Leaking gas from the exhaust?!?!?

[Grimmpatrick]

All right, guys.  I was doing some work on the electrical/starter.  (OK.  If you've read the post, I didn't really "do" anything and somehow it all worked out.)  Anyway...I wasn't doing anything too dramatic, so was wearing my flip flops.  I was standing on the left side of the bike and started it up.  A second after starting, I got splashed with something on my foot.  I touched it and it was gas.

It's hot as heck out here, so I quickly got my flashlight, but things were already starting to evaporate.  I got down and looked and the only wet spot I could see was on the inside of the exhaust pipe.  I assume it ran down from somewhere, but couldn't see any other wet spots.  It stopped after just a few seconds, but I know that's not entirely normal.   ???

FWIW, she had been sitting for about two and a half days without running. 

Any thoughts?  TIA

[97BLKVALK]

The source of the leak could be from one of the following that I can think of I'm sure others will chime in.

1.  Petcock leak running down vacuum line.

2.  Fuel rail, bad orings  ( most likely)

3.  Or you have a stuck float and missing a carb  drain hose.

Michael

[Bighead]

Water vapor from exhaust is my bet.

[DGS65]

I'm on the same page with bad peacock.
Did not start the bike again until you figure this out!
Very important before you do anything else check your oil you may find it if full of gas.
My fear is you could hydro lock the motor and potentially do damage.

[knockdolian]

I'm on the same page with bad peacock.
Did not start the bike again until you figure this out!
Very important before you do anything else check your oil you may find it if full of gas.
My fear is you could hydro lock the motor and potentially do damage.

He says it did start but doesn’t say if all pots fired up or how long it was running for ?

[hubcapsc]

Raw gas came out of my buddy Gary's bike when the petcock was
messed up. It shot out the end of the pipes and came out
the little pipe weep holes under the pipe's midsection.

On Gary's bike the petcock flap was messed up and the previous
owner had "fixed" the wet-petcock-syndrome by plugging the
petcock weep hole - which just made the gas run down the petcock
vacuum line to #6 cylinder. The #6 sparkplug was black as tar.



Fire hazard and hydro-lock hazard, but easy fix...

-Mike

[Grimmpatrick]

Based on what you all are saying, I'm thinking bad petcock as well.  I know that something is wrong with the petcock because on a couple of occasions, I forgot to turn it on and ran for ten miles.  When I got to my destination I went to turn it off and realized that i had never turned it on.     Frankly, I don't know if I have it in me to tackle it myself, so it's probably off to the shop.

Crud!

[Tfrank59]

you're lucky you didn't end up with hydrolock and a ruined starter and ring gear.  If I were you, I'd look at replacing the petcock yourself, rather than a shop, and esp. not a stealership.  Do a search on this forum and read where many members would recommend a fuel valve that's not the OEM one, and you'll find the pros and cons of the various brands.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Based on what you all are saying, I'm thinking bad petcock as well.  I know that something is wrong with the petcock because on a couple of occasions, I forgot to turn it on and ran for ten miles.  When I got to my destination I went to turn it off and realized that i had never turned it on.     Frankly, I don't know if I have it in me to tackle it myself, so it's probably off to the shop.

Crud!

It’s a pretty easy job. But if you don’t feel up to it, BigBF is very near you.

[Chrisj CMA]

Based on what you all are saying, I'm thinking bad petcock as well.  I know that something is wrong with the petcock because on a couple of occasions, I forgot to turn it on and ran for ten miles.  When I got to my destination I went to turn it off and realized that i had never turned it on.     Frankly, I don't know if I have it in me to tackle it myself, so it's probably off to the shop.

Crud!

You will never learn with that attitude. Removing the tank and dealing with the petcock is easy once you get started. Just dive in.

[gordonv]

Water vapor from exhaust is my bet.

+1

Just a few drops while warming up. Smells like fuel, because there is fuel in the exhaust on start up, especially when using the enricher.

Don't start tearing things apart until you know what is happening.

My petcock doesn't work either, and I haven't gotten around to looking at it yet (replace/rebuild). As long as you know what the dreaded "KLUNK" noise is, and don't continue or press the start button again, and know what to do to clear it, you're OK. It is a problem waiting to happen to me, but I know the risks and the odds, and am willing to take them.

I have a lot of little jobs to do on my bike, and it will take me about 3 months to do them, once I take the tank off.

Frankly, I don't know if I have it in me to tackle it myself, so it's probably off to the shop.

You will never learn with that attitude. Removing the tank and dealing with the petcock is easy once you get started. Just dive in.

It's actually very easy. Tank off, crescent wrench to the petcock, remove, in my case install a spare Valk one or a manual off of a Shadow 1100, and back and running. I really should just do it myself, if I ever have an empty tank near home. Just need a golf T to plug the vacuum line to the petcock.

The Shadow reserve amount will be different on the Valk tank, but I've an IS and fill usually based upon miles when I'm on trips. Then I'll need to remember to turn off my petcock when not riding.

[Steel cowboy]

Some more advice, before you ever try to start the bike hit the starter button. If a hydro lock is happening you'll know by the sound of the starter. If it crancks over even a bit you just past the test. Raw gas in the exhaust is a problem waiting to happen, checking the oil will tell you if the gas is seeping past the rings into your crank. Better to rebuild a petcock than rebuild the transmission.

[valkyriemc]

you're lucky you didn't end up with hydrolock and a ruined starter and ring gear.  If I were you, I'd look at replacing the petcock yourself, rather than a shop, and esp. not a stealership.  Do a search on this forum and read where many members would recommend a fuel valve that's not the OEM one, and you'll find the pros and cons of the various brands.

He's right, the petcock issue has been beat - to death, search is your friend, even into the old tech archive. The posts run into the hundreds. After two Honda's I switched to an aftermarket, and never looked back. G/L.

[Grimmpatrick]

I tackled it myself yesterday. Removing the tank wasn't as hard as I thought. While it was off, I cleaned the K & N filter. I didn't know if it needed it or not, but I figured since I was in there anyway...

Got everything back together and took her down the road. Made it about a mile before she petered out and died. Obviously, I just burned through the gas in the system and wasn't getting anything from the tank. Checked my hoses and all looked good.

So goths lift to the shop and had to get it towed.  While the tow cost me $75, the guys fixed it at no charge. They said the vacuum tube wasn't connected, although I suspect they meant it wasn't connected correctly. I checked it on the side of the road and it seemed good to my (relatively inexperienced ) eye.

My question is, what did I do wrong?

[3W-lonerider]

My guess is you connected the vacumm hose to the weep hole on the bottom instead of the vacumm port on the side.

[dconstruct55]

Hey Grimm,
Send me your e-mail address and I will send you a pretty good repair manual that actually came from this forum. dconstruct55@gmail.com

[The emperor has no clothes]

My guess is you connected the vacumm hose to the weep hole on the bottom instead of the vacumm port on the side.

of the petcock ? Do you mean he connected the vacuum hose to the tank vent ?

[3W-lonerider]

My guess is you connected the vacumm hose to the weep hole on the bottom instead of the vacumm port on the side.

of the petcock ? Do you mean he connected the vacuum hose to the tank vent ?

no, theres 2 nipples on a petcock. one faces forward which is the vacuum nipple and theres a little nipple that faces down to let gas out if the diaphragm gets a hole in it.
if you look at one of the previous responses it shows someone putting a yellow cap on the down facing nipple to keep it from dripping gas,

[Hook#3287]

My question is, what did I do wrong?

Can't tell from here, but sounds like fuel starvation.

There are three hoses to deal with when removing the tank.

The fuel hose is obviously bigger and goes only were it can.

The other two are windshield washer size hoses.

The petcock vacuum hose connects at the petcock and to, usually, #6 intake nipple, providing vacuum to open the OEM petcock.

The gas tank hose connects to the tank and runs to a "T" and then to open, under the kickstand area.  This hose has double duty, providing vent air to the gravity fuel system and a drain for over fill of gas.

If either WW size hose are not run correctly or are pinched, you'll get gas starvation.

[The emperor has no clothes]

My guess is you connected the vacumm hose to the weep hole on the bottom instead of the vacumm port on the side.

of the petcock ? Do you mean he connected the vacuum hose to the tank vent ?

no, theres 2 nipples on a petcock. one faces forward which is the vacuum nipple and theres a little nipple that faces down to let gas out if the diaphragm gets a hole in it.
if you look at one of the previous responses it shows someone putting a yellow cap on the down facing nipple to keep it from dripping gas,

I'll have to pay more attention next time I remove the tank. I never noticed it.  

[Steel cowboy]

Sorry to hear about your mix up on the hoses, but, what you can take from this;
You obviously rebuilt the pep rooster correctly since no vacuum meant no gas flow.
You avoided a much more serious and expensive hydro lock.
You got to clean the air filter
And it all cost you a bit over $75, way cheaper than taking it to the stealer for the work.
Lesson learned priceless.
Ride safe !!

[Ken Tarver]

I think what happened after Grimmpatrick worked on it, the vacuum didn’t get put back on petcock good and it just came off while riding, thus lost fuel feed. Not trying to offend you Grimm, crap simply happens at times, I’ve had my fair share. Happened at Billings Inzane to one of my buds after he was dicking with the petcock in the parking lot. Took off from hotel and got about mile and half down the road going to auto zone and the ole girl just stopped running. He called so we went to help, and that was the case...vacuum fell off petcock because he didn’t get it back on good. It had been a frustrating day already for him and it was hot out there in the parking lot where he was working, and he is OLD as dirt.
I just hope I can be as energetic when I get as old as he is, a good friend to have too.

Ken

[dconstruct55]

Hey Ken,
Just how old do you have to be to be classified as "Old as dirt" ? I am 63 and may have to pace myself.....