Fuel pump keeps priming

[HuggyBear15]

Hi everyone,

I did a search before posting, but can't seem to find this specific fuel pump issue. Let me preface this question with the fact that I realize this seems to be a self-inflicted issue :-/

Longer/full story start:
I was out for a ride this afternoon, and not but a couple of blocks from home I noticed a gigantic parking lot was completely empty. Like an idiot, I decided "Hey! What a perfect place and time to try doing some wheelies!" I fiddled around with that for a while, and was quite pleased with myself for getting a few modest pop clutch type of wheelies to happen. Right toward the end though, I noticed the bike was suddenly idling really weird (it was really jerky) when I wasn't giving it any gas but was in gear. It dawned on me that I'm an idiot, and rode home without issue.

Shorter story start:
Shortly after returning from my ride, it occurred to me that I wasn't sure how many miles I'd ridden, so I out the key back in and flipped it to the "on" position to check the tripometer. I noticed that the fuel pump primed like crazy, like it normally does when I've let it sit for a week or two. I turned the key back to "off" then to "on", and it did the same thing. I realized I may have a problem, and tried starting it a couple of times, to no avail. After letting it sit for about 30 minutes, I tried again with the same result; it primed like crazy. I also noticed that some gas (maybe 1-2 tablespoons?) had dripped onto my garage floor. I had to leave for an appointment and when I came back about 5 hours later, no more gas had leaked.

I've been reading that wheelies can cause a carb float to get stuck in a funny position, and that stuck floats can cause gas to drip like i saw. That said, I can't get the fuel pump to stop priming to let me try a less flooded start-up.

Anyone have any suggestions on what to do with the fuel pump? I'm case it's unclear I'm mechanically inept, but would like to try fixing it myself before shelling out a bunch of money I don't have for a mechanic to fix it...any maybe a tow /doh!!

Thank you!

[grommet]

Stuck carb float. Caused by wheelie angle and some maybe a bit of bouncing when you set it down. Tap the sides of the carbs with the back end of a screwdriver or something similar.

If tapping doesn't fix it, you'll need to take the carbs out and dislodge the stuck float.

If you end up taking them out, replace the float valve o-rings at the same time.

[HuggyBear15]

Ok thank you!! I'll give that a shot!

Should the float coming unlodged resolve the fuel pump issue too?

[oldjeep]

Originally Posted by HuggyBear15

Ok thank you!! I'll give that a shot!

Should the float coming unlodged resolve the fuel pump issue too?

If there is a float stuck, the reason that they pump is running is that the fuel is flowing into a carb bowl and the line pressure never stays up. If a float is stuck I'd expect a whole lot of fuel on the floor, I had one stick after a carb rebuild and it was dumping a significant volume of fuel on the floor in addition to flooding the cylinder with fuel.

[HuggyBear15]

Ok awesome, thanks! I'm already stuck, as I don't seem to have the right sized allen wrench to get the tank up and access the 3rd carb. I've ordered one, so when it arrives I'll get it lifted up, give it a shot, and report back.

Thanks guys!

[oldjeep]

Should be able to get to the 3rd carb with a long screwdriver. Just put it on the drain screw and rap it with a hammer.

[HuggyBear15]

Thank you for the tips, both in terms of reaching the 3rd carb and the tapping technique (I'd been very gently tapping the top amd random parts of the sides of the carbs I could reach with a screwdriver, because I'm dumb).

The baby is down for a nap so I ran into the garage real quick and gave it a shot. It worked! The fuel pump didn't go nuts when i flipped the key to "on" and, with some effort, it started up! I let it warm up then turned it off and back on- it started without issue!

Thank you guys so much for the help! I'd have blown hundreds had I had to take it to a mechanic, and the prospect of pulling out the carbs was REALLY daunting.

No more wheelies for me!

Thanks again guys!

[coolhandluke]

Just had the same issue with mine....pump priming more than usual and gas spilling on the exhaust....had a bad float bowl gasket....ethanol in fuel swelled the rubber gasket to where it wouldn't seal....

[oldjeep]

Originally Posted by coolhandluke

Just had the same issue with mine....pump priming more than usual and gas spilling on the exhaust....had a bad float bowl gasket....ethanol in fuel swelled the rubber gasket to where it wouldn't seal....

Doubt it has anything to do with ethanol.

[Fozzy1]

No more wheelies for me!

Thanks again guys![/quote]

Don't let something like that take the joy of wheelies away from ya ;)

[jeffg]

In the event a cylinder was flooded, check your oil for presence of gas.