day of leaking gas

[Jisatsu]

Long story short: I took the bike (82 GS650) for a longer trip to see how she'd do on the highway. After parking her, she started to leak gas from the little tube between the air box and the carbs. She's done this twice before (which prompted me to have the carbs cleaned), but it was only for a couple hours or less. Well, this time it leaked for a solid 36+ hours.

Question(-ish) #1: I assume with that long of a time it's safe to say the problem (at least the bulk of) is the petcock and not the carbs. I have a petcock ordered, on its way, and will see if that fixes the problem (which has only happens after gas is added and bike goes on a couple miles or longer trip by the way).
Question #2: I'm curious if this would constitute changing the oil before I start/run her again? If so, would I need to replace the oil filter as well? I hate to replace either since they have less than 200 miles on them but will if it's a good / suggested idea. Thanks in advance.

[koolaid_kid]

Q2 - remove the filler cap and sniff. If it smells of fuel, yes, but do not do it until the issue is resolved.
Q1 - A new petcock may fix it. What do you mean by "had them done"? Was it someone here on GSR? You may have sticking needle and seats.

[Crage]

If your oil level risen in the sight glass then you need to change the oil and filter. You don't want to run long on thinned out oil. I'd say if your carbs have been over flowing then your oil level will be above the sight glass at this point. The petcock will likely fix your problem. You may think about replacing the float needles too. You can get a pack of them from z1.

[tom203]

I hope new petcock is the solution, but the timing with "carb cleaning" is worrisome.

[Jisatsu]

Thank you guys. I will check the sight glass, smell the oil, and go from there. I had them cleaned at a local shop (that my friend kept going on about). I originally thought, and was hoping, that it was just a stuck float. I justified going to the shop due to lack of time to sit down and figure it out / clean them myself and also to see how the shop was.

The carbs had leaked before the cleaning was done so this isn't new (just worse). At this point, if the petcock doesn't fix the problem completely, I'll be back in the shop having him re-check / adjust / clean the carbs (since he 'guaranteed his work') and have him replace the float needles while he's in there. I may find the walk-through guide I saw sometime back and refer him to that if the problems persist.

So I should be safe to hold off on an oil change as long as 1) the oil doesn't smell like gas and 2) it's at the proper oil level?

[BassCliff]

Hi,

If it's been leaking that much I would suspect gas in the oil. I would change it. It's worth $5 for a filter and $14 for a gallon of oil to save my bike's engine.

The shop you took your carbs to should not be trusted. I'm sure they mean well but just don't have the proper expertise or experience. Use the guides, get an O-ring kit, do them yourself. Do not use aftermarket "carb kits". You'll find all the information you need on my little website. Click the link in my signature file.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[koolaid_kid]

Thank you guys. I will check the sight glass, smell the oil, and go from there. I had them cleaned at a local shop (that my friend kept going on about). I originally thought, and was hoping, that it was just a stuck float. I justified going to the shop due to lack of time to sit down and figure it out / clean them myself and also to see how the shop was.

The carbs had leaked before the cleaning was done so this isn't new (just worse). At this point, if the petcock doesn't fix the problem completely, I'll be back in the shop having him re-check / adjust / clean the carbs (since he 'guaranteed his work') and have him replace the float needles while he's in there. I may find the walk-through guide I saw sometime back and refer him to that if the problems persist.

So I should be safe to hold off on an oil change as long as 1) the oil doesn't smell like gas and 2) it's at the proper oil level?

As in you still want to ride it? Hey, its your bike. If it were my bike, it would be parked until fixed.

[Jisatsu]

Thanks BassCliff, I was thinking the same thing but wanted to see what people on here thought. I'd rather buy an oil filter and oil than a new engine. I also agree on not trusting the shop I went to. Since I paid him to do the carbs, I expect them to be done correctly (only reason I'd take it back); but I have a feeling I'll be following the guides and doing it myself in the long run.

Koolaid Kid, I'm not planning to ride until it's fixed. I have a trip planned for the end of July so I have some time to get things ordered and fixed. It had sounded like I wouldn't need an oil change as long as the gas leak was fixed now. Let me re-clarify my thinking.

At this point I'm planning on changing the oil/filter. This leads me to ask:
If the oil hasn't risen and doesn't smell like gas, should I
A) change oil before the test run* or
B) change oil after test run*?

(*test run means a couple mile drive to see if the gas leak problem returns.)

[tom203]

We just want to err on side of caution. It sure seems likely that gas found its way to crankcase-sometimes hard to see in sightglass, but smell would be strong.Would be real obvious if you drained it. Change petcock (use new special washers under bolts) . A short test doesn't prove much.

Just forget about that shop - do it your self and know it's done right. You need the o-ring stuff from cycleorings.com after a proper cleaning for happy motoring.