petcock question

[Realirony]

I searched this forum up and down and couldnt find an answer that was what I was looking for. I looked for a long time yesterday for the petcock on my 2008 ninja and for the life of me could not find it.

Does the 2008 ninja 250r have a petcock? Or did they leave that out since it has a gas gauge and you dont really need to "guess" your fuel to set the petcock to.

I hope I dont sound too newb about this

[Alex]

There is a petcock hiding under there, but there's no need to ever use it in normal conditions. Its two options are ON and PRIME, and it's pretty much always left in ON unless you're changing it to PRIME for troubleshooting something else.

The older ninjas had a manual petcock with ON, PRIME, RESERVE and OFF, which I kinda liked; you always knew how much range you had left when you had to manually switch over to reserve. (actually, not sure if it had a prime setting, maybe someone with a 1st-gen can comment)

[zartan]

I miss the reserve / off just psychologically....
I have always been in a habit of shutting off the gas when done from my dirt biking days. We also had a gas line fail on an old CL I had and it filled the garage and house up with fumes. It was night and I am sure it killed a few brain cells...

[Realirony]

ok, so there is one. hmmm, ill have to go searching again. I was reading some maintenence articles and it recommended to put the petcock on reserve while riding every once in awhile to drain the bottom of the tank so that sediments and water doesnt build up and ruin the fuel channels/tank.
So is it safe to assume that my fuel line always siphons from the bottom of the tank, or is there something special I have to do to ensure a smooth tank?

also, what is the prime setting used for, as an example. I'm new to all the trouble-shooting and bike lingo XD

[OldGuy]

Matt on an '08 all you have is ON and Prime. The only difference is in the ON position there has to be vacuum from the engine for the fuel valve at the bottom of the tank to pass fuel. In the Prime position gas will flow regardless of engine vacuum.

On the pre-gen's (prior to '08) there were three positions; OFF, ON, and RES. ON requires a vacuum from the engine for fuel to flow. RES does not require the vacuum. That's why there may have been discussion of occasionally using the Reserve position to flush that line. However, I'm sure the RES just takes a "lower" suction on the tank from the ON position, not a separate "tank". The RES was there since in pre-gens you didn't have a gas guage and you could at least have some "get home juice" if you ran too hard and too long. I guess with '08 and up they figure you are going to rely on the Gas Gage.

Originally Posted by Realirony

ok, so there is one. hmmm, ill have to go searching again. I was reading some maintenence articles and it recommended to put the petcock on reserve while riding every once in awhile to drain the bottom of the tank so that sediments and water doesnt build up and ruin the fuel channels/tank.
So is it safe to assume that my fuel line always siphons from the bottom of the tank, or is there something special I have to do to ensure a smooth tank?

also, what is the prime setting used for, as an example. I'm new to all the trouble-shooting and bike lingo XD

[Realirony]

alright, that makes more sense as I read over it a few times. I just was unsure how the
'08 siphoned gas from the tank, I dont want sediment to build up in my tank and cause damage D= I'll have to do some more reading. thanks though for everyone clearing it up for me

[kkim]

install a clear inline fuel filter so you can see what is coming out of your tank.

there is also a small filter already installed in your fuel line right where the line enters the carbs.

your owner's manual has information on the use and location of the petcock.