So, I'm new here, and not just to the forum. I'm new to riding and motorcycles in general. A little background on me - I've hardly ever turned a wrench in my life. A little background on the bike - 2001 with a few minor issues. One of the issues I've been having was stumbling at WOT or high RPM's and running out of gas and then not being able to fill the tank much. The advice I got here was to run some Seafoam through a few tanks and look at replacing the petcock with a Raptor.

Easy you said . . .

After reading my Clymers like I was studying for a final, reading multiple forum posts, and even watching some Youtube videos about replacing it I decided it was easy enough even for a novice like me!

Bad idea.

Fast forward to tonight's journey... While I have the tank draining into my 2.5 gal gas can I was replacing my air filter. Why 2.5 gallons? Last time I filled it up was with less than 2 gallons and I've driven it since. There's not way it had anywhere near 2 gallons in it.

Next thing I know, gas is running all over my garage floor. Where the hell was all that gas hiding?! After that little hiccup I got the old petcock out and the new Raptor in, put some gas in the tank, small little leak.

"I probably just didn't tighten the bolts down enough," I thought.

Nope. Still leaking. Back to square one.

Drain the tank again, start undoing the bolts, now I have a cascade of gas running down the bike, on me, and on the garage floor again.

Thankfully, I had a 'Just-In-Case' bucket nearby that I was able to catch most of this torrent in.

Get the Raptor out, everything looks fine, gaskets fine, no idea what happened. So I bolted it back in and put some more gas in the tank.

No leaks - Success!

At this point the bike might be back together but my garage and the bike are a mess. I wheel the bike down the driveway to the flat portion near the bottom. I get the hose out and wash down the garage followed by me washing the bike down. After I dry it off I checked for leaks at the petcock - nothing, yay! Grab the keys and start her up right away. Side note - I wasn't on the bike, it was still on the kickstand.

So I'm feeling good at this point. I turn the bike off and congratulate myself on a job finally well done. As I turn and start to walk away the bike begins to fall.

nuts! (Actually it was more like F*#@ no!!!)

What's my reaction? Put as much of my body under it as I can to save the bike of course! My leg did catch most of it and I didn't see any damage on the bike. Thank goodness for good boots! Little surface damage on the leg but could have been worse.

After she was back up she started up and seemed fine on my lap around the block.

Lessons learned tonight :
1. Always overestimate the amount of space you need in a gas can
2. Always triple check any work on the fuel system before filling the tank with gas.
3. Gas smells.
4. That smell really sticks with you.
5. Always check the kickstand before you walk away from the bike.
6. I need to find a good bike mechanic in the area just in case I really screw up the next job.

I don't mean for this to seem negative - self depreciating, yes; sarcastic, yes; funny for all you guys, very.

This really was a good learning experience for me. Everything seems fine now so I can't really complain. The journey wasn't fun but I got to my destination. I wouldn't have even felt comfortable enough to attempt this if it weren't for all the guidance and support on this forum.

On that note, any advice for me before I pick up a wrench again? For the sake of the bike, I won't be rushing into anything.

7. In the end, your first attempt at working on your bike was a success; that's the most important lesson to take from this.

As for #5, our bikes are infamous for rolling off their kickstands. Leave it in gear.

And, hey, welcome to the forum! You'll learn a ton here as I have from a great bunch of experienced people who are always willing to help.

About half way in,... I was waiting for the flames and explosions... ...

You did good...  no flames, no explosions... ...

Yep; stuff happens

kyle,
There are three things that will never turn out well
1. giving a monkey a loaded gun
2. answering "yes dear" when you were not really listening to the question
3. and giving me a tool
All three have very predictable results. But for some reason I keep on saying "yes dear" and keep on working on the bike.

Don't stop working on it. It is half the fun and one of the main reasons I bought my bike. Now run, here comes the monkey.

I've had my bike for 14 years. Can't tell you how many times it has ended up on it's side... hot pavement (kickstand sinks, bike falls over), not fully in gear (rolls off kickstand, bike falls over), working on it and hit my head on the handlebar (I get up, bike gets kicked, bike falls over)...

I've been spinning wrenches for better than 3 decades (started working on 30s, 40s, 60 and 70s vehicles when I was 4, tall enough to stand on the bumper and reach the engine). I still make mistakes. Have had street motorcycles for 1/4 century next month. Still make riding errors.

All part of the fun.

I have to agree.  In the end, it was a success with a bit of learning involved.  All good stuff.  I also agree that the more you do it the better you get, though there are always new "learning experiences".  Good job!

Kyle in a few years when you can change the oil, adjust the belt tension and change the brakes with your eyes closed, you'll think back at this experience get a good chuckle and be glad that you didn't give up wrenching on your own bike