reddun Posted May 4, 2023 Share Posted May 4, 2023 Relatively new owner here - bought a 1994 fourth gen last autumn and laid it up over winter. Predictably when starting it up for the first time fuel was gushing out, I'm guessing because the carb float gaskets had shrunk. All good after a day or so and I was using it reasonably frequently without issue. Fast forward a few months and I went two weeks without using it, then on startup it was full on gushing again. Flow reduced after a day or so but it's still leaking slowly when sat (must be a float needle or o ring). Anyway - this seems a bit extreme for two weeks of non use, what's the proper way of starting her up without dousing the drive in fuel? Or is there a better rubber that's a bit more resilient? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Captain 80s Posted May 4, 2023 Member Contributer Share Posted May 4, 2023 31 minutes ago, reddun said: Relatively new owner here - bought a 1994 fourth gen last autumn and laid it up over winter. Predictably when starting it up for the first time fuel was gushing out, I'm guessing because the carb float gaskets had shrunk. All good after a day or so and I was using it reasonably frequently without issue. Fast forward a few months and I went two weeks without using it, then on startup it was full on gushing again. Flow reduced after a day or so but it's still leaking slowly when sat (must be a float needle or o ring). Anyway - this seems a bit extreme for two weeks of non use, what's the proper way of starting her up without dousing the drive in fuel? Or is there a better rubber that's a bit more resilient? Thanks in advance! Nothing "predictable" about that unless you already knew you had a problem. It is not normal. There is no "proper" way to start a bike that is doing that unless you consider not burning down your bike and house as a success. New Viton rubber is more resilient than 30 year old rubber that has been constantly exposed to fuel and countless heat cycles in the center of a V4 engine. The carbs have to come out and be thoroughly gone thru. It is very likely float bowl o-rings and/or fuel tube crossover o-rings. Both should be done, bare minimum, when the carbs come out. But now is the time to do everything right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddun Posted May 5, 2023 Author Share Posted May 5, 2023 Well tbh if it only happened on the first start up after months of them not being exposed to fuel I would have just accepted that as the price of an old bike like you say with 30yr old rubber. Anyway good to know i'm wrong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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