I'd gotten everything ready ( I thought ) to start a '79 Sporty that hadn't been started in 10 years. New fluids, got spark, sprayed a little fuel in the intake, jumped on it a few times, she spit and sputtered, then I notice fuel draining out of the overflow from the carb bowl. Is this a stuck bowl??

 

I think I know what you wanted to say, you just phrased it incorrectly.
A bowl does not stick, but a float can. So you have a stuck float.
Someting has mad the float either fail to come up (closing the float needle) or the float no longer floats.

If it's just a stuck needle, take a wrench and tap the side of the float bowl. In most cases this will dislodge the float and close the needle off.
If that don't do the trick it is time to remove the carb and take it apart.
pg

 

Tap not hard enough to break anything. Probably start pretty easy.

 

Another possibility is that the rubber-like tip of the needle has become hard and dry from sitting unused for such a long time. It may recover and become good again by just sitting in fuel overnight. Or it may need to be replaced.

Be aware - the replacement parts are nortoriously bad bad bad. It is quite likely that a new replacement needle will not work - so be prepared for this. Best if you can find a way to make the old one work.

Also there may be floating crud in the bowl holding the needle away from the seat.

 

Setting 10 years! Carb probably got so much dry crap in it you'll need to Rebuild and Clean the Carb.

 

Bet you could take carb off intake,unscrew the bowl screws and very carefully nudge the bowl and gasket off. Set the bowl aside undo the screw that holds the float pin and remove float,pin and needle. I take a little peice of 0000 steel wool and take my little flathead screwdriver and spin it to clean stuck junk from the seat.Clean the needle tip da same way.Make sure float don't have a hole in it,then put float,pin and needle back and tighten screw down. I then hold carb upsidedown and see that the float is set a slight upward angle.IF so,a little carb spray in the bowl to clean at the crud in the bottom,and the o-ring gasket,rub a little oil to smooth it out then put it to the bowl and install on carb body.Put the carb to the bike and turn on the gas and she shouldn't leak.If you haven't taken a ride on her yet,you might find that you need to clean the whole body and the jets inside which means you should totally rebuild the carb. Good luck.

 

Hmm, this sounds vaguely familiar. Just got my bike to run smoothly after it sat for 10 or so years. The guys on here helped out big time. You may want to read through the thread "lotsa pressure". They covered a ton of info that was all useful and my bike has been starting on the 2nd or 3rd kick since.

 

Here's my carb notes to go along with cbial's post ...

1. Removing it from the bike should be straight forward. First thing when it is out is to check the pilot screw setting. Turn it all the way in until gently seated counting the number of 1/4 turns; then write this number down; then reset it.

2. I put mine in a vice to remove the screws, and for much of the following work. Wrap in a shop towel; close the vice gently taking extra care with the choke and throttle linkages. The vice is a needed extra pair of hands.

3. You must be very careful handling the float so as to not change the level. You must have the official specs for setting the level as in the FM, and check it, every time you dismantle the carb, as the last thing before putting it back together.

4. The jets are made of brass, a soft metal that is easily damaged. Use an exact correct size screwdriver. I ground a medium flat blade screwdriver down to exact size on my bench grinder to access the slow jet.

5. The general appearance of the inside of the carb is not necessarily a good indication of its condition. It can look spotless and have clogged jets, or look cruddy and have clear jets.

6. Ignore any advice that says to soak or boil the whole carb in carb cleaner. Rather, clean each individual part. Do not allow any solvents to contact any rubber parts [tip of needle, o-ring seal for bowl]

7. Make a list of all of the jets and passages for your carb using the carb manual or the FM for the bike. Then ensure that you can blow either compressed air or carb cleaner thru each one.

8. Remove the pilot screw and clean the parts and the passage. The passage contains in this sequence: pilot screw, spring, washer, o-ring. These are very small parts, especially the washer and o-ring. Usually the spring will easily fall out. One time i thought the spring was not in there because it would not fall out; i obtained a new spring and could not get it in! The technique for removing the washer and o-ring is to use a pipe cleaner: stick it in the hole, twist it around, remove it - you should see the washer and o-ring on the end of the pipe cleaner.

Remember that the purpose of the washer is to protect the o-ring from the spring and you will always get them back in in the correct sequence.

9. Dismantle the accelerator pump assembly noting carefully the sequence and orientation of the parts. Clean and inspect the parts. Replace the diaphragm if it is cracked.

10. Check the float level then carefully put it back together. I personally find it very confusing trying to decide which way to bend the tang if it is not correct. If the fuel level is low is the float high or low? Do i need to bend the tang up or down? On the bench the carb is usually upside down, adding to the confusion. Sort all this out before making an adjustment.

Best to replace the original Phillips screws for the bowl with stainless steel socket head screws.

 

I guess my carb is winning the battle. Dis-mantled and cleaned thorouly but the bike spits and sputters but won't stay running. My Knee is about DONE! It doesn't look like any gas is even getting in the carb....I should see a squirt of fuel when I turn the throttle right?? Anyone in the Brevard County area good w/ carbs? Any ideas...

 

When you twist the throttle you should get a single squirt of fuel from the accelerator pump. You can see this is you look into the carb while you twist the throttle.

The other way for fuel to get into the carb is while the engine is turning over. When a piston goes down it sucks air in thru the carb; this flow of air creates a low pressure in the venturi which causes fuel to rise up out of the bowl thru the main and slow jets. Obviously then, these jets must be clear for this to occur.

When you cleaned the carb did you remove the rubber plug over the slow jet? then remove the slow jet with a screwdriver? then blow compressed air or spray-can carb cleaner thru it? Likewise for the main jet? Did you dismantle and clean the accelerator pump parts?