Sticky float?

[spots25]

I think I have a sticky float, and its not of the rootbeer variety. When i'm all up cruising at highway speeds, sometimes it starts cutting out. Feels like it does when I'm running on empty, although the gas tank is full. Then, just as quickly as the problem started, it completely goes away. I'm thinking I have a sticky float. Sometimes it gets stuck and starves me of gas, sometimes it isn't stuck and my bike operates flawlessly. However, it is a little odd because the spark plugs don't look like I was running lean.

Anyways, lets say a person wants to rip apart their carb. Are the gaskets in the carb a one time use, or are they of the re-useable variety?

[Anonymous]

When you run in to this condition, do you lose all power in the bike or is it just weak? I'm thinking that if you have a sticky float, you would lose only the cylinder with they sticky float. You have a twin, so losing one cylinder is a big deal. Your bike may not even idle with the one cylinder down. But if you open the throttle up it should at least idle on one cylinder. Is that the case?

If you are losing *all* power in the bike, you may have a different problem. Is your loss of power connected to any certain length of ride time or any certain throttle position? Is it only when you've had the throttle 3/4 or more open for a bit?

And the gaskets in the carbs are not necessarily a one-time-use thing but it's pretty tough to get them off without breaking them.

Michael

[Anonymous]

My gaskets have gone through 2 cleanings. They were brittle, so I replaced them the third time. You can find rebuild kits online, with gaskets, rubber, float valves and stuff for about 7-12 $$ iirc.

[spots25]

Its just weak. It feels like it would if it were running on 1 cylinder, and then every couple seconds it feels like the other one kicks in. If I pulled in the clutch and let off the throttle, the engine dies. But if I give it some gas and pull on the throttle, it stays alive, but barely

[Anonymous]

fyi, the rebuild kits I got did NOT have new floats, only needles and seats. While working on it, you may want to check the integrity of the float itself by setting it in gas for a while, to see if any leaks inside the float. I doubt it, based on the fact that it goes away after a while, but you never know, and it's easy to do while rebuilding the carbs.

[nabrams]

I had the same problem. In very hot weather the float in my left carb would get hung up and prevent the float needle valve from opening (when I removed the bowl there was no fuel in it). It turned out that when the bike got hot the bowl gasket and float would expand just enough to touch.
The next time it happens to you, immediately open the drain plug on the carb and see how much fuel comes out. You should get an amount nearly corresponding to a full float bowl. If you just get a tiny bit then you'll know that you have the problem I had.

[spots25]

yeah, I threw some seafoam in the gas tank, i'm hoping that'll solve the problem. If not, oh well, its worth a try. I think its worth it to replace the floats whenever you rebuild a carb anyway. Anybody know where I can get carb kits/floats for my GS400?