Bike died after test run

Just got my bike all back together after adjusting the valves. I put it on prime to fill the float bowls, put on the choke and turned it on. It ran with the petcock on prime for about a minute until I remembered to switch it to on. It fired up just like normal; only had to leave the choke on for a few seconds before the RPM's soared , but it didn't want to idle without just a little choke.

I took it on a 3 mile test ride and it ran really well, lots of get up and go. But when I pulled it into the garage it just kind of sputered for a few seconds then died. Wouldn't start up again after that. For whatever reason I opened the oil filler and it smelled like gas... Did this possibly happen when I ran it on prime?

It started up just fine when I got home from work several hours later, but still wanted a tiny bit of choke to idle. I pulled the 1 & 4 spark plugs, 4 was a nice tan, 1 smelled like gas. My plan was to dump the oil and install new spark plugs, but I'm not sure thats the problem...

 

Be sure to check your oil level now, while properly on the center stand on level ground. If it's high, you've got gas in the oil from a float(s) sticking open, or the like. This is a common problem on these bikes, even after carb rebuilds with new, proper parts.

Change the oil if the level's high, and then solve your carburetor issue. Search the forum for other's contributions to this issue.

 

Ya, you really need to do a thorough carb cleaning, make sure your floats are set correctly, sync., and color tune. Do this before you change the oil.
It is a job but you will be happy you did it.

 

I gotta go with Maverick on this one; change the oil immediately if it's polluted with fuel.

THEN fix the carbs. You've likely got a sticky or mis-adjusted float.

 

Yes, do it before you do the carbs as long as you don't start it again until the carbs have been finished. Because if it is the carbs it will only put fuel in your oil again. This is the reason I said do the carbs first. But you want to do both before running it again. Guess I should have said to do the carbs and change the oil before running again.

 

Thanks guys!

I was thinking floats as well but it never hurts to check with the experts...
Any thoughts as to why it died? I'm assuming that after my spirited ride it just chocked on the extra gas...

Either way I guess I'll be pulling the carbs again :evil: , and giving them a thorough cleaning and sync... At least I get to buy that manometer I've always wanted!

 

So I pulled the tank off and it was pouring out gas with the petcock in all positions... Guess I didn't do too good a job rebuilding it... Still planning on cleaning the carbs...

 

Good idea. If your carbs are working correctly and the floats doing their job, you should be able to leave the petcock on PRI with no adverse effects.

All a leaky petcock does is enable a leaky float to keep leaking.

You have a float issue first and foremost; the petcock is secondary.