointing this out.
 

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