Gas puddle on garage floor

[Prisoner6]

Bought my '79SF back in Aug - about 3 wks ago went for an evening ride, next morning the unmistakable smell of gasoline greeted me. There was a small puddle of gas on the garage floor under the bike; determined it was coming from the bottom of the airbox. The only thing I did at that point was put the bike on the centerstand and turn both petcocks to the OFF position. No time for anything else ...

I should mention that up to this point I had always left the bike on the sidestand and always left the petcocks in the ON position.

Bike sat for a week; based on the info here, it sounded like it could be a stuck float ... SO ... here's what I did:

1) Removed lower half of airbox, cleaned it out, and replaced the air filter with an OEM filter (PO had installed a K&N filter)
2) Tapped all the float bowls with a small rubber mallet, hoping that might clear any stuck floats.
3) Changed oil and filter (took oil filler cap off; smelled like gas, so I'm sure I had gas in the oil)

Buttoned everything up; went for a ride that evening; next day... no gas on the floor, and no smell of gas at all. After that ride, and ever since then, I always put the bike on the centerstand and turn both petcocks to the OFF position.

Since then, have had zero problems with gas leaking from airbox.

I know this subject has been discussed many, many times, but I want to make sure I did the right things. Please let me know if there is anything else that should be done ... Thanks

[jetmechmarty]

Marco,

Do you still have the vacuum shutoff valve on this bike. If so, it's time to rebuild it, because it's leaking. You also suffered a float valve leak in on or more of your carburetors. Maybe it was just a piece of trash that has moved along, or maybe that leak will appear again.

If you have deleted the vacuum shutoff (octy), always put the fuel cocks to off when you shut down the bike. But you know that.

[Rasputin]

+1 on what Marty said. All of my bikes have the vacuum shut off still installed. I think it gives me one more point of failsafe in case the needles are leaking. Maybe it does and maybe not but I like it.
I also store all of my bikes on the side stand. The reason I do is that if the gas does overfill the carb it will tend to go to the air box instead of running in to the cylinders. There are many here who will argue that point. I say to them it is just a matter of looking at the bike.
On the center stand the rear wheel is off the ground and thus the rear of the motor is also slightly raised. Fluid flows down hill so... which way will it go...towards the engine or towards the air filter.
For any extended shut down time (read longer than a couple of hours) I also shut off my petcocks. Anal...maybe... but I do not want to lose one of my bikes due to a single particle of sludge that found its way past my filters and vacuum shut offs. Besides that Oil changes are getting to cost more.
On a second point I noticed that you shed the K+N and installed an OEM one. You may be interested to know that K+N will honour your warranty even if you did not buy it from them and replace it for free. This includes the fact that the air box leaked and the rubberized parts of the filter have deformed or shrank a bit. A simple phone call sends a new one your way but IIRC you may have to provide a photo of the used/useless filter.
If the K+N is removed and the OEM put in, there is a possibility that the jetting or carb setting may want some adjusting. I would think unless other mods were made that these would be negligible.
If ever in doubt if there is gas in the oil by all means change it out!!! Parts and stuff to fix a BOO BOO are hard to find and expensive.
Good luck with your XS.

[motoman]

A small block of wood under front wheel while on centerstand will insure any overflow will not run into cyls. and on the crankcase.

[mikubuilder]

I second what everyone said, as I had the same issue with my bike...
I got rebuild parts for my petcocks, put them in without checking anything else, and sure enough gas on the floor...

great write up could be found by Chacal on XJ forum...

[natemoen]

Nothing wrong with the K&N filter in the airbox. Cheaper than buying paper filters once a year.

[GLoweVA]

One thing that happened to me was one of my pins that holds the float was a bit 'dirty' and the float didn't rotate as free as it should. aka it hung open and wouldn't drop back down and shut off the flow.

I found this out when I pulled the carbs and with the bank upside down and the bowl off, I could see the float still up!

Here's the pic and thread showing that:
http://www.xs11.com/forum/showpost.p...91&postcount=1

I moved the float up and down a few times and noticed that it was a bit sticky on the pin, so I pulled the pin and polished up the pin and reassembled. Now that float rotates freely with no friction at all.

Just thought I'd give you another perspective on a possible issue.

[Prisoner6]

Octy

Marco,

Do you still have the vacuum shutoff valve on this bike. If so, it's time to rebuild it, because it's leaking. You also suffered a float valve leak in on or more of your carburetors. Maybe it was just a piece of trash that has moved along, or maybe that leak will appear again.

If you have deleted the vacuum shutoff (octy), always put the fuel cocks to off when you shut down the bike. But you know that.

Thanks, guys, for all the responses!

Yeah, Marty, I still have the octy on my bike. And I actually kept the old K&N filter, reeking of gas and all, in the hopes I might be able to clean and reuse it. Is that possible, or is it garbage because, as Rasputin said, "the rubberized parts...have deformed or shrank a bit"? In any case, I have another brand new K&N filter; I put the OEM filter in the airbox just in case the airbox leaked again! I'll put the K&N back in once I have this issue straightened out ... Looks like I'm in for a rebuild of the octy, or deleting it altogether.

One other question that concerns me after reading all the respones is: Is it possible to have gas in the oil without any hint of gas smell when you check the oil filler cap, or any gas smell coming from anywhere else for that matter?

[motoman]

Thanks, guys, for all the responses!

Yeah, Marty, I still have the octy on my bike. And I actually kept the old K&N filter, reeking of gas and all, in the hopes I might be able to clean and reuse it. Is that possible, or is it garbage because, as Rasputin said, "the rubberized parts...have deformed or shrank a bit"? In any case, I have another brand new K&N filter; I put the OEM filter in the airbox just in case the airbox leaked again! I'll put the K&N back in once I have this issue straightened out ... Looks like I'm in for a rebuild of the octy, or deleting it altogether.

One other question that concerns me after reading all the respones is: Is it possible to have gas in the oil without any hint of gas smell when you check the oil filler cap, or any gas smell coming from anywhere else for that matter?

SWMBO gives things the sniff test for me if questionable, which I've done on a couple occassions and got the contaminated verdict. Easier for her to detect than me.

[natemoen]

Even if the rubber part of the K&N shrank just email k&n and they will send you a brand new one for free. Their million mile warranty is amazing!

[Prisoner6]

Thanks, guys!

Even if the rubber part of the K&N shrank just email k&n and they will send you a brand new one for free. Their million mile warranty is amazing!

Thanks, Doug (Rasputin) and Nathan ... I'll take your suggestions and contact K&N!!

[Prisoner6]

Marco,

Do you still have the vacuum shutoff valve on this bike. If so, it's time to rebuild it, because it's leaking. You also suffered a float valve leak in on or more of your carburetors. Maybe it was just a piece of trash that has moved along, or maybe that leak will appear again.

If you have deleted the vacuum shutoff (octy), always put the fuel cocks to off when you shut down the bike. But you know that.

So, as long as both petcocks are working properly (read "not leaking"), will I be ok to keep riding until I receive the parts to do the octy rebuild? Still have had no problems (no gas smell, no puddles) since that first time (see post #1), and I've been turning both petcocks to OFF position after each ride.

[MPittma100]

Octy

So, as long as both petcocks are working properly (read "not leaking"), will I be ok to keep riding until I receive the parts to do the octy rebuild? Still have had no problems (no gas smell, no puddles) since that first time (see post #1), and I've been turning both petcocks to OFF position after each ride.

Yes you will be "ok" to ride as long as you continue to shut the petcocks off. But it will not take you long to get the kit as they are readily available. It is not a big job to rebuild it. Might as well knock it out and be done with it. You had some luck getting the one carburetor to stop leaking. If the carbs have not been cleaned/adjusted for a while, you should consider doing that before too much longer and add fuel filters if they are not already there. If you suspect that there is a chance that the gas may have gotten in the oil, change it out - even if it has not been long since it was changed last. Don' take that risk. JMHO

Mike

[jetmechmarty]

Yes. The vacuum shutoff is a safety device. In a crash, the tilt switch shuts off the ignition and the vacuum shutoff stops the fuel flow. That's what it's really for.

[Prisoner6]

Yes. The vacuum shutoff is a safety device. In a crash, the tilt switch shuts off the ignition and the vacuum shutoff stops the fuel flow. That's what it's really for.

Did not know that - Thanks Marty, good info ... this place is great; always something new to learn about our bikes!