so i just bought a 96 b6 and the thing rungs great other than the fact that it dies on me after ive been riding it for a while. like highway speeds it just loses power and finally sputters out. city driving is fine, im pretty sure. just on the highway. and i have noticed that my petcock does leak some, how much i just dont know but enough to make a little puddle on my (starter, alternator???) and droplets off my carbs.

any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I do not have a Bandit, but it is rather a risky situation, as the heat when running could start a fire (I saw it happening in my father's car many years ago). You should be able to determine if it is the hose, or the petcock itself. They sell 'rebuild' kits for the petcock. The kit is mostly the ruber parts, diaphragm and o-ring.

The petcock on my 2nd-gen 1200 was vacuum-operated. If your seals are failing you may not be getting enough fuel flow during sustained high-speed operation. Since it's leaking, I'd start with a new petcock or a rebuild kit. Try Bike Bandit or Ron Ayers.

+1 on Ron.