Hi guys, im a newb on here and to owning a bike! I just bought my first motorcycle on thursday. Its an 86 savage. I dont even know how to ride yet, so its going to be a fun adventure! but after taking it for a spin around my cul de sac, i decided i want to clean the carb, replace the spark plug, and change the oil. Just so i can have the peace of mind that its all fresh in there. So far Ive found great guides on the carb and oil change in the tech section but havent found something for the spark plug, any help on that would be great! But the main reason im posting is because after starting the bike up and getting the fuel running through theres a gas leak at the bottom! i dont know what the hose is called but its leaking and when i squeeze it, it leaks faster. Any thoughts on how to stop this??? this seems to be the only issue with the bike

heres the bike


And heres the valve thats leaking (i know ive got a lot of cleaning to do!)



thanks for any help

When you start the bike, vacuum opens the petcock valve to let gas flow to the carb. So, it seems that the float valve in the carb is not shutting off properly, and the carb is over filling and leaking out the vent tubes.

The airbox has a resevour blown out oil and gas spit out by the carb.
That tube is how to drain it.  Yours is different then ours, we have a plug.  The ealy bikes has this type of plug.  They must've changed to the plug it sounds like your leaks too much.

check your oil level regularly while you're having this issue.  As if the gas is getting into the oil, it's bad news.  and you should drain the oil and replace asap.

Park going up an incline will help keep the gas out of the engine.

Check your vac line for gas too.  This would indicate the diaphragm in the petcock is leaking and you would need to repair it.

sparkplug, take and blow out the sparkplug hole with compressed air before removing it.  Otherwise all the gravel that's collected up there will fall in.

During your carb clean, check the float level, check the condition of the float valve.

Edgar wrote on 05/04/10 at 13:45:03:

Don't panic.
Driveable, yes with caution.
Parkable, yes with caution.

fuel will spit out the carb on ocassion, you'll have reduced fuel mileage.  But driveable.  park with the nose up will prevent gas from dripping into the engine.  put a brick under the front wheel if you have to.

mikelhsr1982 wrote on 05/04/10 at 20:54:49:


yea ive already found a ton of things on here. and Im glad i posted my issue because i would have never conceived all the possible problems that could stem from noticing this leak. My intentions when i bought the bike were to bobb it too! do you have a link to the progress of what you've done to your bike?

And thank you verslagen1 ill get on all thse things soon, what oil from autozone/kragen/pep boys do you guys reccamend? and can i get a sparkplug for these at one of those stores? thanks again!

Edgar every bike has some issues, and the older they are, the more they seem to pop up. The Savage has fewer poblems than most, they are easier and cheaper to fix, and the people here have lots of practical experience fixing them.
Have fun and safe riding!

mikelhsr1982 wrote on 05/05/10 at 06:01:23:


Just a tip for my new fellow WV buddy...  If you use the Insert Image icon or put [ img ] your link  [ /img ]  (except remove the spaces before and after the brackets), and put your link between them, the picture will show within your post instead of having to click the link.


like this:

So the bottom line is that there shouldnt be any fuel in that line??? Because that hole is still gonna be there. And it only leaks when the bike is on