TOPIC:

Hi,

I tell ya, I fix one problem and another one crops up. Recently had my carbs cleaned and such by a supposively competent mechanic. Today I noticed that when the bike sat not running, gas just ran out of that nipple on the bottom of one of the carbs. It quit running when I shut off the petcock. Then I took the bike for another spin, and the gas never ran out after that. Did a float stick or not quite shut to cause the gas to run out?

The attached picture shows the nipple on the bottom of the first carb.

Mark



Post edited by: Pexring, at: 2005/11/07 01:59

That nipple is an overflow and a bowl drain screw. Probably had a stuck float needle or your float levels are too high.

Pexring, ALWAYS shut the petcock off when the bike isn't operating! Second, the fella who did the rebuild probably did a good job. He can't be responsible for grit in your gas tank. Do you use an inline filter? One COMMON issue with older bikes is grit in the gas tank. The grit can be small and get through the screen in your petcock and down into your flow bowl where it is sucked into your float valve. The grit will sit between the float needle and seat and the float will stay open just a tad... the bowl will overfill and gas will come out the overflow tube which you should have a hose on. The hose routes the gas away from a hot engine (safety issue). The float seat arrangement is also kind of primitive and if you allow gas to continue to flow when the bike isn't operating, the #1 valve tends to be overwhelmed and leaking can occur. Just shut off your gas supply and use an inline filter. These are pretty standard tips on older bikes. If you get the opportunity, flush your tank and clean the petcock screen.

Mime ran out of the overflow till the guys on here told me to unplug the vents

rgpbeme wrote:

Mime ran out of the overflow till the guys on here told me to unplug the vents

What vents?

If you have stock carbs on your bike, the vents will be on #2 and #4 carburetors on sides... They join to #1 and #3 carbs respectively via small rubber hose pieces (about 3/4" long). The vents are brass spigots. You will also have another brass spigot for vacuum. The vacuum must be connected to the petcock or plugged and the vents should have hoses on them and the hoses run over the swingarm in the event the bike over turns and gas spills.