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Fuel hose from carb leaking GS500F

11K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  AlwaysLearnin 
#1 ·
So as the title states the fuel hose that comes from the carb (I think) is dripping fuel at an impressive rate. The petcock only has 3 positions on, prime, and reserve. While the bike is upright (off of the side stand) this hose drips fuel . The bike starts up okay, it struggles a little like it is flooded but what could the issue be? Is it likely the petcock or is something else causing my woes.

Thank you for your help!

-Jared
 
#2 ·
Where does the other end of the hose connect? Does it just end up by the ground somewhere?

The fuel valve shouldn't allow fuel through in the reserve or on positions without the engine turning. It should allow free flow when in the prime position. (This is used only to fill an empty carb)

The carb has a fuel valve in it as well, which should shut off the fuel flow once the carb fills. If it is stuck, plugged, or misadjusted, the fuel can leak. That's where I suspect the problem is.
 
#3 ·
My GS had a similar problem. The "On" and "Res" positions are vacuum operated, whereas the "Prime" position is gravity fed. I swapped tanks and it wasn't a stuck float or valve, it was the petcock. It went from stubborn to start to effortless, as it was no longer drowning in gas in either the On or Res positions.
 
#4 ·
That is interesting I never would have thought it to be the petcock but that makes sense. Thank you for mentioning that it is certainly something to check out in future troubleshooting.

It wound up being the float valve as Dodsfall mentioned. It was so gunked up and corroded. I replaced that when rebuilding the carbs and it ran so much better.
 
#5 ·
Your welcome. I presumed you had already addressed cleaning out the carbs, which can often be done without buying parts and a thorough soaking/cleaning, being careful not to expose the rubber diaphragms/gaskets to carb cleaner. In my case I swapped out the carb bank with a running bike (took about 15 minutes) and fuel was flowing in both the "on" and "res" positions. Symptoms were the same as yours, it would start after struggling to clear the excess gas. I swapped tanks and it started instantly. Hey, you never know.
 
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