Fuel leak whilst on side stand

[FJ-Paul]

Hi All,

Newby here, hello to all. I'm pretty new to FJs also. I have enjoyed reading through the forum. This is a brilliant resource, tons of great stuff!

I need some help please.

My 88 3CV leaks fuel from one of the carb overflow pipes when the bike is on the side stand (engine not running, but ign on and switch to 'run'   i.e. fuel pump running). About 1 drip per second.

Is this typical, or indicative that some spanner time is required? Do the floats hang up when leant over?

Many thanks,  Paul H   (UK)

[FJmonkey]

Could be a sticky float, small piece of crap stuck in the needle seat. Sometimes you can knock them loose with a wood dowel or back side of a screwdriver.  You are trying to get the floats to bounce a little so the piece of crap falls into the bowl. Others have had luck driving off a curb or other such to get the bike to drop and floats to rise allowing fuel to wash out the seats. Watch out if you do this as doing it wrong will have the lower part of your headers, lower fairing and or collector box getting bashed by the curb edge. You must be traveling forward fast enough to clear the hard buts underneath. I hope this helps...

[FJ-Paul]

Many thanks FJmonkey,

I'll give the carbs a rap and report back.

I suspect there could be a build up of crud within the float bowl. Even if it's clean of particles, I find that modern fuels leave a coating of white/grey 'stuff' all over and this could be causing stick.

I've been a Laverda man all my life, and bought this scruffy FJ as a winter bike. But the FJ turns out to be a wonderful motorcycle and I'm falling in love with it. The Jota rarely gets a look-in these days, it's also a wonderful bike, but something about the FJ presses my button.

Paul

[FJmonkey]

Many thanks FJmonkey,
I'll give the carbs a rap and report back.
I suspect there could be a build up of crud within the float bowl. Even if it's clean of particles, I find that modern fuels leave a coating of white/grey 'stuff' all over and this could be causing stick.
I've been a Laverda man all my life, and bought this scruffy FJ as a winter bike. But the FJ turns out to be a wonderful motorcycle and I'm falling in love with it. The Jota rarely gets a look-in these days, it's also a wonderful bike, but something about the FJ presses my button.
Paul

Paul, where in the world are you? Maybe other FJ owners are near you that will work for Beer or just good conversation . You chose the FJ over your Laverda, you can't be all all bad.....These bikes are work horses that love the racing speeds....Load them up or go naked, just get them in the open and find the Koookalooo zone...I bet this club has over 1,000 years of experience with FJ bikes. Maybe Marsh can add them up......

[Arnie]

NO!!  It is neither typical nor is it safe.  A few of this lists' members have had their bikes go up in flames.

Check that the floats are not stuck, the float needle valves don't have any crap holding them open, the O-rings that mount the float needle valves in place are not perished.  Repair or replace as needed.

Cheers,
Arnie

[Mark Olson]

if fuel is leaking everytime you lean it over you have a stuck float .

open the bowl drain and that will cause the fuel to all come out of the bad carb .then let fuel back in from tank to wash the carb bowl out. this will sometimes flush the needle and seat and fix your problem. close bowl drain and ride.

if that works ok, if not go curb hopping .

if that dose not fix it you are looking at a carb rebuild.