I converted the OEM vacuum unit to the Bergmen manual and it worked great for a few years until the spring went bad, lost tension and the valve leaked. That spring was the OEM unit and not part of Dan's manual kit. I rebuilt that valve using a K&L kit, which had out-of-spec parts that made it leak even worse, so bad I could not leave the fuel hose from the tank attached. it grounded the bike until I got it fixed. I rebuilt it with OEM genuine Kawasaki parts and it failed again after a couple of months. I put in a Pingel and stopped worrying. It has not leaked yet, and IF I forget to turn it off/on, then I have no one to blame but me. I have a rule, though, which is this: If I ever get on the bike and the valve is already in the ON position, I will NOT attempt a start until I have verified no fuel in the cylinders. (
So far this hasn't happened.
) I also have overflow tubes, and I also pull my carbs every year in the fall to clean them and check the float valves. Not everyone wants to get that familiar with their machines, and I respect that. The Pingel eliminates a lot of that risk, but nothing is entirely without risk, it is just a matter of which risks we each decide we want to manage/mitigate. It's like the arguments on the gun forums for/against magazine safeties. Some like them, some hate them. Nothing will ever be perfect in ALL circumstances.
