I have a stock 95 1200 Sportster. A year ago I replaced the factory petcock with an aftermarket version without the vacuum shutoff stuff. There have been no problems until a few weeks ago, whenever I killed the engine, gas would dribble out the carb overflow tube until I turned off the petcock. I think something has changed in the carb. Any ideas?

 

Yup, your got crap in the bowl and its holding the float down.

 

+1 on the bowl.. Is a Good Practice to shut the petcock off anyway .. If you forget to turn it on, won't get far down the road before you are aware that your shut off is working fine..

 

Yep, the float isn't sealing. There's a couple possible problems, theres dirt on the needle/seat, the float needle is worn and need replacing, or the float is out of adjustment. All simple fixes.

 

I hope you didn't change it out for a cheap $20.00 petcock, I've seen these cause problems. The rubber seal in the petcock rubs off every time you turn the gas on and off. This rubber sticks in the float needle requiring constant cleaning. Pingles are expensive, but worth the money.

 

I am betting Chester is right. Haven't gotten into it yet but I have just now replaced the cheapo $15 petcock I got from JP a year ago because I pulled off the gasline and found the valve dripping while in the OFF position. When I pull the carb I am going to look at the float valve first thing.
Thanks all.

 

As Stated.. Pingle is worth the money .. What I have and never had a problem .. Much easier to pull if want to clean the screen as well ...

 

If yours lasted a year, it's better than some I've seen. A small bit of advice, use a well fitting screw driver on the float bowl screws, they are really soft. I use an impact driver, since doing it this way, I haven't ruined a screw since. Good luck with your project.