The last time I rode the bike was when it started wigging out on me (see "Pop,Pop,Bang,Dead" thread), which was Thanksgiving Day. Thanks for everyone who helped me out- I discovered the reason the bike was acting the way it did was because the wire to the battery broke off (thus causing the igntion misfiring and all the backfires).

So today I went to fix it and voila, it worked! I started the bike up but it would die. After repeated attempts, I shook the bike around under my legs and heard nothing! I looked around for any pools of gasoline (it was raining so i couldn't tell which was water or gasoline) and to my chagrin, there was indeed a huge pool of gasoline. Apparently, the gasoline drained itself through one of the rubber hoses, expelling out the bottom of the frame (on the right side)

If I just simply fill it up again, will I encounter any more leaking problems? I have no idea what would cause this. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks!

PS- Such a beautiful day to ride in New York City today, too! What a shame...

OK your floats are sticking open, or your tank is leaking (doubt it) or you left it in prime ... and change the oil if you thing it smells like gas... and take out the plugs and turn the motor over to get rid of gas in the cynlinder ... Oh you strated it already ... OK then never mind... hydrolock = bad.
Cool.
Srinath.

How do I unstick the floats?

Sometimes you can tap on the sides of the carbs (float bowls) gently with maybe the handle of a screwdriver and dislodge them..

trey

If that doesn't work then consider cleaning the smithereens out of your carbs, particularly the float valve needles and seats.  If the needle(s) look like this



then buy a carb rebuild kit and replace them.



Also, make sure that the tiny wire clip isn't bent out of shape.

Thanks guys....a carb rebuild/cleaning has been on the to do list for the longest time, but it just seems to daunting to perform! I guess I have no choice now.

Where can I get the rebuild kit online? And what are the tools I need to perform a clean/rebuild job? Is this sometihng that can be performed in less than a day- my bike is parked at my friend's place.

I don't know if they're in stock, but THE online place for the kits seems to be PartsNMore.

You should definitely be able to take your carbs apart, clean / upgrade them, and put them back together in a day.  More like 2 to 4 hours MAX the first time around.

Tools you'll need:

* 10mm and 12mm sockets or wrenches for shifting the side plastics and unbolting the fuel tank.

* Flat screwdriver and pliers for turning off / disconnecting the under-tank petcock.

* Phillips screwdriver for draining the float bowls, removing the carbs, disassembling the carbs.

* 10mm open-end wrench for disconnecting the throttle cable from the carbs.

* A can of carb cleaner and a small dish / cup / whatever for soaking the jets and other metal parts.[/list:u]That's all I can think of at the moment.

The kit they sell is for the GS500E k-P (89-93); my bike is a 96, with the kit work?

Yes, all the way up through 2000.

There are a some other possibilities for your leak.  One is that the hoses from the tank to the petcock/vacuum switch have cracked and are leaking. A second is that the petcock is leaking from the o-ring behind the handle.  These are more likely if you have an older bike that has sat unused for a few years.  I had both of these problems with my '90 shortly after buying it in '99 with only 2500 miles on it.

For the gas to leak out the carbs your vacuum switch and carb float valve have to be leaking.  If this happens because I'd suspect that you've got dirt or rust in the tank and particles are keeping those valves from closing completely.  You'll want to clean the carbs as suggested above, but you may have bigger problems if the tank is rusted.

When I look inside the tank, I can see three or four spots of rust with diameters approx half an inch. Am I in trouble?

OK rust ... Ok you cannot have any additives ... they all have methanol whihc aids rust, then keep tank filled...
Now if you have rust in carbs ... that could have kept the floats open just enough to make it fill and leak.
There is a way to clean carbs without taking anything off.
Get a Auxillary coolant tank, fill it with ~ 3 cups gas, and 1 cup of yamaha carb cleaner ... only one that works in the method I am explaining.
Then drain your carbs and at the frame petcock disconnect the reserve line from tank ... and block it off so it doesn't run ... and hook up the line from the aux tank to the petcock ... and put it in prime ... that should fill your floats ... and if one is high or sticking even better, it will let all of that get soaked ... now you shake the bike every few hours and let it be for a day. Then drain it, and runs ~ 2-3 floats of gas through it and drain ...
That's it... then fill gas and drive ... Keep it filled as much as you can.
Cool.
Srinath.

but if i just clean it, everything should be okay too right (coz my carbs are waaaaay overdue for a cleaning)?

Ok if you clean it the way I said ... 99% most of your problems will go away ... Taking apart is overrated ... as is being squeaky clean ... fairly clean and nothing clogged up is fine.
Now the float being stuck, or set high or other things needing adjustment ... OK that will not get fixed.... but maybe you just left it in prime or float has dirt in it... making it stay open ... Rebuild kit is overkill ... bikes that runs and dont leak out the carbs - yours flowed from weight of gas in tank... not leaking ... not need rebuit.
Cool.
Srinath.

To clarify, I largely concur with Srinath.  When I suggested cleaning the carbs "to smithereens" I wasn't talking about the externals or even the float bowls.  But I was talking about the float valve parts, and you may as well clean the smithereens out of the jets while you're in there.

Also, notice that I only recommended (a) rebuild kit(s) if the tip(s)  of your float valve needle(s) is/are damaged.   (<-- "Vile phrase!")  I have ridden 32,000 miles now without a rebuild, and I don't plan to do one unless something goes wrong because of verifiable part wear or failure.

However, we hear about a lot of problems that could be deep-sixed by cleaning (the important parts of) the carbs.  Especially where older bikes or those with a questionable maintenance history are concerned.

Srinath's method sounds perfect for someone who is hesitant to "open 'er up".  But for the more adventurous folks a few tools and a couple hours of slow, methodical work will get you not only a clean pair of carbs but the personal knowledge that they really ARE clean.

It's definitely each person's call to make.  We're just here to offer suggestions and ideas from our experience.

My floats were stuck too. I left the bike for a couple of weeks and came back to what seemed to be a large headache. The bike would turn over (with clean plugs) and run for about 2 min and then die. I also got the whole fuel leaking from the Hose on the right thing (That hose is a "carbs full of gass" warning sign).

Here is something to try before pulling the carbs out...

Pull you plugs and if you see black stuff, then your floats were stuck open and your engine had too much gas to deal with and got Carbon fouled plugs. (Carbon fouling is a thin black dusty deposit on the Spark plug). Probably this made it run like crap after you fixed the battery.
Pepboys sells this carb cleaner stuff. To use it all you do is lift the tank up, pull the air filter out and spray directly into the carbs while the bike is NOT running. Wait 5 min (while you reasembe the bike) and fire her up. This stuff worked for me. Now The bike is back in shape and I'm enjoying the riding.

If you need more info just ask.