gas leaking from left carbs vent tube only

[lightnj]

Well, I was able to get the 98 Valk started last week.  Thanks for the tips and advice in the link below.

http://www.valkyrieforum.com/bbs/index.php/topic,82370.0.html

Now, I came back from a short ride and turn off the fuel petcock and ran the bike until it was out of gas in the carbs and died and turned off the fuel petcock switch.  It sat for a few days and I started it to adjust the idle, however it started leaking on the left side of the carbs from the left carb vent tube only.  I then turned it off and fuel petcock switch.  I came back after a few days to try and figure out why it was leaking because I figured I caused a carb float to stick by running the bike until it had no fuel in the carbs.  I took out all the spark plugs to identify which carbs were affected and started the bike.  A little bit of gas blew out of #2 cylinder spark plug opening.  Repeated starting for a few times until no evidence of gas in the cylinder.  Put all spark plugs back in, tapped on bottom of the left side carbs to see if I could unstick the carb floats, then drained carbs on left side and shot some air in them to see if the floats would unstick.  I then started the bike, but still had left side carb vent hose leaking gas.

What should I do next?  A few questions:

1) re-clean carbs and replace parts with new?  I had just cleaned them and carb parts looked great even though the bike sat up for 3 years.
2) try a different way to unstick the floats?
3) am I at risk for future Hydro lock damage since gas is leaking from the carb vent tubes?

Thanks

[Grumpy]

You have a float needle valve that is not shutting off when the bowl is full. I would suggest replacing the needles, also check the float to make sure it is not leaking.  Do not keep running it like that, good chance of getting a hydro lock and damaging the rear gears.

[Michvalk]

You do have a float hanging, and letting gas pass. There are several reasons this could happen. Improper re-assembly after cleaning, maybe not all the crud out of the needle/seat area. You might need new parts, but, wont hurt to look before ordering parts. I would just remove the carb bank, and take a look at the floats and needles on the left side. Don't run the bike until you find and fix the problem, or a hydrolock could cause much bigger problems.

[BonS]

I'd recommend replacing ALL your float needles while you have the carbs out. They're about $25 for a set of six. The internal springs get weak and the float will top out on the carb body before the needle stops the gas flow.

[Steel cowboy]

Don't mean to cut in on this discussion but does anybody know a good vendor for the float valves.

[hukmut]

 
+1 on those needle valves.
Key word:  REPLACE

Ride safe.

[Grumpy]

http://jetsrus.com/   is where I get mine.

[BonS]

I've been getting them on Amazon. About $25 for six.

http://www.amazon.com/Supply-18-8955-Float-Needle-K3-Keihin/dp/B001KOD732/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1447683710&sr=8-1&keywords=valkyrie+float+needles