Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories Pingel Pro Flow Fuel Petcock

does anyone have experience with these? do they make a difference? do you need to retune once installed? any pics? how is the weather (since i was askin)?

I've had one for about 7 years now and no, they make no difference in flow.
I bought mine because my original petcock was sticking and hard to operate.

Sunny but cold!
The Pingel doesn't seem to make a difference performance wise. What it does do is add a bit of bling and a more reliable (if it doesn't leak) and smoother functioning petcock.

Well, they're certainly not "custom."

I have one but I haven't installed it yet. Hopefully tomorrow unless I have to work.

Custom is defined under the forum name, thusly, "What are you working on? Bobbing a fender? Machining a new set of triple trees? Squirting custom paint? Hacking up a GFG? Carving some leather? Show us what you're doing." Rather than a strict definition, I tried to give examples. They all involve cutting, fabricating or refinishing (paint/powder-coating).

A lot of accessories require extra steps to install on these bikes, but they're still accessories. Now, let's say you were modifying the petcock, maybe painting it or changing it's outer appearance, I could consider that custom work. But the Pingle is an accessory, and while it does require special steps to install beyond the offical instructions, cutting, fabricating, welding, etc., are not part of it.

Another example is an aftermarket speedometer, say, from Drag Specialties. In and of itself it is an accessory, but if you cut up your gas tank to create a special recessed mounting location for it, viola, it becomes custom (or more accurately, part of a custom installation).

I'm not coming down on you, just trying to clarify.

Pingels are not any more reliable than the stock petcock. Unless you have a problem with the stock petcock, don't ask for problems.

Sure, but you might want to post it in your Member Ride Forum post instead. But I won't move it from here.

Tonight I glued the mounting block onto the Speedy tank with Seal-All and a gasket made from inner tube. I'll screw the petcock (with teflon tape) in just before I install the tank.

Just wanted to report, no leaks with the gasket made from innertube material and Seal-All.

Just keep an eye on it, the alcohol in the gas MIGHT eat away at the Seal-All!

I got the Pingel petcock and so far have had no problems with it. I love the way it looks and the way it functions.

Installed since July 2005. No leaks ever. Smoother to operate than the stock valve which did tend to get sticky.
The reserve side is a little lower than stock so not quite as much fuel in reserve but not a big difference.

My son and I just put his bike back together. Made a gasket out of gasket material and used Seal All per the recommendations here. No leaking so far. I am still not a fan even though it looks better and is smoother. Bah Humbug.

What I'm wondering is do I "need" this mod? I have a heavily "modified" (from stock) engine (904, freak, bored carbs, etc.) Does it in fact flow better and will it make a difference? I'm not sure I want to hassle with it if I don't need it. But....if it will make my engine run better then I'll probably eventually put one on.

It's purdy, that's about it!

That is actually the coolest lookin petcock lever I have seen Robert. The choke knob is unique too.

Thanks guys. I'll just keep what I have then. Works good, lasts a long time. I can live without the bling.

FJ, what is the verdict on this?

The Pingle is pretty but has no performance value. I hear it operates smoother but I have heard of some having problems with getting it to seal against the tank, leaking the first couple tries. My stock valve sticks sometimes but doesn't leak so I'll leave it alone until it needs to be changed.

Reboot came with a pingle petcock but I don't know why. The mods are minimal (drilled, not removed, airbox, etc.). However, it's very pretty, the lever action is silky smooth and it hasn't leaked a drop. I have had issues with my stock petcock lever sticking on Bollox, but that's usually after it's been sitting for a while and it loosens up with use. I bought a pingle for my spare neon blue Speedmaster tank and after making a gasket out of innertube and using Seal-All, it still leaks. I think it's the teflon tape--I didn't use enough, but I haven't gotten around to trying to fix it.

The verdict? Not really worth it if you're on a budget and your stock petcock still works. If you've bored and stroked your motor and you're running flatside carbs and drag racing, maybe, just MAYBE you might need it. If you need a petcock and you're on a budget, get a used stock one either on ebay or from someone on this site.

EDIT: Bikebandit.com lists the stock petcock assembly new at $97. If I had to have a new petcock I'd probably go with pingle for the extra few bucks, but realize it might take some fiddling around to keep it from leaking.

EDIT2: Just realize that you basically have to permanently glue the Pingle mounting block to your tank to get it to seal, so there is basically no turning back once you go Pingle. Basically.

I don't know if the Pingle is the same valve as I had on my Dyna...but the one I had was PIA to get to the reserve..there was no indent and the reserve was half way between off and normal...so you had to move the lever around (while running down the road out of gas)until the engine re-started...

You guys are whack! I put one of those Pingles on and it increased my rear wheel horsepower by 20 HP.

Aha! Now I see where all these Pingel inquiries are coming from.

According to Mike at BellaCorse (hey, that's me):

-The Pingel petcock I sell does not require any drilling, filing or and other modifications. It's a simple bolt-on install.

-Pingel claims 30% more gpm flow rate than the stock Mikuni petcock. Now, as to how that relates to power, I'd say that there is no real tangable performance gains with a stock engine, carbs etc. If you've spent the megabucks on FCR's, big bore kits, camshafts and pod filters, then's what's another C-note?

-Increasing the size of the Pingel to 3/8"NTP gains you absolutely nothing, performance wise. If you want skulls & flames milled into the sides, then you're covered.<sic> This larger size DOES require opening up the fuel tank opening by drilling or filing. Clean that tank thoroughly!!!

-The ergonomics of Pingel's smooth acting horizontally swinging lever is far more intuitive than the rotary dial on the stock petcock (IHMO). All the way forward is Off. All the way back is On. 1/2 between the two is reserve. How many of you ran low on fuel only to reach for your petcock and NOT remember if reserve is 9:00 position, or 12:00?

-The stock Mikuni petcocks are prone to failure. I base this comment on the feedback I get from my customers who are replacing them for no other reason than failure.

-The stock Mikuni petcock is not rebuildable.

-The paper gasket provided with the Pingel has been a source of problems with some customers. The sealant that Pingel provides seems to dissolve the paper UNLESS you allow it to tack-up first. Installing a fully wet paper gasket on both sides will cause to to tear once the base plate is tightened.

The proper technique -(IMHO)- is to apply a very thin coat of sealant to the gas tank surface and allow it to almost completely dry (still sticky to the touch, but not runny). Apply a thin coat of sealant to ONE SIDE of the paper gasket and allow it to almost dry, but still tacky.

At this point, you can install the base plate with the sticky side of the paper gasket facing the fuel tank. There is no sealant used between the base plate and the gasket. This is important should you ever need to remove the petcock. Tighten the two Allenhead screws lightly and allow the sealant to fully dry in a couple of hours. Then you can tighten the screws to the required torque and thread-on the petcock using a wrap or two of teflon tape.

-Do not overtighten the petcock as you can crack the threads if you go too far. A couple of exposed threads is perfectly fine. Use common sense (HA... that's laughable).

So there you have it. I'm the first one to tell you that if your stock petcock is working OK and you're fine with it's operation, then there is no reason to replace it. If you are having some petcock issues and/or you want to add some practical bling, them the Pingel is by far-and-away, a great item to have.

Mike

[/biased opinion]

There are reasons to go Pingle, however a power increase isn't one of them.

Well, I'll be...

Hi Mike, glad you chimed it.

Thanks Mike for the concise write-up!

Vera Lynn has your Pingel and no I didn't have to enlarge the tank hole. Cinnamon Girl's pingel (purchased elsewhere) installation required enlarging the tank hole. Those are the differences, er, well there is one more. Yours is aluminum the other is chrome...But yours was purchased WAY back, so I don't know if purchasing one now would see a chrome one shipped!

I concur that "The ergonomics of Pingel's smooth acting horizontally swinging lever is far more intuitive than the rotary dial on the stock petcock". Switching to reserve while in motion is a breeze. Halfway tween forward is aft is a no brainer especially if the pingel is orientated in such a way that a halfway swing places the lever 90º to the bike. 99 times out of 100 I'll swing the lever halfway before filling up. Funny how Vera Lynn gives some warning before she runs out of gas as she'll run skinny right before running dry and CG will just run dry with no warning.

Your tip about the letting the sealant fully dry reminds me of when I patch a bicycle tube in a rush. Yep, the freaking patch will leak.

Tech Vault entry.