I just became a member here, but did not think I would need advice this quickly. I was driving the bike home from work this morning and started to feel my right leg getting wet and was also smelling fuel. It's a new bike to me, it has around 5,000 miles on it and I put on the last 500. It does have a mod on it, it has a hypercharger on it. When I stopped on the side of the highway, gas was just pissing out of it. The bike was running fine before that, no problems at all. Do I have a stuck float or a piece of dirt stuck in the carburetor somewhere? Or should I be looking for something else. Off idle it seems O.K. at low speeds it seems to just load up and run rich. I was able to get home safely, but it's not fun being stuck on the side of the highway. Any ideas greatly appreciated. I'll give an update when I get a chance to fix it, working one more night.One word of advice for AAA members, make sure your policy covers motorcycles, mine did not, and I did not know it. If I wasn't able to get the bike home, the tow bill would have been on me.

Easternpoints wrote:
I just became a member here, but did not think I would need advice this quickly. I was driving the bike home from work this morning and started to feel my right leg getting wet and was also smelling fuel. It's a new bike to me, it has around 5,000 miles on it and I put on the last 500. It does have a mod on it, it has a hypercharger on it. When I stopped on the side of the highway, gas was just pissing out of it. The bike was running fine before that, no problems at all. Do I have a stuck float or a piece of dirt stuck in the carburetor somewhere? Or should I be looking for something else. Off idle it seems O.K. at low speeds it seems to just load up and run rich. I was able to get home safely, but it's not fun being stuck on the side of the highway. Any ideas greatly appreciated. I'll give an update when I get a chance to fix it, working one more night.One word of advice for AAA members, make sure your policy covers motorcycles, mine did not, and I did not know it. If I wasn't able to get the bike home, the tow bill would have been on me.

The float is stuck. You can tap the bowl with the handle of a screw driver a couple of times and see if it unsticks. One of the members simply removed the carb and shook it replaced it, and it was fine after that. The float sticking, maybe a precursor to a problem with the primary/pilot circuit in the carb, if your not careful.

If you don't already, you need to be running Seafoam, Startron, Tank Medic, or something else that stabilizes and cleans the fuel system. That should stop this problem. Use it on a regular basis, per the instructions. The ethanol and new fuel formulations that are being pushed through the regulatory branches of government, seem to be a great recipe for gum, varnish, and other crud.

You need to park it outside, away from any sources of ignition, and turn the key to the run position. If you still have the fuel pump, it will run and you will be able to find where the leak is coming from. It might be a stuck float, but it might be a split fuel line or filter too.

Do this and get back to us about where you are seeing the leak. I repeat, don't do this inside your garage or anywhere that there is a source of ignition for the leaking gas.

fireman922 wrote:
You need to park it outside, away from any sources of ignition, and turn the key to the run position. If you still have the fuel pump, it will run and you will be able to find where the leak is coming from. It might be a stuck float, but it might be a split fuel line or filter too.

Do this and get back to us about where you are seeing the leak. I repeat, don't do this inside your garage or anywhere that there is a source of ignition for the leaking gas.


Here's a vid to go with Fireman's advice. It'll show you what a stuck float looks like when the Hypercharger is removed.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGxZq1SCZDI

By the way, you won't need to start the motor. As Fireman said, just the key on, will run the pump, and make her squirt.

SKWEARpeg wrote:
Here's a vid to go with Fireman's advice. It'll show you what a stuck float looks like when the Hypercharger is removed.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGxZq1SCZDI

By the way, you won't need to start the motor. As Fireman said, just the key on, will run the pump, and make her squirt.

SKWEARpeg, you beat me to it!

Deedot wrote:
SKWEARpeg wrote:
Here's a vid to go with Fireman's advice. It'll show you what a stuck float looks like when the Hypercharger is removed.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGxZq1SCZDI

By the way, you won't need to start the motor. As Fireman said, just the key on, will run the pump, and make her squirt.

SKWEARpeg, you beat me to it!


I love that vid Deedot. They should give out a ding dang award for that. Maybe a short speech about "risked life and limb to further the mechanical refinement, and general understanding of sticky needle and seats".

SKWEARpeg wrote:
Deedot wrote:
SKWEARpeg wrote:
Here's a vid to go with Fireman's advice. It'll show you what a stuck float looks like when the Hypercharger is removed.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGxZq1SCZDI

By the way, you won't need to start the motor. As Fireman said, just the key on, will run the pump, and make her squirt.

SKWEARpeg, you beat me to it!


I love that vid Deedot. They should give out a ding dang award for that. Maybe a short speech about "risked life and limb to further the mechanical refinement, and general understanding of sticky needle and seats".

Sounds like someone has written a few enlisted performance reviews (EPRs) in their day.......prior military?

No, but I've been close enough to people who put a great value on the way things are said, versus what's said.

Mine was doing the same thing. in mine what i found was the seat for the main valve (The one attached to the float)has an o-ring around it. in my case the float level was set right and the valve was seating but with the oring deteriated the fule was leaking around the seat and filling up the bowl till it overflowed. i would pull the carb pull the bowl and check and inspect/clean the inside. If it is gunked then you will know the idea that your going to tap on the bowl with a screw driver and run cleaner through it seams wrong to me. If you find it gunked up you can do that and be confident that it will be ok if it's not stuck you are putting your self in a position where you will be riding with fuel pouring on to you leg. a new valve with seat and o-ring can be picked up for $20 on line or a yami dealer can get you one (this is the route i went still cost $20) the carb work is not that hard don't be intimidated by it. think of this as a chance to get better acquinted with your new ride.

Thanks for the replies so far. Today I removed the carburetor and checked on the needle and seat. There was no dirt in that area, there was some junk in the bottom of the bowl and I cleaned it out. The needle was not as "crisp" as I would have liked it be, it had a small ridge that was not smooth. After it was put back together, it did the same thing. It's all kind of weird because before I took it apart, I started it and it was running fine. I have ordered a new needle and seat, float and fuel filter for it. Is there an easy way to set the float level other than what is shown in the manual? It seems complicated to have to check gas level with bike level etc.. I was hoping I could set it while the carb is apart on the bench and be done that way. Please keep any suggestions coming.