Carb?

[DGS65]

I just received my bike it was just shipped from CA and prior to shipping the carbs were serviced all new rubber and rebuild kits where used (so I was told).   Clearly I still have an issue being the carbs overflowed into the cylinders.  I'm replacing the petcock which allowed this to happen but it seems clear that the float aren't working in the carbs as well.
So the question is can the bowls be removed while still on the bike?  Or do I need I pull them yet again?

[Roidfingers]

I'd pull them and go through them again. Piece of mind too. Not that hard to do. Bad or sticking float or needles not seating.

[DGS65]

If I was retired I would have plenty of time but being I work full time I was hoping for an easy fix.  The bike is running perfectly but it did allow fuel to hydro lock the engine.  I understand that this should never have happened if the petcock was working correctly however the way I understand it if the floats were working correctly it still should not have happened unless I'm missing something?

[Paladin528]

you can pull the bowls while installed but it isnt fun.  I replaced the screws with hex head machine screws for just this reason.

[N8171S]

If the bike was shipped with gas in the tank , bouncing during shipping will cause this.  Probably nothing wrong.  Best to ship with an empty tank.

[DGS65]

When the bike arrived everything was great I put over 180 miles on it without an issue.

The new Petcock showed up today
I installed the valve,  drained whatever was let in the crankcase then filled with some cheap oil added a little fuel and it started right up.  I will put a few miles on the bike tomorrow and then change the oil again with good oil and a K&N oil filter. 

I will sleep better tonight!

[DGS65]

BTW the mechanic that serviced the bike insists that there is nothing wrong with the carbs and that simply replacing the petcock will eliminate the problem.  I really hope he is correct!
I will give it a good shakedown tomorrow but I don't think I will travel far from home. 

[gordonv]

If the bike was shipped with gas in the tank , bouncing during shipping will cause this.  Probably nothing wrong.  Best to ship with an empty tank.

+1

Actually gas in the carb. The floats can bounce and allow fuel into the cylinder. Nothing wrong with the job done.

[DGS65]

LOL again the bike was fine when it got here!  I drove it for about 180+ miles after it got here. 
I ran out of gas while it was in the on mode and yet the tank was bone dry.  My daughter had to bring me gas then I went to the gas station and topped it off and in the morning the fuel had filled the cylinders the oil and the exhaust.  The petcock was stuck in the open position and allowing fuel flow from the reserve output.  In addition the vacuum safety failed as well to make matters worse the carbs floats clearly didn't close and allowed fuel to enter the intakes.  The mechanic it trying to tell me that the fuel flowed through the vacuum hose into the intake but this would have only filled cylinder 6 however there was about three cylinders with fuel in them.  The only way this could be true would be for the fuel to have filled the oil and the come up from the bottom end which I guess is possible.  I drained about 6+ quarts from the oil this is about 1/2 gallon too much. 
At this point I'm glad the bike is running I will put a few miles on it tomorrow and change the oil and filter again.  I believe I will be OK unless the petcock fails again.  I had a similar problem with my Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 years ago back then I paid someone to deal with it but this time I really want to just take care of it my self.  I used to have a Motorcycle mechanic working for me so it was easier to just pay him frankly if he was still local I would have him pull the carbs and check them but I don't have time right now to deal with it.  I will run Seafoam throw the tank and hopefully this will help clean the carbs in case there it still an issue.  The bike is running great so the carbs are tuned and synced!

[Jims99]

About a year ago,during bike week, I parked bike for 2 hours, came out to hydro lock. I shut fuel off manually for the rest of the weekend. Forgot to one night, no problem, and haven’t since. It’s been over a year and no problem. May have been a one time stick, but still keep fingers crossed. LOL. Bike usually doesn’t sit for more than a week and I never shut gas off. Just not a habit I ever needed. I’ve always had vacuum pecocks.

[DGS65]

Jim
If you hydro locked there is something wrong with your petcock!  It would be worth pulling the tank and at least inspecting the petcock.  There is a rebuild kit to repair the vacuum side and it's cheap and easy to do.  Mine leaked from the off position so I had to replace it.  At this point I think I could replace the petcock in 30 minutes or less.  My new one was leaking so I pulled it took it apart and tightened all the screws to correct in less then 30 minutes replacing it would have been even quicker.

I'm about to go for a ride.  I think I will go visit my friends body shop and speak to him about repaint the saddlebags.  I put this on hold while waiting to see if I was going to get it running easily.

[Daniel Meyer]

To hydrolock you usually have a bad petcock, but ALSO must have one or more bad float valves in your carbs.

[oldsmokey]

Just curious on the new petcock,, you said it leaked as well then you tightened the screws.
Is this a Honda replacement or aftermarket?

[DGS65]

To hydrolock you usually have a bad petcock, but ALSO must have one or more bad float valves in your carbs.

Interesting, I thought this as well but apparently it the membrane in the petcock is ruptured it will allow fuel to back flow in through the vacuum line and fill the intake manifold.

The replacement petcock in installed is an aftermarket part and clearly a cheap replica!
The factory part is riveted on the switch side but it does have screws on the vacuum side the aftermarket part has screws on both sides.  All of the screws were loose I took the entire valve apart and resembled there were no leaks when I was done.

Today I put a few miles on the bike then changed the oil again as well as the filter.  I finished work early and had time so I change the timing belts as well.  At this point I have no more projects or maintenance left to do.  I complete the removal of the speakers and amp I had no need being I have Sena Bluetooth headsets in my helmets. 
I did bring my bike to my friends body shop and showed him the saddlebags and he agreed to paint them but I have to locate the paint code conversion for his paint system.  I forget which he uses,  I have the Honda code but need conversion code to mix the paint.
I'm not in a huge rush but I will have it painted to match.     

[oldsmokey]

From what I have read the cheap one is exactly that.. Beware.
I just ordered an OEM one for mine, recent indications are it is not shutting off the flow while running as it  used to. (Existing one is 1999 original never touched).

[Leathel]

when I had a flooding issue (fortunately my petcock was OK) I found my floats had distorted and they would hit the body of the carb before putting full pressure on the float valve.... The proper fix would be new floats (not adjustable) but that adds up in cost and I am cheap.... so I tried the K&L? float valves as I had heard they help, turned out they were .5mm longer so corrected my float height issue

 so if you take the carbs out check the float level as they may be out of spec

 I did a video and will post it when I find it

[Leathel]

Found the videos, First is a std float valve with a distorted float, you can here to float body hit the carb body taking the pressure of the float valve, the OEM float valves look fine and I am sure if I fitted new floats they would be fine.

https://youtu.be/IwWA9judgc4

I fitted the K&L float valves that are slightly longer so it stopped my bike flooding if left idling for long periods

https://youtu.be/Ou7ewonygOg

I made the mistake of not checking the float heights the first time I had the carbs out as you could not adjust them.... so had to pull them again when I still had issues

[DGS65]

after speaking with the mechanic I'm going to hold off on pulling the carbs for now.  He insists there is nothing wrong with the carbs being he just rebuilt them about 3 weeks ago.  He told me it was going to be a petcock issue and this I confirmed however I'm still not 100% convinced there isn't a carb issue as well.  What he claims is that the fuel back feed into the motor through the vacuum line which after taking the old petcock apart i have to agree this is likely!
The new petcock if working correctly at least for now.  I will put a bunch of miles on the bike today hopefully all will go well!

[indybobm]

Like you said earlier, you had three cylinders with gas. That is more of a problem than gas going down the vacuum line to #6. Be very careful when starting this bike. Bump the engine over with the starter button a few times before really trying to start it.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Like you said earlier, you had three cylinders with gas. That is more of a problem than gas going down the vacuum line to #6. Be very careful when starting this bike. Bump the engine over with the starter button a few times before really trying to start it.

agreed. It sounds like the issue Leathel had with his floats.

[Daniel Meyer]

To hydrolock you usually have a bad petcock, but ALSO must have one or more bad float valves in your carbs.

Interesting, I thought this as well but apparently it the membrane in the petcock is ruptured it will allow fuel to back flow in through the vacuum line and fill the intake manifold.

That is *remotely* possible...BOTH the fuel AND vacuum diaphragm would have to be ruptured...AND you'd have a lot of fuel leaking out the vent hole in the petcock that is between the diaphragms..

...and it would be just the #6 cylinder unless you filled all the way up to the airbox...

The replacement petcock in installed is an aftermarket part and clearly a cheap replica!
The factory part is riveted on the switch side but it does have screws on the vacuum side the aftermarket part has screws on both sides.  All of the screws were loose I took the entire valve apart and resembled there were no leaks when I was done.
  

I can't NOT recommend the cheap aftermarket OEM look-a-likes enough. They are missing a key part for the valk...namely the dampener in the vacuum line port. The vacuum diaphragm will fail in VERY short order.

Also, the one I got to check out had lots of debris inside it...like casting bits...

Anyway, go OEM or if you must, Pingel.

[DGS65]

I asked a friend to find an OEM at Americade.  If he can't find one I will order one on line.  I'm not impressed with the aftermarket unit!   This said I have put about 30 miles on it without an issue. 
I'm still getting used to the bike so I haven't really been pushing it much sort of driving like a gramma but still having fun.   

[Leathel]

one way to test if the float valves are leaking is after a run check the plugs on the LH bank for color, then leave it idling on the stand for a good long while then check the LH plugs again and see if they are blacker, with the bike on the stand it tends to have issues on the lower side first

 Mine ran fine with its float valves leaking unless it was left iding to long, it would take a short while to clear out the excess fuel in the bowls and run well again.. With a petcock working right it wont hyroloc but it will affect the running at times