fuel smell??
 

just wondering if everyone has a strong smell of gasoline when the hawk sits in the garage (just overnight)? is it normal for there to be such a strong smell?? am i running rich?? it's been like this ever since i've owned the bike (over a year) and never thought too much about it.
-brian-

Nope....sounds like maybe a leaky petcock(sp) or stuck floats, or bad seal on the filler, or....?

well i'm not leaking any fuel... what would be the symptoms if any of floats that are stuck? my bike runs good, just need to change the plugs and air filter w/in the next thousand miles or so.

oh, and did you mean nope: 1. it doesn't smell ... or... 2. it's not a symptom of running rich?

Well if your not leaking anything then it's probably not any of those and I meant nope, no smell. It could be running rich and you're smelling raw gas from the exaust or there's a vapor type leak somewhere. Do you always fill it to the top or is it no matter how full you smell it?

Though not on my Superhawk. One winter I had the same problem on my VX800. I would go into the garage and smell fuel. Looked around, but found no indications of anything leaking or driping. Just the smell. Come spring I changed the oil in preparation for riding and found that the oil was the consistancy of water. And smelled of gas. And there was a lot more than 4 quarts... You guessed it the gas had drained from the tank through the carbs and past the piston rings into the crankcase. Turned out tha I had a bad petcock. I replaced it and all was well. No adverse affects at all. I was lucky that I changed the oil BEFORE I tried to start it. :)

I don't know if this is even possible with the VTR...

Yes it is possible with a VTR. I had a problem with the float pin varnishing up and allowing seepage ..... filled the crank case with oil/gas mixture.

Geoff in Almonte

It's probably the vapor exhaust tube. You'll notice this especially if you:

1) Top-off your tank and
2) Leave it in an enclosed, hot place (like a garage in August)

If you've done either 1, 2, or both, it's normal. Don't worry about it. It's so the tank doesn't explode under pressure as the gasoline expands in the heat.

I live in S.FLA. and my bike is always in the garage and it's always hot here except maybe 2 months of the year. I've never smelled gas from my bike in 6 years.

Yeah, check the oil and smell the oil filler hole. If there's gas, you'll definitely smell it. Otherwise, if it's a fuel leak problem, it may be leaking between the cylinders and not onto the floor, so you'll never know it. Use a flashlight (not a match!) to search between the heads and maybe under the carbs for hanging drops.