carb haveing fuel leaking from tubes of bike

[Devildogz28]

Im new to this so here I go. Just got my first bike a 1983 gs450l and when I rum it fuel come out of this tube off the carb. Thes tubes are not atached to anything. I know they are like a safty if I lay the bike down. but I dont know why fuel coming out of them when its running. Im afraid to have the bike run for any amount of time do to the leak.Thanks for the help

[tkent02]

These tubes are coming out of the bottom of the float bowls?
If so they are there to provide a safe place for fuel to go in case something in the carb fails, which is what you have.
Probably your float valves are not shutting off fuel correctly. Could be all grundged up, you will find out soon enough.
You get to remove your carburetors!

[BassCliff]

Hey howdy hey!

Hi Mr. Devildogz28,

As Mt. tkent02 says, you have a fuel delivery problem. It could be something wrong in the carbs themselves, the petcock could also be faulty. These hoses in question sound like vent hoses, the way you describe them. You are right, there should not be fuel coming out of them. Please check below in the mega-welcome for the definitive word in carburetor rebuild procedures. Let the welcome begin! \\/

Let it be known that on this day you are cordially and formally welcomed to the GSR Forum as a Junior Member in good standing with all the rights and privileges thereof. Further let it be known that your good standing can be improved with pictures (not you, your bike)!

Perhaps you've already seen these, but I like to remind all the new members. In addition to the carb rebuild series, I recommend visiting the In The Garage section via the GSR Homepage and check out the Stator Papers. There's also a lot of great information in the Old Q&A section. I have some documentation on my little BikeCliff website to help get you familiar with doing routine maintenance tasks (note that it is 850G-specific but many tasks are common to all GS bikes). Other "user contributed" informational sites include those of Mr. bwringer, Mr. tfb and Mr. robertbarr.

And here are some edited quotes from one of our dear beloved gurus, Mr. bwringer, with ideas on basic needs (depending on initial condition), parts, and accessories.

***********Quoted from Mr. bwringer************
Carburetor maintenance:

Replace the intake boot o-rings, and possibly the intake boots. Here's the procedure:

http://bwringer.com/gs/intakeorings.html

Here's an overview of what happens with this particular problem:

http://cycleorings.com/intake.html

You'll also want to examine the boots between the carbs and the airbox. There's a good chance these are OK, but check them over.
And finally, if things still aren't exactly right, you'll want to order a set of o-rings for BS carbs from the GS owner's best friend, Robert Barr:
http://cycleorings.com
Once you receive these rare rings of delight, then you'll want to thoroughly clean and rebuild your carburetors. Here are step-by-step instructions that make this simple:

http://thegsresources.com/gs_carbrebuild.htm

***********************************
Every GS850 has (or had) a set of well-known issues that MUST be addressed before you have a solid baseline for further troubleshooting. It's a vintage bike, and it's quite common (as in, every single GS850 I have had contact with) that there are multiple problems that have crept up and slowly gotten worse over the years. It's not like a newer vehicle, where there's generally one problem at a time.

These common issues are:

1. Intake O-rings (install NEW OEM or Viton only - common nitrile O-rings will quickly deteriorate from heat)
2. Intake Boots (install NEW -- these cannot be repaired)
3. Valve clearances (more important than most people think)
4. Carb/airbox boots
5. Airbox sealing
6. Air filter sealing
7. Petcock (install a NEW one)
8. On '79 models, install new points or Dyna electronic ignition (or at least verify that the old points are working correctly)
9. On all models, it's fairly common to have problems with the spark plug caps. These are $3 or $4 each, and often worth replacing if you're keeping the stock coils/wires.
10. Stock exhaust with NO leaks or holes -- good seals at the head and at the junctions underneath.
***************************************
OEM Parts/Online Fiches:

I would definitely double and triple the recommendations to use Cycle Recycle II and Z1 Enterprises as much as possible. These guys are priceless resources. Z1 tends to have slightly better prices, CRC2 has a wider range of goodies available. If you're near Indy and can bring in an old part to match, CRC2 has a vast inventory of used parts.
http://denniskirk.com - Put in your bike model and see what they have.
http://oldbikebarn.com - seems to be slowly regaining a decent reputation, but it's still caveat emptor. They don't have anything you can't get elsewhere at a better price anyway.
http://www.babbittsonline.com/ - Decent parts prices. Spendy shipping. Don't give you part numbers at all. Useful cross-reference if you obtain a part number elsewhere. Efficient service.
http://bikebandit.com - Fastest. Middlin' prices. Uses their own parts numbering system to obfuscate price comparisons -- can be very confusing for large orders. Cheapest shipping, so total cost usually isn't too bad.
http://flatoutmotorcycles.com - Slow. Cheapest parts prices, crazy shipping costs. Don't expect progress updates or much communication. Real Suzuki part numbers.
http://alpha-sports.com - Exorbitant parts prices. Different type of fiche interface that's quite useful at times, especially with superceded part numbers. Real parts numbers. Shipping cost and speed unknown due to insane, unholy pricing.

Stainless Bolts, Viton o-rings, metric taps, dies, assorted hard-to-find supplies and materials, etc:

http://mcmaster.com - Fast, cheap shipping, good prices. No order minimum, but many items like bolts come in packs of 25 or 50. Excellent resource.
http://motorcycleseatcovers.com - Great quality, perfect fit (on original seat foam), and available for pretty much every bike ever made. Avoid the textured vinyl -- it's perforated.
http://newenough.com - You DO have riding gear, don't you? Great clearances, always outstanding prices and impeccable service.
***************End Quote**********************
Here are some extra links:

GSR Forum member Mr. duaneage has great used upgraded Honda regulator/rectifiers for our bikes. Send him a PM.
New electrical parts:
http://stores.ebay.com/RMSTATOR or http://www.rmstator.com/

http://www.ricksmotorsportelectrics.com/index.php

http://www.electrosport.com/

The Rice Paddy (salvage/used)
http://www.ricepaddymotorcycles.com
Ron Ayers Motorsports
http://www.ronayers.com
MR Cycles
http://www.mrcycles.com
If all else fails, try this:
http://www.used-motorcycle-parts.org/
Used bike buying checklists:

http://www.amadirectlink.com/roadride/Riderresc/checklist.asp

http://www.clarity.net/~adam/buying-bike.html
Lots of good info/pictures here:
http://www.suzukicycles.org
http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Motorcycle_Wiki

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed of your progress. There's lots of good folk with good experience here.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
(The unofficial GSR greeter)

[Devildogz28]

this sound like goin to be fun

thank for the info I guess I will be taking some carbs off tomarrow and see whats happaning. as for the photo they will be coming soon I have to figure out how upload them.

[Nessism]

Air leaks in the intake circuit are a very common problem as well. I strongly suggest you replace the intake pipe "boot" o-rings while you have the carbs off. cycleorings.com sells parts which you would be wise to buy. If they don't have the o-rings, I've got a spare set you can have for $1.

[Devildogz28]

thanks

Thanks here is a photo of my bike

[derwood]

sometimes the floats stick if the bike has been sitting and the fuel has evaporated.this could be the cause, before you remove the carbs determine if it is one or both carbs that is flooding. tap or rap the offending carb in the area of the fuel inlet with a screwdriver handle (be firm but gentle)
this might save you some work. Also make sure the bowl drain valves are closed if equipped.

[simon kuether]

Sometimes my '79 'S "leaks" if it has been sitting for a while,so now before I turn the fuel on ,I give the throttle about a quarter turn and let it go so it bangs shut.Maybe not such a good thing to do but it shocks everything,(frees up the floats.Cheers,Simon.:-D

[Escobarclan]

here's a tip for ya'.

find a junkyard and buy a set of carbs, the cheapest crappiest ones you can find. keep them on your work bench with a ballpeen hammer, a big one.

after you've taken your carbs off about 6 times, strip a couple of screw heads, and find out you're gonna have to take em' off again, grab the 'stress carbs' and hammer and beat the s**** out of em'. it really does wonders.

nah, you got a stuck float i bet. welcome and good luck!

p.s. the dirty word above was 'snot', lol

[Devildogz28]

will a carb froma 1986 gs450 work

ok stared out today by taking the carb off when I notice that he had a vaccum line runing off the carb to the bottom of the sending unit for the fuel gauge. so I call the guy I got the bike off of he said the carb came off a 1986. what I want to know like a car are carbs intrchagable an if so if i block off the extra vaccum lines will it work ( he gave me the one carb one vaccum line only). I think its pulling the fuel out of the drain on the sending unit causing the fuel to come out of the lines
:-D

[Nessism]

Sorry, but I don't exactly understand what you are saying about all the vacuum lines. Hopefully this will help you though.

The petcock on the tank has two lines; gas line feeding the carbs and a vacuum line. The vacuum line needs to hook up to a vacuum source, typically on your carbs (I don't know specifically where on a 450).

The fuel sending unit has a vent line that does not connect to anything. Run the tube down near the swingarm pivot.

The carbs will also have a vent or floatbowl drain tubes that are not supposed to have anything connected to them.

Bottom line is to figure out if your petcock is hooked up properly. Everything else is supposed to be pretty much open.

Good luck.

[Devildogz28]

ok on the sending unit he hooked a vaccum line from the carb to the vent line for the sender plus the line going to the fuel cock

[Devildogz28]

fuel out of air box

Ok took the carbs off notice that the diaphragm assemblies dont moved. Clean them so they would. Stop the fuel coming out of the vent tubes on the carb now when it runs the air box fills with fuel :shock:

[tkent02]

The tube from the sending unit is a drain, gives a safe place under the bike for fuel to leak to in case the seal on the sending unit fails. It should be open to the air under the bike. If fuel comes out, fix the sending unit. The seal may have been ruined by the vacuum attached to it.

There should only vacuum line going from a carb up to the smaller pipe on the petcock, fuel should flow from the bigger pipe only when the engine is running and vacuum is pulled on this line, or when the petcock is in "PRI" position. If fuel comes out this smaller pipe on the petcock there is a problem with the diaphram in the petcock and it needs to be fixed.

If you have fuel coming out into the airbox, you have a problem with the float system in one or both carbs, you probably have fuel going into the crankcase too, you need to fix the carb and than change the oil before you run the engine if that's the case.

If the carburetor diaphrams were stuck, the carbs need attention, those are usually the last thing to gum up, as they are nowhere near any fuel. Take the carbs apart and clean them.

[twistedwankel]

These tubes are coming out of the bottom of the float bowls?
If so they are there to provide a safe place for fuel to go in case something in the carb fails, which is what you have.
Probably your float valves are not shutting off fuel correctly. Could be all grundged up, you will find out soon enough.
You get to remove your carburetors!

Ditto the float(s) are stuck.