Why am I dripping gas so fast?

[Sasquatch]

So, I picked up an old GS 650 awhile back and it would reliably start all Summer w/full choke when it was cold and then warm up I could push in the choke. It sat for about a month and I am having a hard time getting it started...how long should I leave it at full choke? I start dripping gas on the ground pretty quickly. I've also tried to start it/w/o choke giving it a little has as the hbar...drip, drip, drip. Tips/tricks/suggestions? It's not terribly cold around here (low 50s)

[BassCliff]

Mr. Sasquatch,

Leaking gas? That's not good. My first thought is a faulty petcock. Is there gas in your oil now?

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[Guest]

Is the spark plug good? Sounds like you have junk in the float needle and seat. Try a good carb cleaning. :-D

[Steve]

Dripping gas needs to be taken care of now. Find out where it's dripping, fix it.

Hard starting when cold is a classic symptom of mis-adjusted valves.
BassCliff has an excellent tutorial with good pictures on how to adjust the valves. One thing that makes it easier next time is keeping track of the shims that are in your engine. E-mail me (click on my name for the address) and I will send you a copy of my Excel spreadsheet that will help you do just that. 8-[


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[Guest]

clean your carbs, also check/inspect your petcock

[Dave8338]

Hey Cliff...just printed off the valve adjustment series that you set up...GREAT work! Thought that it may come in handy as a supplement to the manual, when needed again. Keep em coming! \\/

[Sasquatch]

Thanks for the responses....sigh...that's along the lines of what I feared. I wanted to just ride this bike for a couple months as I have another project bike too and little time (I'm a teacher). It of course dumps gas in prime but also with the petock on and the choke on a shallow puddle appears rather quickly.

[tconroy]

Thanks for the responses....sigh...that's along the lines of what I feared. I wanted to just ride this bike for a couple months as I have another project bike too and little time (I'm a teacher). It of course dumps gas in prime but also with the petock on and the choke on a shallow puddle appears rather quickly.

Pull the carbs and check the floats.You probably just need to replace the needle valve seat o-rings to get you running the rest of riding season.It will only take you 2 hours to do it.

[BassCliff]

Your humble servant

Hey Cliff...just printed off the valve adjustment series that you set up...GREAT work! Thought that it may come in handy as a supplement to the manual, when needed again. Keep em coming! \\/

Thank you Mr. Dave8338!

I'm glad to be of service. I have plans in the near future for recovering the seat and replacing my fork springs with Progressive springs. After that, it kind of depends on what breaks. :?

I imagine I'll need brake pads soon, and I'll document the next time I replace the fluids for the bezel gears and rear differential. This will probably be in the spring.

For everyone, please keep in mind that these are pictorial guides, a compliment to your manual and ARE NOT meant to replace the manual.


In the meantime, how are you doing Mr. Sasquatch? :-D

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff