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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Gas leak unde the bike
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Message started by vinpub on 09/19/07 at 04:46:16

Title: Gas leak unde the bike
Post by vinpub on 09/19/07 at 04:46:16

I just filled up my tank and when I got back and parked the bike I noticed there was a puddle of gas under the bike. Looked like it was leaking from one of the hoses underneath (there are two open hoses). Before I filled up I looked into the tank and it looked quite low/empty. I filled in about 1.8 Gal.
What is causing the overflow? Did I fill it up too much? But then I assume it would have caused the overflow from the tank cap?
This is my first bike. Its 2007 LS650. So I am worried. I park in the garage and dont want to be a hazard.

Title: Re: Gas leak unde the bike
Post by Savage_Rob on 09/19/07 at 04:51:27

First, make sure you didn't have the petc0ck set on PRI. That is the Prime setting allows a simple gravity feed of fuel. This is for use when the bike hasn't run in a while (or something similar) and has no fuel in the carb. RES is Reserve and is a reserve of fuel in the bottom of the tank not accessed by the other two settings. ON/RUN (depending on your petc0ck) is vacuum actuated and is what you should be using.

Title: Re: Gas leak unde the bike
Post by vinpub on 09/19/07 at 05:08:44

I just checked the setting.
It was on Run and not on RES or PRI.

Title: Re: Gas leak unde the bike
Post by Savage_Greg on 09/19/07 at 05:21:07

What in the world could go wrong to cause a new Savage40 to leak fuel on the floor? Hmmm.

First of all, do you still see it dripping? How much did it leak? 2 open hoses? How do you know it came from either one? One should be plugged anyway, and the other is for the battery. Get down on the floor and start touching areas under the bike (over the leak spot) and find wetness. Start at the bottom and work up.

May sound simplistic, but in keeping with "KISS", you find the source of the leak first. Then you find the fix.

Title: Re: Gas leak unde the bike
Post by vinpub on 09/19/07 at 05:31:17

The leak has stopped now. It leaked may be about a cupful (sorry for the scientifc measure!). I wiped it off the floor and then saw that it was still dripping. So I laid a papernapkin underneath and turned the fan on to clear up the garage. When I checked after a few hours the leak had stopped. And this morning when I checed it wa still dry.
So I wil start it up again and see if it does the same thing and trace it back.
There are two hoses I could see - one is just a plastic black tube (open) and another one is a reinforced hose (like a plumbing hose).

Title: Re: Gas leak unde the bike
Post by Savage_Rob on 09/19/07 at 05:50:04

I can think of four tubes connected to the carb. There are two coming from the petc0ck. One is the fuel line, which connects to the left/port side of the carb and the other is the vacuum line (usually with a spring-like external sheath) which connects to the right/starboard side of the carb, There are also two plastic vent tubes that are typically tucked into the frame above/forward of the carb. There are two other tubes near the underside of the bike. One is the airbox drain (normally plugged) and the other is the battery vent. Which are we talking about here?

Title: Re: Gas leak unde the bike
Post by Savage_Greg on 09/19/07 at 06:20:12

A cupful of gas? That statement is always interesting. How can we judge the volume by the size of the wet spot, anyway? We all do it, but I bet it was less than a cupful, especially since the leak stopped.

Since you have it all cleaned up and dry, why not start the bike, take it around the block and see if it does it again?

No sense changing the oil when you need air in the tire :P

Title: Re: Gas leak unde the bike
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 09/19/07 at 07:54:45

While 1.8 gallons isnt a lot to add, it can be too much. Did the fillup bring the level up beyond the bottom of the the metal ring hanging below the filler cap? Try not filling it all the way up, let it be a bit low, that way the leak can be isolated at least so far as to know it isnt an overfill problem.

Title: Re: Gas leak unde the bike
Post by islandwahine on 09/19/07 at 10:04:51

I was thinking he'd better check if the drain screw on the bottom of the float bowl is snug. Maybe the shop didn't tighten it up enough after getting the bike ready to ride thing. ???

Title: Re: Gas leak unde the bike
Post by Savage_Greg on 09/19/07 at 11:04:09

islandwahine wrote:

I was thinking he'd better check if the drain screw on the bottom of the float bowl is snug. Maybe the shop didn't tighten it up enough after getting the bike ready to ride thing. ???

That could be verified by switching the petc0ck to PRI. Then the carb would fill up and leak again.

Title: Re: Gas leak unde the bike
Post by drums1 on 09/19/07 at 12:55:20

My '87 occasionally leaks out the 2 vent tubes from the carb. Does it randomly, for no apparent reason. Next time I ride, it's fine. Then it will do it again. One day, it ran out like a big leak. Usually just drips a bit. From what I've been reading, it could be a float problem, or a needle/seat problem. I haven't torn the carb apart yet to find out, but that may be worth checking on yours.

Title: Re: Gas leak unde the bike
Post by Savage_Rob on 09/19/07 at 13:00:36

drums1 wrote:

I was gonna possibly get to those, depending on the answer(s) to my question above as to just which tube(s) he thinks is really leaking fuel.

Title: Re: Gas leak unde the bike
Post by vinpub on 09/19/07 at 14:03:44

Thank you all for your responses.
Savage_Greg: Yes I did fill it up a little over the lower ring. I didnt stop the pump in time.
Savage_Rob and others: I'll take it around the block tomorrow and see if it leaks again when I come in, and if it does, I'll see if I can trace it back to one of the hoses/vents below. It was under the bike, so It was under the frame somewhere.
I'll check and post what I find out. Hopefully, it was just an overflow from overfilling the tank.
Thank you for all your responses. These are all helpful since this is my first bike.

Title: Re: Gas leak unde the bike
Post by islandwahine on 09/19/07 at 18:38:46

Savage_Greg wrote:

That could be verified by switching the petc0ck to PRI. Then the carb would fill up and leak again.

Yep that's true, wasn't sure if he checked there for leak, that's why I suggested it. It's pretty obvious if it leaks from there though.