TOPIC:

I mean really. I know that I have been putting hundreds, literally, of useless miles on my bike taking the very very long way home after work and such. But today my bike burned thru a full tank....

I have not had it long enough to know how far it goes per gallon, so I cannot draw any conclusions merely from this.

Now how about the wet carb bottoms and the strong smell of gas. The dirt that collects on top of the gearbox as if trapped by oily liquid. The puffs of gray smoke on hard acceleration. The ashy black fouled plugs. The tendency to bog. Float not doing their jobs?

I am thinking that I at least need to service the floats.

I am handy enough with a wrench. Is there anyone out there who would try to talk me out of doing it myself? Is it possible to just do the floats without messing with any of the other adjustments? Would it be better to just rebuild the whole carb (x4)

What would you suggest I do?

Riding around with gas leaking like that? I would strongly suggest a fire suit and a fire extinquisher? Seriously, you could drop the bowls and replace the needle and seats, and NOT ride until leak fixed!!

Suggest first determining float level. Easy and fun diy test without any disassembly needed except removing float drain screw from carb being tested. Use the clear plastic tube method.

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Forgot to ask -- are drain hoses attached to the float bowl drain spouts so the overflow drips underneath the bike instead of onto the cases under the carbs?

Overflow leakage could also be due to faulty float bowl gaskets or just loose float bowl screws. Of course this would not address the reason for overflowing in the first place, but could indicate other items to consider besides the float levels.

If it leaks and uses that much fuel you should check your oil too, it may be contaminated with fuel that leaked into the cylinders and past the rings.

My 78 KZ650 gets 40MPG @ 90MPH, just for a reference.

Hey Q, you should get some kind of signature under you posting. Work on it through your profile. It will help us to know what bike you own and where you are located so that someone in your area can help you. Also in your post you didnt mention what bike you have are what carbs you have. I do however have some advice. Make sure you order some float bowl gaskets before you open the carbs up and yes you have to open them, only one way to stop that leak. I think anyone who uses a tank of gas on just the outside of the bike is a ghostrider waiting to happen!

And also nothing might be wrong with your floats, possibly just the valves connected to them

Sorry all.
Got the profile adjusted.

I got four rebuild kits.
I'm gonna pull 'em off and pull one apart.
Got some carb cleaner, old tooth brushes, a ventilated workspace, good light, baby food jars and pie tins for screws and parst soaking, six-pack and smoke, tunes, two days off (bartender's weekend), and a whole bunch of gumption. All I need now is a supermodel to feed my grapes and I got myself a fun few hours.

I am worried about the jets. I imagine that it was re-jetted after the pipes and air cleaners were added. I guess I'll just leave 'em as is. I plan to have the carbs balanced by someone who knows what they are doing.

Wish me success!

Do you even have a manual?. I wish I was there to help you man! I did my carbs in like an hour, synched and everything, and it started lastnight with me forgetting to pull the choke

Darnit if I dont thinkthat I am in a little over my head. It was so much easier when there was only one of them. The car carb wasnt this tough either.

I replaced the parts on one of them. only one. I think that I will reassemble it and save the other three till I got a little more intel.