Petrol tap blocked?

[Dave]

My Commander does not appear to be getting any petrol from the tap, or at best an intermittant flow, i have tried sucking on the vacuum pipe, but this does not appear to improve anything. does anyone know if both the MAIN and RESERVE position work off the vacuum, or does the Reserve position work on gravity , ie like the old prime position some bikes had?, ( i have always run it on the reserve position, thinking it saved the hassle of removing the side panel, when wanting more miles out of the tank, but if this position is a direct feed, this would not appear to be a good idea) thanks Dave

[JohnOR]

I seem to remember both outlets were vacuum fed therefore looks like muck in tank blocking inlet gauze/filter. To increase range I went for the solenoid operated tap on the other side of the tank.(this also stops having a water trap on that side)Regards John

[Richard Negus]

Dave,The usual problem is the vacuum pipe end fittings crack, losing the vacuum = tap closed. This appears not to be the case with yours.Next is the vacuum diaphragm (in the tap) cracking and, again, leaking air = tap closed.Finally, the on/off plunger, operated by the diaphragm, sticks closed.A blocked filter won't stop the fuel flow completely.An overhaul kit is available for the tap, either from Andover Norton perhaps, or the importer based in Manchester; Google is your friend.R.

[Ian]

Message for JohnOR.I'm intrigued by your solenoid tap on the other side. Is this the kit offered by AN in the past? I was under the impression that theirs replaced the OE item but I could easily be wrong. Can you tell us more about it?Thanks in advance. Ian.

[JohnOR]

Hi IanThe Solenoid tap was one of Richard/Norton Motors mods from a few years back.It stops fuel/water being trapped in the bottom of the left side of the tank as well as giving a dashboard switched reserve.This was done by Richard the same time as some other mods (hydraulic clutch,improved lube to water pump,improved airflow to kenlow, repositioned kenlow switch).John

[bodgerbloke52]

All this talk of TWO taps on the Commander. Mine is a pain in the rectum because it has only the right side vacuum operated tap, reduces range to a few leagues, not much good out here on the frontier with gas stations half a State apart. What is this gizmo that Richard is blamed for???? I want oneRoger