Gas Dumping out of airbox...

[cajun31]

Disconnect the hoses from the carbs, make sure you note where they come from so you can reconnect them later on. Remove the gas tank from the bike. You can either plug the hoses or drain them into a fuel container large enough to hold the gas. You will need the room to properly work on the carbs anyway. As has been stated go through the tech tips and be sure to check the carbs. Once you remove the carbs and clean them you will probably need to sychronize them when re-installing them. To get maximum performance and gas mileage they have to be synched. from what you are describing you may be in need of rebuilding the petcocks. The kits can be found on Ebay or many of the aftermarket stores such as Parts and more, Bike Bandit or The Old Bike Barn to name a few. If you still have the octy the kits are available to rebuild it as well. Can't remember but I believe what you need is included with the petcock kit. You need to check the condition of your tank when you drain it to see what kind of debris or rust is present. Also check the condition of the fuel filters when you remove the petcocks. If they are in poor condition you will need new ones or outside filters. The best cleaning job is for not if debris is getting in your carbs. If the tank is in poor shape after inspection then having it sealed by a good radiator shop is a good winter project. If that is not needed then when you get ready to reinstall the carbs, mounting the tank on backwards will give you the room you need to work on the carbs. Good luck and really what I am describing is really not that difficult to do with the guidance of the tech tips on this forum.

[CatatonicBug]

Take the bike outside and un-bolt the tank from the frame. Locate a bottle or some type of container that can hold the fuel and remove the fuel hose from one of the petcocks while holding it over the container. Drain the tank until you can tip it up and stop the flow of fuel. You will want to get a rebuild kit for the petcocks ASAP, as you don't want them to leak in the event that you actually have to use them for their intended purpose.

Don't think you have to retire the bike just yet. The whole process of removing the carbs, cleaning all 4 of them and putting them back in will take about 2 hours, depending on the research you do before you start taking them apart. They come out relatively easily, and go back in the same way.

The tiny holes in the carbs can get plugged so easily that it's really important to become familiar with the process early. You'll want to do this all outside so the fuel smell doesn't invade the house any more than it has already.

EDIT - Cajun - looks like we were typing at the same time

[joebus]

I have started looking around and fond some carb sync tools really are not that expansive still money that I did not want to spend right now. I just hate getting back on my other bike...440cc's just does not feel right after the xs1100

I love the old bikes, guess I got to get the tools!

[dbeardslee]

Joebus - I usually siphon it out into a gas can. Might stop leaking on it's own when the fuel level drops far enough. When I had my old petcocks I had two little pieces of gas line with lawnmower gas shut-offs on the ends. I would just pull the lines off the tank and stick 'em on real quick. That way I didn't have to drain the tank every time I had to monkey with the carbs. You might be able to pull the lines on the tank side of the octopus and stick some pencils in the lines to plug 'em. Just some ideas.

[joebus]

I am going to give the tank removal and drain a shot tonight. I shall report what goes down once its done. Thanks for all the advice!!!

[tarzan]

Someone already responded.So I deleted my reply.This post can be deleted

[Ken Talbot]

Your profile says you've got Special, which means you have non-vacuum petcocks, and a vacuum-operated octopus. Your petcocks have an off position. If they still flow in "off" they may have been put together wrong so what you think is "off" really isn't. That's the first place I would look.

[joebus]

got the tank off!!!!. the gas just kept pouring out of the right carb that hooked up to the left petcock so i drained the tannk that way. got a little messy but not too bad. The left petcock is toast. the dial will barely turn. will be rebuilding it asap.

[bikerphil]

petcock

You might be able to get away with just taking the petcock apart and cleaning the crud out. Rebuilding kit isn't always necessary. When reassembling, oil up the large o-ring that goes around the fuel selector lever. This way it will rotate nice and smooth.

[Spide4x4]

Also had that problem, it was a darn pin hole in one of my floats.
While on the bench I noticed a little wet spot on one of my floats, I picked it up and low and behold.........a very small pin hole, which in time would fill with fuel and sink.

[CatatonicBug]

I ended up having to do the same thing. The rubber gasket was shredded in one petcock, and not very healthy in the other. I found the rebuild kit (for 2 petcocks) on ebay for under $10.

[joebus]

So here is one weird thing...The PO put in new fuel lines and did not run it to the octopus. IS that hurting anything? again it ran just fine before the gas leaking issue.

[XSPastor]

It's not hurting anything to remove the octy, but an operational octy will not allow fuel to flow with the engine off. This provides an additional safe guard if your floats are a little leaky - at least when the engine is not running. Even if it doesn't leak when not running, if the floats are not sealing correctly, you will be running extremely rich - especially at idle. Fix the float valves.

[joebus]

I will be pulling the carbs off the bike tonight. This is my first time with carb work so it should be interesting. I have the repair manuel and this forum so i should be able to get throught it! Thanks for the help everyone!

[joebus]

so would this sync tool be good enough for most things i might run into with old bike? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Carbu...QQcmdZViewItem