SuzukiSavage.com - Gas leak unde the bike

vinpub

Ex Member

Gas leak unde the bike
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.

Back to top

IP Logged

Savage_Rob

Serious Thumper
Alliance Member

Offline

Mechanically
Inclined Amateur

Posts: 6972
Texas (Dallas area)
Gender: male

Re: Gas leak unde the bike
Reply #1 - 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.

Back to top

IP Logged

vinpub Ex Member	Re: Gas leak unde the bike Reply #2 - 09/19/07 at 05:08:44 I just checked the setting. It was on Run and not on RES or PRI.
Back to top	IP Logged

Savage_Greg

Serious Thumper
Alliance Member

Offline

Don't go around your
ass to reach your
elbow...

Posts: 7844
SW Washington State
Gender: male

Re: Gas leak unde the bike
Reply #3 - 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.

Back to top

IP Logged

vinpub

Ex Member

Re: Gas leak unde the bike
Reply #4 - 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).

Back to top

IP Logged

Savage_Rob

Serious Thumper
Alliance Member

Offline

Mechanically
Inclined Amateur

Posts: 6972
Texas (Dallas area)
Gender: male

Re: Gas leak unde the bike
Reply #5 - 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?

Back to top

IP Logged

Savage_Greg

Serious Thumper
Alliance Member

Offline

Don't go around your
ass to reach your
elbow...

Posts: 7844
SW Washington State
Gender: male

Re: Gas leak unde the bike
Reply #6 - 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 Tongue

Back to top

IP Logged

justin_o_guy2 Serious Thumper Offline What happened? Posts: 55279 East Texas, 1/2 dallas/la.	Re: Gas leak unde the bike Reply #7 - 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.
Back to top	The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion.- Edmund Burke. IP Logged

SavageWahine Serious Thumper Offline Aloha & Hang Loose Posts: 1553 Beautiful Kauai! Gender:	Re: Gas leak unde the bike Reply #8 - 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. ???
Back to top	You take the blue pill the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. IP Logged

Savage_Greg

Serious Thumper
Alliance Member

Offline

Don't go around your
ass to reach your
elbow...

Posts: 7844
SW Washington State
Gender: male

Re: Gas leak unde the bike
Reply #9 - 09/19/07 at 11:04:09

SavageWahine wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:09:

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.

Back to top

IP Logged

drums1

Serious Thumper

Offline

'87 Savage
Bashed--Down for the
count

Posts: 664
Racine, Wisconsin
Gender: male

Re: Gas leak unde the bike
Reply #10 - 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.

Back to top

IP Logged

Savage_Rob

Serious Thumper
Alliance Member

Offline

Mechanically
Inclined Amateur

Posts: 6972
Texas (Dallas area)
Gender: male

Re: Gas leak unde the bike
Reply #11 - 09/19/07 at 13:00:36

drums1 wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:09:

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.

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.

Back to top

IP Logged

vinpub

Ex Member

Re: Gas leak unde the bike
Reply #12 - 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.

Back to top

IP Logged

SavageWahine Serious Thumper Offline Aloha & Hang Loose Posts: 1553 Beautiful Kauai! Gender:	Re: Gas leak unde the bike Reply #13 - 09/19/07 at 18:38:46 Savage_Greg wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:09: 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.
Back to top	You take the blue pill the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. IP Logged