Float Valves Stuck After Rebuild

[mat4uscg]

1997 Valkyrie Tourer 40,000 Miles

Sticking float valve on #5 Cyl
Rebuilt Carbs with complete Red Eye Kit
Replaced all 6 Float Valves with Honda OEM
Reused Plastic Floats
Bench Tested Carbs for 4 Hours with 3' of head pressure. Not one drip
Synced Carbs with Digi Sync
Fuel Tank is like new inside
Pingle Valve
De-Smogged

All seemed well for a couple of weeks. Rode 160 Miles thru Tacoma and into Seattle. Very hot and traffic jam so had to walk the bike for 5-6 miles.

Upon arrival i noted the carb vents - both sides were dripping a small amount of fuel but left bank more

Pulled plugs and 4 & 6 wet with fuel

Questions:
1. Do the plastic floats warp or something that would cause the float valves not to seat. Should I have replaced them?
2. Is there something I missed
3. Is there a mod that changes float height to place a bit more pressure on the valves?

Any thoughts assistance is much appreciated!

[Leathel]

Did you measure the float levels? The float valves don't wear much at all but the floats do distort.

if the measurements are not right replace the floats


The aftermarket K&L float valves are slightly longer then stock and will lift the floats a little and on mine was enough to get to the correct level..... but the OEM way would be to replace the floats if out of spec on the float height

[Pete]

Are you using Ethanol Gas?
If yes:
Then manual cleaning of the float valves is critical, by that I mean q-tip or swab and cleaner and cleaning the float valve in the carb body unit it shines. Same with the float needle unless you replace them as you did.
Else you risk 1 or more float valves failing again very soon.

In the last two years I have seen this type of repeat failure several times and it is always with Ethanol Gas. And a detailed re-cleaning of the float valve seat and float valve always resolved the issue.

[mat4uscg]

Thanks for the help. A couple more notes / questions

1. I did not measure the float height since they were fixed and I used all new OEM valves. I wrongly assumed the plastic floats did not deteriorate. My mistake.

2. I thought about using the K&L but read some reviews that said they failed in short order although I did read they did increase float height and spring tension.

Looks like I am in for more work to replace the floats and polish the valve bores if I understood the comments correctly.

[Leathel]

Thanks for the help. A couple more notes / questions

1. I did not measure the float height since they were fixed and I used all new OEM valves. I wrongly assumed the plastic floats did not deteriorate. My mistake.

2. I thought about using the K&L but read some reviews that said they failed in short order although I did read they did increase float height and spring tension.

Looks like I am in for more work to replace the floats and polish the valve bores if I understood the comments correctly.

the K&L springs are a little stronger but that is irrelevant as the float stops the flow with the spring compressed, being the compressed length is longer slightly they lift the float height, I have had the K&L in for only a few months so don't know how they will last and went that way due to cost as they had no floats in the country (New Zealand) and I could get a set of K&L valves shipped to NZ for less than one float  ???

The K&L are slightly longer so the floats could set the seal of the float valve rather than hit the carb body like they did with OEM valves (incl the one new OEM Valve I got to compare)

K&L float valves

https://youtu.be/Ou7ewonygOg

OEM

https://youtu.be/Ou7ewonygOg

I would prefer to run OEM new floats and valves but the K&L is working for now, they have stopped it flooding when left idling, they lifted the float height enough to be at the factory specs