Gas puddle under bike...

[zanthor]

So I look out this morning and there's a gas puddle under my bike. My first thought was I failed to turn off the petcock again, but upon inspection this was not the case. As I was looking over the bike I saw a stream of fuel start coming out of one of the hoses that drain from the carbs (overflow I think) and shortly stop.

Advice would be appreciated!

 

[motogtp]

Either the float is compromised (stuck or sinking) or the needle valve is not shutting off. I have four new floats that I don't need but they are for the keyhole style carb so they may not fit. The shape is like a small boat with a V-shape at the front. Either way you are going to have to pull the float bowls off to see. If you haven't had the carbs off yet, now may be the time to pull them and go through a rebuild.

 

[dirtdigger]

This is the world of carburetors. Sometimes you get just a small piece of dirt or such that gets caught in the needle and seat. Todays fuels have a tendency to build up a film on the needle and seat surfaces that cause them to not seat. If it starts leaking again try tapping on the float bowl with the plastic end of a screwdriver and see if it stops or slows, the needle may be sticking. It may be beneficial to drop the bowls and inspect the needles and floats. These should be rubber tip needles but they do still leak from time to time. You may also want to use a q-tip and carb cleaner and swab the seat in the carb to get rid of any gas debri buildup. Sometimes you will get a leak sometimes you wont...thats the price you pay for riding an old carb bike.

 

[zanthor]

Pulled the carbs and the bowls and hosed everything down with carb cleaner. Didn't remove the floats but they all look fine (not rotted, not dry or cracked, etc) and move freely. There was a substantial amount of gunk in the bowls, both loose and stuck on. Picked up new hose to replace the drain lines, they were very brittle and I can't get them back on...

 

[zanthor]

Number 3 still leaks, I replaced the fuel cock and this problem has gone away as long as I remember to turn off the fuel.