More Monster help, sorry

[Noggin]

Ok, what could cause a bike that's not been started for 6 months to run fine then dump all it's fuel after being topped up and parked?

Just wondering where to start with trying to fix this!! I'm not remotely confident with stuff under the tank, so any ideas on where to start would be awesome

Someone has suggested a 'stuck carb float' (I think) but how would I look for that and know if it is the problem?


The pipes connected to the tank all seemed fine and dry, so I' reasonably sure that isn't the issue ( a bit as that would have been easy!!)

LOL

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

If the fuel is dribbling out it's probably a stuck float valve, sometimes you can get away with tapping the bottom of the carb with a screwdriver and it unsticks, more likely, the carbs will need stripping and cleaning, it's not difficult, but it's not a nice job (unless you like the smell of petrol)

[Rockburner]

If the fuel is dribbling out it's probably a stuck float valve, sometimes you can get away with tapping the bottom of the carb with a screwdriver and it unsticks, more likely, the carbs will need stripping and cleaning, it's not difficult, but it's not a nice job (unless you like the smell of petrol)

Yeah - this.

[Noggin]

Ok. I don't know if it dribbled TBH. I parked it on a Saturday afternoon and went back Tuesday and there was no more fuel, and the garages smelled bad!!

I don't mind the smell of petrol. Just have zero idea how to take the carbs off to strip and clean

[Skub]

A lot of older bikes dislike sitting for long periods with E10.

[Noggin]

A lot of older bikes dislike sitting for long periods with E10.

Yeah, this coming winter I'm going to try and find somewhere I can actually get in ad out of fairly easily just so I can go start her up. I did put expensive fuel in, not sure if that's E10 or not, but she was ridden from the valley up here with that in, so I'd hoped all would be ok. I'm pretty sure she was left a lot longer the last time and was fine. Hey ho


EDIT - same number of months each time, just finished at different times!!

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

Have you tried putting fuel in it, it might be okay, but only put a litre or two in, because it might not.

[Noggin]

Have you tried putting fuel in it, it might be okay, but only put a litre or two in, because it might not.

Not yet. I was so pissed off about it, and then the weather! Then I had the surgery!! LOL But, should be allowed to ride early July, so want to go work on her a bit to try

I'll try and borrow a fuel can and get some fuel when I go to the valley next

Cheers

[crust]

Woah. Where did the fuel go?

Stand the bike upright and look at the oil level in the site glass on the LH side of the motor - the side with the oil filler plug. Take out the oil filler plug and sniff it for a petrol smell.
If the oil level is over the glass, that's where you fuel went, drained down into the motor. If that's the case you'll need to drain the oil, flush the motor and refill with fresh oil.

If you run it with petrol / oil mix it will seize the motor < scrap the motor.

[Noggin]

Woah. Where did the fuel go?

Stand the bike upright and look at the oil level in the site glass on the LH side of the motor - the side with the oil filler plug. Take out the oil filler plug and sniff it for a petrol smell.
If the oil level is over the glass, that's where you fuel went, drained down into the motor. If that's the case you'll need to drain the oil, flush the motor and refill with fresh oil.

If you run it with petrol / oil mix it will seize the motor < scrap the motor.

Cheers, I'll check that. Pretty sure it went all over the floor. There was a very large damp area (garages are quite dusty, so it got soaked up/dried up in the three days) under the bike.

But I will check the oil glass and plug when I go to start the checking of her She hasn't been turned on since I parked and the fuel 'fell' out after that, so hopefully it's simple (for a normal person!!)

[DefTrap]

Yeah what crust said. Happened to me once but I caught it and dumped the oil. Funny, it never happened again.

[weeksy]

I know this is harsh, maybe, but is there not a fairly local garage who can do the tricky bits for you

[Jody]

I know this is harsh, maybe, but is there not a fairly local garage who can do the tricky bits for you

Yes there is but garages here charge an absolute fortune !

[weeksy]

I know this is harsh, maybe, but is there not a fairly local garage who can do the tricky bits for you

Yes there is but garages here charge an absolute fortune !

But they fix broken things.. lol. That's kinda the world. I'd rather see her spending money and having a bike she can enjoy, than having an unreliable bike that pisses fuel into the engine.

[Noggin]

I know this is harsh, maybe, but is there not a fairly local garage who can do the tricky bits for you

There are loads in the valley, but I have no way to get it down there at the mo!!

I know this is harsh, maybe, but is there not a fairly local garage who can do the tricky bits for you

Yes there is but garages here charge an absolute fortune !

But they fix broken things.. lol. That's kinda the world. I'd rather see her spending money and having a bike she can enjoy, than having an unreliable bike that pisses fuel into the engine.

Absolutely (on both comments!). But right now I don't have the money to pay someone in the valley (the boss finished my contract a month before I expected and the unemployment people are arguing that because I was paid holiday pay, I'm not entitled to benefit until end of June - even though I actually took my holiday, so it's not as if it was an extra lump sum!! ). But I start work 1st July and get benefits paid for June in the first week of July, so can maybe ask the guy up here to help me. And - the surgeon is not overly keen that I ride for 6 weeks, so second week in July, so in reality, I have another four weeks before I can actually ride (although, if I had a bike I'd probably start in July )

I'll go have a look at the bike first, then I'll walk down and see if the little local garage up here is open (inter-season, almost nowhere is!!) and if it is, I'll see if he does bikes as well.

The main reason the bike has sat untouched since it dumped the fuel is that I was wary about doing anything to it cos it seemed like it might be engine stuff, and I don't have confidence for that. Brakes & wheel changes I can do and probably even chains I'd have a go at with confidence. But I've never messed with engines, so worried about messing it up. That added to the fact that the weather was anti-bike in May and I'm not allowed to ride in June.

But, July is close, so I thought I'd have a look. But I won't go mad. I'll check the oil, then, if that's ok, I'll put in a bit of fuel to see if it works and doesn't leak. Just got to wait until I can borrow my friend's car and a fuel can to go and get some fuel

Thank you tho - you are right, if I had anything like a normal life!!

[Demannu]

Ok then.
Monster has a diaphragm fuel pump, so I f its dumped the fuel, then possibly the feed from the tank to the pump may have split/gone AWOL.
There is also a drain plug at the rear of the tank, check it!
That tank was in a sorry state in the first place, it may have a hole in it somewhere!

[Noggin]

Ok then.
Monster has a diaphragm fuel pump, so I f its dumped the fuel, then possibly the feed from the tank to the pump may have split/gone AWOL.
There is also a drain plug at the rear of the tank, check it!
That tank was in a sorry state in the first place, it may have a hole in it somewhere!

Since it's empty, I can take it off and have a look!!

But, when we looked just after, there was no sign of the tank being the issue. But I'll have a better look over the weekend Thank you

[Taipan]

I'd drop the float bowls and the float needles and check the little filters aren't full of gunk. Sometimes the accumulated crap causes no end of problems, stops the float closing and/or restricts flow to the bowls. That said I've no idea what carbs are on there or if they have that float set up?

[crust]

I'd drop the float bowls and the float needles and check the little filters aren't full of gunk. Sometimes the accumulated crap causes no end of problems, stops the float closing and/or restricts flow to the bowls. That said I've no idea what carbs are on there or if they have that float set up?

The carbs are 38mm mikunis, yes, they've got floats. The filter is attached to the bottom of the fuel tank. Same one as small fiats The trellis frame makes them fiddly to work on. There's youtube videos on how to take them off and clean them.

I've had the 'fill the motor with fuel' when I've left the fuel tap open but that was a damaged fuel float housing in my FCR carbs. In true Ducati fashion some bikes come with fuel taps, some don't.

Early Monster tanks have a reputation for leaking if they are lifted if they've got more than half full fuel in them. Easy fix with some silver solder so it could be that.

[roadster]

Having never had a problem in decades as of last year every one of my several bikes and petrol powered garden machines has played up due to fuelling problems. Carb blockages and/or fuel system leaks. I have now resigned myself to buying E5 fuel and adding a few drops of fuel stabilize to every gallon. Ethanol Shield is what I am trying at the moment. I think there are two problems - one is that rubber seals on older machines are falling apart, the other is fuel left the system for long periods degrades leaving sticky deposits in jets and float valves. I have even had a blocked injector on a slightly more modern machine.