Fuel leaking from vents when petcock is on primary

[Guest]

Trying to bring my 83 GS1100 back to life after sitting for over 10 years. I took apart the carbs and cleaned everything with spray carb cleaner. Everything looked very good when I put them back together. Now, when I put them back on and put the petcock to primary I get gas flow from carb vents (I think it is a vent. There are 2 holes on the right of each carb...it flows from bottom hole). On reserve I don't get the flow, and it actually runs (well almost, but that's for a different discussion).

The floats move freely. Could this be the float needles sticking? Any other ideas? I'll probably be tearing them back apart in a few days to see what I screwed up. I know it is not the petcock because I borrowed the tank from my GS450 to verify.

[chuck hahn]

Recheck the float hts..I think they are too low and allowing the bowls to fill to high..and NEVER EVER leave the petcock on PRIme...it doesnt shut off the fuel flow.

You PRIme the carbs to get the bowls full and then you swing it to the ON position. Leaving it on PRIme will for sure fill the crankcase with gas and contaminate the oil..making it NOT lubricate the internals and thusly burn up bearings and cams..etc etc.

[sedelen]

Never allow the bike to sit too long while on "Prime"
Just asking for a crankcase full of fuel.

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. cldowers,

You'll find the proper maintenance procedures in the links below. Start with a proper carb cleaning/rebuilding.

If you are here you probably have a 30 year old motorcycle that needs about 20 years worth of maintenance. In the links below you'll find maintenance lists, documentation, wiring diagrams, "how to" guides, vendor links, tips, tricks, and a whole lot of GS goodness. This is your "mega-welcome". Let's get started.

Let me dump a TON of information on you and share some GS lovin'.

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If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", "Top 15 Tips For GS Happiness", the Carb Cleanup Series, and the Stator Papers. All of these tasks must be addressed in order to have a safe, reliable machine. This is what NOT to do: Top 10 Newbie Mistakes. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...



Please Click Here For Your Mega-Welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

More links to helpful threads in the forum:
Help! Your Bike Won't Start
DON'T DO THESE THINGS
Help! Your Bike Won't Run Well
Oh God! Pods!


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Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[koolaid_kid]

It is either your float level or your needle and seats. Or both, of course.

The Suzuki owner's manual cautions against leaving them on prime. My GPz, which uses virtually the same carb setup, does not have this text in its owners manual. I personally have left them on prime overnight (by accident) without them leaking, both GS and GPz Mikuni carbs. Although, I must admit, when I rebuild a set of carbs, before they ever go onto a bike they are tested for exactly that. If they cannot take at least 2 hours without leaking, I take them apart and fix the issue first.

[cldowers]

I originally rescued this bike after my Dad's friend's Father died. I bought it off of the friend not running. Shortly after getting it I cleaned the carbs by taking them apart and dunking them in carb cleaner. When I reassembled the bike ran great.

I put the bike away 11 years ago after the birth of my first son (and other reasons). This time I decided to only use carb cleaner spray instead of the more expensive bucket to clean the carbs.

I did learn something very important here...Pri is not for Primary, but for Prime. I've always run with the petcock on Pri.

[Steve]

This time I decided to only use carb cleaner spray instead of the more expensive bucket to clean the carbs.

I did learn something very important here...Pri is not for Primary, but for Prime. I've always run with the petcock on Pri.

Well, it's time to go back to school and learn some more.

Using just carb cleaner spray did NOT clean all the passages that are probably gummed up. You did the dip before, it's time to do it again.

.