I just removed and cleaned the carbs in my Honda CM450, it was sitting for 12 years. It was my first time doing this, the info on this site really helped a lot…
The good news – the bike started right up! Ran just like it used to!
The bad news – when I turn the petcock on, fuel starts leaking from the carb vents & drain hose. As soon as I turn the petcock off it stops leaking. (When I first put the carbs back on and turned the petcock on, it took about 5 seconds to start leaking, but now it leaks right away after turning the petcock on).
Any ideas on how I could troubleshoot?
Follow Up:
Well, I took the carbs off again and re-cleaned the float needles, even thought they looked clean. Then I realized, when I put it together last time, that the accelerator pump assembly wasn’t right… I had put a rubber boot inside the assembly, when it supposed to go on the outside.
Congrats on the fix. If a bike is leaking fuel out the carb it can really only be a couple things. Either the float needle is dirty, worn, or gummed up or the floats are set too high so the needle never gets pushed closed. Both are simple fixes!
Cheers