Mikuni 29mm Smoothbore Leaking

Looking for some advice on a fix. Whenever my LTD 1000 is parked / not running, gasoline leaks out of the front of the far left side carb, if I leave the petcock open (will leave a small puddle on the floor). If I close the petcock, no puddle on the floor, but I still get a gasoline smell in the garage. Any suggestions ?? Could it be a needle/float valve ?? Some of you may have followed a thread I started back around Labor Day when I woke up this bike from a 20 year sleep in a storage unit. Current photo below. Thanks in advance for any help the collective has to offer.
Todd

First, you do need to turn the petcock to off each and every time you park. Second, it would appear that the float valve for the carb is not stopping fuel flow, it may well be dirty.

IIRC 29s do not have an overflow tube in the bowl, so when too much fuel enters the bowl it will not empty it via an over flow like other VM carbs do. The fuel will either leak out at the bowl / carb body joint if the gasket can not stop it, or go up into the carb throat and into the air filter and the cylinder. It could do both.

I would pull the bowl and check the float valve, it may just need a cleaning. Would also check for fuel in the oil. Remove the oil fill cap and smell for fuel in the crankcase. If you smell it, then you need to drain the oil and fill with fresh, once you solve the leak issue.

Thanks for the info. A friend of mine commented about re-lapping the needle valve to the seat. Both of mine, needle & seat, are metal, I don't have a rubber tipped needle. He said he has used the method on other small engine needle valve/seats and has had very good results. He recommends removing the needle & seat, finding a piece of rubber hose/tubing that fits snug over the float end of the needle, then he uses a fine abrasive, such as baking soda and optimal moisture. By way of the tubing, he applies pressure and roatation to the needle while inserted into the seat. Ever heard of or done a procedure similar to this ??

Before lapping I would first try cleaning the seat and needle carefully with carb cleaner and Q-tip. If they are not actually worn, this may stop the leakage. Mine are also metal to metal and cleaning stopped the leakage. Ed

Sudco might have new ones but Ive lapped them before with toothpaste and fixed a leaking one. Fresher breath too when done