Leaking gas

[Finesse150]

Hi all first time poster I tried searching but to no avail. Whenever I get home from riding there will be a little pool of gas under the carbs on the starter cover. 1980 GS450L jus wondering if anyone has any input as to what this could be without taking carbs out it also almost looks like the petcock dial is wet so I’m assuming it may need a new or rebuilt petcock not sure if anyone knows any tricks to figure out where it’s coming from because I’ll look at it idling and can’t see any drops or leaks. Thanks in advance for the help other than that bike runs great also will and hid h4 bulb be a direct plug and play or do I need a whole new headlight setup for brighter headlight? Thanks in advance.

[Runningdog]

Greetings, and welcome.

Re: the carb leaks, have a look at this post for some useful info:

https://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/forum/technical-forums/carb-fuel-exhaust/1725164-1979-gs750-vm26ss-leaking-float-bowls

Yeah, petcocks do leak. Kits or aftermarket pattern units are available.

Re: headlamp brighter, are you looking at LED or halogen H4? I would think that, if the existing bulb in your headlight is replacable, you could replace easily with an H4. Otherwise, you will have to find a headlight that will fit your bucket and mounting hardware.

Remember, these superannuated bikes are fun to work on, just keep telling yourself that as you get further and further into what seemed a minor problem.

[rphillips]

The H4 is the size and shape of the headlight bulb. Any H4 should be plug and play sort'f. For yrs and yrs the headlight housings were reflective, as on the GS's. Now the new LED light seem to be Projective and need a projective housing, not a clue what the difference is. With your orig. housing use an H4 that IS NOT an LED. The OEM headlights have always been 65w/55w. There are H4 bulbs that are plug and play for your bike, but listed "for off road use only" that are brighter. maybe 90w/70w or 100w/85w. Just say'in what's available... Hoping for more opinions.

[Nessism]

The headlamp appears to be a sealed beam, which means you can't just change the bulb. You might want to take a look to confirm, though. If so, you will need a new bulb & housing. Maybe Truck-Lite makes something appropriate?

Regarding the fuel leak, it's possible that the petcock is leaking, and fuel is running along the fuel line until it falls off under the carbs. Just guessing. But since the petcock is wet, I'd focus on that first. It seems that Suzuki still stocks petcock seals for your petcock, so you may want to order up all the seals. Do NOT buy an aftermarket rebuild kit, they rarely fit. Or, buy a new petcock. If that doesn't fix the leak, you are going to have to go after the carbs proper.

https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/suzuki/motorcycle/1980/gs450l/fuel-cock

[Suzukian]

Make sure all your hoses are all in good shape. Physically removing the ends will tell you fast if they are dry rotted and leaking.

[Big T]

How high up on the petcock is it leaking?
IF it's at the top, there's an O ring and dowty washers between the petcock and the tank.

[Suzukian]

The float bowl drain bolts may be leaking.

[Big Block]

Petcock. Also not sure if you have a fuel gauge on that bike but on my new 82 750E I smelt gas fumes in the garage when the bike was parked there and it turned out to be the sending unit for the fuel gauge. There was an insulator in the middle of the sending unit that had shrunk and was leaking fuel.

[Finesse150]

Thanks all had to take it apart but managed to find the leak. Petcock and a hole in fuel line going from tank to petcock to carb before it spilts into the tee