Fuel pouring from the Airbox

[extremeXS]

Twice now I have returned to my idleing 80, XS1100G, only to find large amounts of fuel pouring out of the drain hole in my airbox. The first time I simply removed the bowl from the suspect carb and moved the float that I thought had gotten hung up. This solved the problem the first time but not the last. I suspect that the needle and seat are responsible this time. Petcocks are recently rebuilt and functioning properly. Carbs have recently been cleaned and have new kits installed. Is this a common problem with the XS1100?

[John]

The only thing that can cause this is a float that is not seating properly. Look for a float with a leak, or some crap stuck at the float needle seat, or the O ring around the outside of the seat assembly. It is possible that the float itself is catching on the side of the bowl. Check the header pipes to see which one is runing cooler when this happens. That will identify the suspect carb.

[prometheus578]

checking header pipes

To check your header pipes, spray each one with water or something. I use my handy spray bottle of 409 cleaner. Watch for the pipe that doesn't "sizzle" like the other ones.

[Dennyz]

extremeXS,

Regardless of the condition of your float needles, fuel should not flow from your tank with the engine off. If it is, you need to fix your petcocks.

I just had the same thing happen to my "F" after 85K miles. I took the petcocks apart and cleaned them up. It worked for about a week and the leaking returned. I ordered new rebuild kits from PartsnMore for $20 each (free shipping). I expect them any day now and will let you know how they work out.

OOPs! I did not read your post correctly. John is right, it has to be a stuck float needle.

[extremeXS]

thank you all for your replies, I'm so glad that I found this forum; it's great to be able to kick ideas around and learn from others experiences. TO Denny: Rebuilding your petcocks will solve your problem, i think the source of your leak is the vaccum tube. If fuel flows through that tube the diaphrams in your petcock are definately in need of replacement.

[Materi]

Oh no....the dreaded fuel on the freakin' floor problem..This was the first issue I had to solve when I brought "The Breeze" back up to running specs.... a few tips...

1. Make sure your octopus is functioning properly (type octopus in the search for many tips and solutionson the subject) Some have chosen to bypass the octo, I did not.

2. Petcocks must function properly.. rebuild kits are cheap, install is cake, and results are fantastic.

3. Floats must be set and functioning properly...may take a few attempts

4. Fuel lines must be crack free and functioning properly, again a cheap and easy as well as crucial fix.

5. If your airbox is or has been full of fuel, there is a good chance that your engine oil has been diluted by gasoline by unmetered fuel splilling through the carbs, this is a bad deal...do a search on this subject as well.

6. Though frustrating, this is appears to be one of the more common XS problems, and is easy to fix, keep after it.

7. Thorough research and study in this forum are indespensible!

8. Steps 1 through 6 are offered from experience on my 79SF "The Breeze" I am ignorant on the similarities or dissimilarities on the 80G (octopus, line routing etc.)

Oh yeah, a good dose of Sea Foam brand fuel conditioner helps to clean and maintain float and fuel system health..this is great stuff.