2 replies to this topic

[overthrottle]

After not switching to reserve fast enough, my bike lost its prime in the fuel system the other day.  After switching to the reserve, the bike's battery died while cranking the engine over before the stock vacuum pump had re-primed the carburetor. I was left stranded until I could get the fuel system reprimed, and the battery charged. So after discovering this was a common issue, and that the usual fix was a hard to find and expensive fuel pump from another bike, I did some looking around on Amazon.
 
I ended up finding this inexpensive pump, which has been reported to work very well on everything from lawn mowers all the way up to V8 engines:  
Micro Electric Fuel Pump

I also added this inline clear fuel filter, since I suspect rust debris in my fuel tank was part of the reason my carb floats kept getting stuck open: 
Wix 33002 Complete In-Line Fuel Filter, Pack of 1

I tested the pump with a digital ammeter and it pulled less than 2 amps of current even when flow is completely blocked. I wired it into the bikes ignition kill switch circuit. The advantage to this over using the ignition coil or the starting relay I have seen others use is that that this way fuel pump will only run when both the key AND the handle bar engine kill switch is in the run position. I prefer this so that in the event of an emergency, hitting the handlebar kill switch will stop both the engine and the fuel pump, even if the key ignition is not immediately shut off.

To use the same circuit I did, you will want to connect the pump negative to a chassis ground, then wire the positive side of the pump into the Red / Black wire that is in the main wire bundle near the battery. The circuit is powered via the 10A ignition fuse, which is plenty adequate but I would recommend running the pump though an additional 5A inline fuse as well. This way if something ever happens in the fuel pump circuit, it will blow the 5A fuse first, and allow the bike to keep running at least until fuel starvation, which should give you a little more warning than just shutting off immediately.

The pump came with a small inline metal fuel screen to protect the pump, and I added the Wix clear filter to catch any fine debris after the pump before it enters the carbs. The pump has a different layout then the other bike pumps people have been using which requires a slightly different hose layout, but I actually find this layout nice because it allows me to see the clear fuel filter under the seat, so it makes for easy troubleshooting of any fuel issues in the future.

I have taken the bike for several runs since the install and have noticed a very nice improvement over the factory vacuum pump. : D

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[g650xtdm]

Sounds like a pretty good option.  I was also worried about the vacuum pump failing, but I went with the OEM model after learning of its availability through several snowmobile vendors from a post on this site.  I think the stock pump is fine - until it gets old.  So I preemptively replaced mine.  But I think it was about $60, which is a fair bit more than your electric replacement.  Nice writeup.

[overthrottle]

Thanks!

Yeah actually my stock pump was still working too, however my battery didn't have enough juice crank the engine over long enough to generate the vacuum to re-prime the carb. I decided I preferred the electric because it can prime very easily, without needing to crank the engine over.

Edited by overthrottle, 04 October 2014 - 04:37 pm.