bad gas fumes smell. help.....

[ricco]

hi, just got a new 99 IS.  54000 miles.  old owner says it was serviced out the wazoo. valves, oils, carb cleaning. he seemed like a real stickler for maintence,  so i bought it.   but noticed on ride home really bad exhaust gassey smell.  put in half can of sea-foam, filled up with super.  now  it runs like a raped ape on top end,  but bottom rpm range is sluggish  bike will chug very slightly at 1k to 2,5k. .  and still will just about knock you out with fumes.  pulled plugs ,all look great. nice whitesh brown.  re- sealed gas cap. did not help. my 03 had a smell but not near this bad.  could the 93 octane be too much for her to burn.  any one close to johnstown,pa  with knowlege that would like to help would be appreciated.  or any other advise.

[Hoser]

Guess he forgot to clean or replace the low speed jets while "cleaning" the carbs.     hoser

[Michvalk]

OK...First, you don't need 93 octane. The bike runs fine on Regular unleaded. Second, Try tightening the clamps on the Carbs. The rubber tubes on the intake side of the carbs. I think someone said there are three sets of six on the bike. (Six carbs X three clamps) Wouldn't hurt to check the vacume caps and lines attached to the intakes. Check that the intakes are tight. Look for any seapage around the base of the intakes at the head. There are O-rings at the base of the intake that will leak. Look at the petcock for leakage. You can see the petcock if you put a little effort in it.(Kinda dark in there). If the PO did that much service on the bike, probably not much wrong. Also check the tubes on the airbox to carbs for proper fit. Sometimes putting the airbox back on is a pain and if the tubes are not on correctly, they can put out that smell. I hope I covered everything. I am NOT the worlds greatest
Valk mech, But have done all these things myself. Never found anything amiss, but, checked anyway. I have a slight smell once in a while, and usually it is the clamps on the carbs. They work loose often on my bike. Check 'er out and ride often!

[ricco]

will sea-foam cleam the jets. or do i have to take apart.  and will that cause the smell

[ricco]

did check clamps, they were all very loose.  do you tighten them till they are very tight or just snug.  did not check air box  how about a diffrent plug, maybe colder book calls for three diffrent ones.  mine is the 7# for normal riding.

[Michvalk]

If the plugs are not fouled, that's not your problem. Go through the rest of the fuel system looking for leaks. Won't take that long The clamps need to be a little more than snug, but, dont strip them

[ricco]

checked all fuel lines, no leaks.  reason i asked about plugs is that the manual lists three diffrent ones. 1 normal.- 2 for cold. and 3 for extended high speed. they have to be diffrent heat range plugs. does altitude play a role in plug selection .  i live at 2500 feet approx. and that is where most of my riding is done.  this bike was from ohio where altitude is much lower. could that affect how carbs were set. and plug selection?  so i guess what im asking, is there a better plug to help get a cleaner burn.  irrudium perhaps. ???

[Full_Throttle]

Let me save you some headache.  I had a very similar issue.  do a search on here for gas cap.  Several people have reported that the rubber gasket around the gas cap gets weak with age and doesn't seal properly.  I can confirm this.  I took the rubber seal off and,using electrical tape because that was all I had at the time, built up the inside of it so that when I put it back on it was thicker so it made a tighter seal.  Hard to describe but easy to understand once you pull the rubber seal off.  do the search and you will see a few people talking about it.  Otherwise what others have said, tighten up the intake clamps and ride on.

Mike

[custom1]

ricco, Is the smell only present while it's running? Just asking to help determine if it's a leak or running rich for sure. I suspect the slow jets also. Give the seafoam a chance to work. Heavy doses and ride around slow(low rpm).
I live near Latrobe Pa and get up around New Florence from time to time to visit family. Or you are welcome to stop down. Send me a PM for the address. I don't claim to have much knowledge tho(just got my I/S last fall), but will help if I can.  Let me know if you want to meet up.

[ricco]

hi john,  i live in windber.  was thinking of going for ride today maybe i can stop in. where are you at in latrobe. email me at rckshwl@aol.com

[ricco]

filled up today with 87 octane and 6oz of seafoam in gas and 4oz in oil went for 50mile ride down historic route 30. and bike just srarted to run better and better and better and better. no more low rpm hesitstion, smell is gone.  smooth as slik...   seafoam has my vote. it runs better than my 09 goldwing. why honda ever quit making this bike is a mystery.  thanks to all for your help.

[Hoser]

Glad it worked for you, sometimes it don't.     hoser