I went for a ride and filled up the bike before I got home. I left to go to the store in my car, when I came back the garage smelled like gas and low and behold a big puddle under the bike. I turned the fuel petcock off and it slowed, then stopped. This bike has Mikuni TM flat-slide carbs, and there is gas running out the overflow tube on the horizontal cylinder carb. My friend says I need to adjust the float level, not sure how to accomplish this, any ideas?

can you post a picture ?

You can download a pdf of the TM manual here

If it wasn't leaking before and then leaking after it sounds like a stuck float. The float needle must have some junk stuck in it that keeps it from closing. Try this trick:

Turn the fuel off and let the engine run until it dies of fuel starvation. This allows the float to fall to it's lowest point and allow the junk to flow by. Then tap the float bowl with the handle of a medium sized screwdriver a few times and then turn the fuel on. The may wash the junk out of the float needle. If this doesn't do it, you'll have to pull the bowl to remove the needle and blow it out.

Sure sounds like a stuck float. Luckly the petrol went out the overflow and not down the carb and into the cylinder. Check your oil level just in case; to see if is fluctuating; full when you go for a ride, but low when you return.

Fraser.

I put a vacuum actuated petcock on mine between the stock petcock and the fuel pump to prevent such things.

Thanks for the help. The float was stuck and allowing gas to flow. The oil level is fine, nothing went into the engine. Put a reachable fuel shutoff online just in case. Runs great now, no leaks. Though I have a question, will the clock on the "dash" drain the battery if I ride every other day?

I think, it (clock) drains battery too low, if You drive "every 2. or 3. week". Surely it also depend of Your battery condition... and charge system condition... and... and...

That's what I thought, I used a multimeter and it was a very low draw. But i figure it should be fine, the battery is only a month old. Thanks.

Also, this may go on forever but how do you bleed the front brakes? I can't even get a brake bleeder wrench around it, it's so close to the wheel, any ideas.

A clock that still works I have yet to see one that still goes

I vacuum bled with the calipers off of the mount. If you put a piece of wood in, you could pressure bleed off the mount as well.

That is another way to do it, but it needs to invest such vacuum bleeder then....

The great idea of mounting a clock doesn't do much for battery charge (so a trickle charger is a neccessity) it does keep pretty good time.

The only way you'll reasonably fit a spanner on the bleed nipple (or even the plastic hose for that matter) is to take the caliper off the mounts. If you loosen the caliper mount bolts you can drop the caliper a centimeter or two along the disk. which gives you a bit more space. . If you don't take the caliper off the disk you don't have to worry about inserting a bit of wood and you can still open the bleed nipple with one hand.

I'm in the middle of bleeding the brakes and it's heaps of fun . I'm going to try the trick of inserting the brake fluid from the bottom with a syringe this time.

Mike