Carb or petcock issue? Maybe?

[BradsKat]

OK so I've never operated on my bike before ('06 600) so I'm just looking for a little gut-check here before I tear into it.

Bike hadn't been ridden in about 2 weeks when all of a sudden the garage reeked of fumes. After much searching around, trial and error, etc. it appears to be gas fumes from the bike. I don't think there's fuel in the oil but this is the first season I'm not running 300v - I switched to Rotella T6 - and I don't know what it normally smells like. There is a strong smell of gas coming from the air box. There's not enough draining into it for there to be any obvious signs of a gas leak (no puddling, the drain tube is dry if I pull the plug, fuel gauge doesn't appear to be any lower after 2 weeks of stink).

So my assumption is this is either a petcock issue or a carb issue. Petcock is easy enough to check so I'm fine there. Failing that, I guess the next thing to check would be float height/needles? This is where things get a bit fuzzy for me.

Should I simply start working my way through Carbs 102 (pdf and video) or are there simple things I can do to isolate the problem first?

The bike starts and runs fine.

If I get into pulling the carbs apart, I have no bike-specific tools whatsoever so at the very least I'm going to need to get something that will let me sync the carbs?

Thanks in advance folks!
Brad

[KAT TOY]

the carbs are vented to the air. some fuel smell is normal. if no gas in oil and it runs ok then leave it alone.

[BradsKat]

Thanks for the reply. I understand that some smell is normal - I've had the bike in the same garage for six years so I'm used to it smelling, especially for a day or so after I've been riding. This isn't that - this is "we better leave the garage door open so the house doesn't fill with fumes or blow up." Since it's obviously not dumping a lot of fuel perhaps I don't need to tear the carbs down but it's bad enough that I don't think ignoring it is an option. Maybe I dump some seafoam in the tank and run that through on a long ride and see if the problem resolves itself but assuming it doesn't, taking it to the dealer isn't an option for me so I need to start somewhere.

[shpielers]

Can you see any obvious leaks? Poke around with the fairings off and a flashlight. You can also pull the tank and leave it on some sawhorses/bench/what have you and leave it for a day or two and see if you can spot any leaks. and/or leave it in a different room/area for that time period and see if the gas smell follows the tank. Easy and free way to narrow down to/rule out the gas tank/petcock.

I run t6, it should just smell like normal oil, 0 trace of fuel smell.

[BradsKat]

Thanks.

I checked it tonight and the oil level is above full so my fear is that there is fuel in there which would point back to the float needles (I think). I'll drain some oil tomorrow to confirm and either way I'll start to pull things apart for a closer inspection.

Brad

[92xjunker]

Your oil will smell of fuel, sniff at the fill port.

[shpielers]

Thanks.

I checked it tonight and the oil level is above full so my fear is that there is fuel in there which would point back to the float needles (I think). I'll drain some oil tomorrow to confirm and either way I'll start to pull things apart for a closer inspection.

Brad

Might not be the float needles, but probably is float related. There's an Oring on the floats that can wear out. Once you have the tank off, clean then blow on the fuel into carbs line. If you can pass air/hear bubbling your floats aren't sealing. Could be worn needles, junk preventing them from sealing, bad orings, or way incorrect float height. If you pull the carbs off and hook them to an auxiliary fuel source and leave them for a while, you can usually see which carb body(ies) are leaking and know where to focus your attention.

[BradsKat]

Thanks guys. I took a long run with some seafoam last night and appears to have helped. Garage is back to normal. Hoping this holds until the winter when I can strip it down and go through it all properly without missing out on seat time.

I'm going to pull the tank regardless and have a look for anything obvious but I'm hoping to leave the carbs alone for now.

Thanks again!
Brad