superh1998

First off, hello to everyone. It's been a while since I've been on the forum.

I think I probably know the answer to my question (clean the carbs), but I figured I would run it by you guys.

So the Hawk was running perfectly last year as always. I put it in "storage mode" last winter for the first time in 10 years by draining the carbs. Previously, I would simply start the bike a couple times per month during the winter months.

Today I started the bike for the first time this year. Started right up, no problems...other than fuel pouring down the bike from the carb area!

I removed the tank and airbox to access the carbs, and everything looked fine (hoses, drain screws closed, etc...)

I figured I would blow (with my mouth) through the fuel hoses and see what happens. No air would go through the rear hose. I was able to blow easily through the front hose and fuel came out of the small ports on top of the carb.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance!

smokinjoe73

Usually that is a stuck float. You for sure gotta remove and clean the carbs. Its the float that prevents this happening all the time but they can stick, causing this issue.

Which way are you blowing through the hoses? Doing this is unlikely to solve the problem.

Did you store the bikes with the carbs full of awful ethanol fuel? (sound like you did)

Also drain the tank and put it in your car and/or drop it at the gas station for disposl. Alot of the offending debris, h2o, and varnish are in there waiting to foul your carbs the minute you let them.

superh1998

I was thinking the float was the problem. I was just surprised how much fuel was coming out while running (I thought a fuel line may have split or something).

I was blowing from the tank side towards the carbs. I didn't think it would fix the problem, it was more of a troubleshooting step (I thought it may be of some value if that fact was known). I assume that I shouldn't be able to blow air through if everything was OK?

I guess fuel was still in there. I did drain them by opening the screw, but I'm sure there was fuel in other places.

Should have just done what I have always done, which was starting it every couple of weeks. What can ya do? I haven't had to clean them in at least 5 years. She was always running great, so I figured why mess with success? haha.

smokinjoe73

Well, no, its the opposite. You have been negligent and sooner or later it caught up with you.

You should more think "I blew this off for so long I was lucky to get away with it."

You should drain your carbs before storage (10 min now saves HOURS later), and the ethanol has been rising in gas this whole time, making things worse.

Its like the other thread I just posted on. You can cross a busy street blindfolded but that sure doesnt make it the right or prudent way to do it.

superh1998

Thanks for the life lessons, Dad.

BTW, my first post indicates I DID drain the float bowls.

I removed the carbs and the float bowls were immaculate. Absolutely no build up or varnish inside (I use Seafoam regularly.)

I will clean them, and hopefully that will solve the problem at hand.

I do understand even though the bike is taken care of, and the bowls were drained, the simple fact is that some debris from the tank, hoses, etc... may have got stuck, causing the float to remain open.

I honestly do appreciate your help and opinions, Joe. I do not appreciate you trying to be-little me with your smart comments. That is not hard for anyone to do.

Maybe a quote for you would be "patience is a virtue".

All B.S. aside, I do thank you for responding to my earlier question with your technical opinion.

cybercarl