I was out in the garage showing off the hawk to a buddy of mine, since I just got the seat cowl in the mail and had it fitted, we were looking at it and I was asking him if he had ever done anything on his older kawi with the CCT's. As we were looking around the bike, I noticed at the front of the bike, there was an opening that looked like it could be for another header pipe, but it was leaking gasoline. Not a big leak, just a very small leak, little drip here, little drip there. Anyone ever had or hear of this? What is the opening for? I have looked in the service manual and found nothing, but I could have missed something. My friend said that may suggest I need to get my carbs synched but he didn't know for sure either since we didn't dive deeper into the matter. Any help is appreciated.

 

can you post a pic of where you suspect the leak is. "Front of bike" is a tad vague - ta

("header bike" header pipe...??

 

Yeah, I will try and grab some pics tonight, I am on my lunch break and will have more time tonight. Yeah meant pipe, fixed.

 

I'd bet your looking at the casting blank where the CCT would go if that head had been machined for the back cylinder. The head castings are a like casting front to rear.. They are just machined differently depending on where they are used

 

 

You can even see a small drip in the second photo there.

 

my man, you should wash that hawk!----lol

 

Like TX said... That's a part of the cast engine block... If it's leaking anthing there the bike wouldn't run... At all... And it wouldn't be fuel, it would be oil...

So even if it drips there the leak is somewhere else...

 

Yeah...I had planned to wash it then it got cold on me. Like to keep my bikes cleaner usually. Where could a small leak like that be coming from? Any ideas?

 

Not hard to find. It will be either the tank or carbs, so look at the tank outlet first and if that is not it remove the tank to have a look at the carbs.

 

Could be tank vent hose. How full do you fill it? It shouldn't be filled above the bottom of the collar in the tank opening.

 

I don't fill it that full, but it is full. At the current time, I don't think it even has 3/4 of a tank in it right now. Will have to wait till I am feeling better and the weather is nicer to tear into it.

 

If you're looking for a leak - especially a slow one - the last thing you want to do is wash the bike. What ever is leaking is leaking above the site that you observe. Take the bike apart from the top down and inspect everything for the liquid trail. You'll find it. Just takes some time.

 

Good advice there. I had actually meant that I had meant to wash it before I found that I had a link. Glad you said something, may have forgot about that. Definitely won't be washing it now till I get the leak tracked down. It's a wonderful 19 degrees outside right now, so I imagine it may be a little bit before I tear into it.

 

If that was a header pipe, it would be the smallest I ever saw on a motorcycle!

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kators

Good advice there. I had actually meant that I had meant to wash it before I found that I had a link. Glad you said something, may have forgot about that. Definitely won't be washing it now till I get the leak tracked down. It's a wonderful 19 degrees outside right now, so I imagine it may be a little bit before I tear into it.

Another technique in leak finding at the home easy solution level is to clean and de grease the area well, get yourself a spray can of cheap foot powder. . Spray the suspected area let dry for a minute (carrier evaporates in seconds leaving behind a dry white powder residue) Then go ride around the block. Most times you will see wetness or a snail trail in the powder you can trace back to the leak.
There are also very cheap dye kits you can buy these days, degrease the area, some dye in the oil, battery powered black light, and a dark garage, very quick and easy oil leak detection.