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2006 TW200 leaking fuel from carb bowl and air filter!

1599 Views 32 Replies 15 Participants Last post by doealex1203, 27 d ago

bigstaraustin

Discussion Starter · 3 mo ago (Edited)

I let my TW sit for a few months and the battery and carb needed help. I took the bike to a shop here in Austin. They said they rebuilt the carb and replaced the battery. The fuel tank had some rust in it so I cleaned and removed the rust. Once I got the bike home and rode it for a few minutes around the neighborhood it seemed fine. I went to ride it the next day and it was running rough. After I let it idle for awhile I noticed fuel dripping from the tube under the carb bowl and fuel was leaking out of the air filter. Any ideas on this?
Also…. is there a company that sells a brand new OEM carb? Not interested in a Chinese knockoff

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1 - 20 of 33 Posts

salabim

· #2 · 3 mo ago

Most likely the float and or the fuel needle and seat is the culprit.Could be a small crumb of rust between needle and seat is holding it open just enough to leak.
If its been in the shop recently you may want to call the service dept. and make an appointment to take it back.
Before you run the engine anymore remove the air filter and dry it out. Drain any fuel from the air box and re-oil the filter if needed.
Check the oil level as well, fuel may have gotten into the engine oil. If the oil level has gone up or the oil smells like fuel, change it before you run it again.

Reactions: 5

Leisure Time Larry

· #3 · 3 mo ago

I agree with the above, but make sure your petcock is OFF immediately. That should stop the fuel flow into the carb. If it has been leaking with the pet cock off, then that would be suspect too. In which case I would take off the tank and transfer the fuel to a suitable container. Finally, I would recommend adding an inline fuel filter between the tank and the carb before running the bike again. Best-

Reactions: 5

Fred

· #4 · 3 mo ago (Edited)

All above sounds spot on.
Does sound like float needle valve is stuck in the open position, perhaps ever since the mechanic "rebuilt the carb" and issue then was only revealed when petcock was opened for your ride.
Having someone do the work is nice and convenient only if you can trust them to do a better job than you can. Can be hard to find someone familiar with TWs though.
Disassembling and inspecting/ replacing the float's needle valve is not difficult and makes for a great learning experience. The more you understand your TW the more you may appreciate these litle machines.
Maybe I'm goofy, old fashioned or just curious about the world I live in but I feel the need to understand any system I am interacting with. Since bad things can happen far from home this understanding seems especially true for a motorcycle.

After all you don't want to be like this guy I came across middle of nowhere Nevada sitting amongst all his worldly possessions next to his blown Triumph. Not easy to find only available shade uncer the bike when you have to share it with a growing oil spill. Unfortunately he knew almost nothing about bikes, was moving from east coast to west coast and new no-one in between other than this strange guy with a Betty Boop decal on his bike who stopped to help.

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Reactions: 5

SEADUB200

· #5 · 3 mo ago

Fred said:
All above sounds spot on.
Does sound like float needle valve is stuck in the open position, perhaps ever since the mechanic "rebuilt the carb" and issue then was only revealed when petcock was opened for your ride.
Having someone do the work is nice and convenient only if you can trust them to do a better job than you can. Can be hard to find someone familiar with TWs though.
Disassembling and inspecting/ replacing the float's needle valve is not difficult and makes for a great learning experience. The more you understand your TW the more you may appreciate these litle machines.
Maybe I'm goofy, old fashioned or just curious about the world I live in but I feel the need to understand any system I am interacting with. Since bad things can happen far from home this understanding seems especially true for a motorcycle.

After all you don't want to be like this guy I came across middle of nowhere Nevada sitting amongst all his worldly possessions next to his blown Triumph. Not easy to find only available shade uncer the bike when you have to share it with a growing oil spill. Unfortunately he knew almost nothing about bikes, was moving from east coast to west coast and new no-one in between other than this strange guy with a Betty Boop decal on his bike who stopped to help.
View attachment 234800

Well, he was pretty lucky to run into that guy. How’d it turn out?

I imagine he either got on his way, eventually, or it was all cartoon skeleton & vultures…

Reactions: 1

bartruff

· #6 · 3 mo ago (Edited)

Happened to me...after getting the bike out of 6 months of storage......as luck would have it, I had to ride it home and after a short distance...it resolved itself...before I caught on fire

Reactions: 2

Fred

· #7 · 3 mo ago

R.E. the broken down Triumph: I didn't do anything any of us wouldn't have done to help a fellow motorcyclist.
I stopped, gave him shade, cold beverages and my cell. He called GEICO who was very helpful and we worked to get him a tow to the nearest Triumph Dealer to the west, tried unsuccessfully to get him towed all the way to Bend Oregon. Hardest part was my explaining to operator that the nearest cross street she needed to complete the paperwork was a good twenty miles or so away, and had her put in an estimated mile post reading. I do not recall another car going by in the twenty plus minutes I was there before resuming my eastward journey to Moab.
Point is had the young man understood his machine better he may have detected a developing problem before sufering catastrophic failure far from help.

Reactions: 3

Hikerglenn

· #8 · 3 mo ago

I’m trying to remember, but I don’t think the drain screw on the carb is the correct one. I’m trying to remember what my 2006 had….. my 2023 is a crappy little jis head. But the above answers are spot on-something’s up with the float needle.

Reactions: 2

Hikerglenn

· #9 · 3 mo ago

Just also noticed, you’re missing the cap over the butterfly pivot shaft. It does have a seal around the shaft, but could present a vacuum leak sometime.

Reactions: 1

RaggedMountainMan

· #10 · 3 mo ago

Fred said:
All above sounds spot on.
Does sound like float needle valve is stuck in the open position, perhaps ever since the mechanic "rebuilt the carb" and issue then was only revealed when petcock was opened for your ride.
Having someone do the work is nice and convenient only if you can trust them to do a better job than you can. Can be hard to find someone familiar with TWs though.
Disassembling and inspecting/ replacing the float's needle valve is not difficult and makes for a great learning experience. The more you understand your TW the more you may appreciate these litle machines.
Maybe I'm goofy, old fashioned or just curious about the world I live in but I feel the need to understand any system I am interacting with. Since bad things can happen far from home this understanding seems especially true for a motorcycle.

After all you don't want to be like this guy I came across middle of nowhere Nevada sitting amongst all his worldly possessions next to his blown Triumph. Not easy to find only available shade uncer the bike when you have to share it with a growing oil spill. Unfortunately he knew almost nothing about bikes, was moving from east coast to west coast and new no-one in between other than this strange guy with a Betty Boop decal on his bike who stopped to help.
View attachment 234800

His first mistake was going that way. What did he expect to do about gas, oil and breakdowns?

Reactions: 1

RaggedMountainMan

· #11 · 3 mo ago (Edited)

Hikerglenn said:
I’m trying to remember, but I don’t think the drain screw on the carb is the correct one. I’m trying to remember what my 2006 had….. my 2023 is a crappy little jis head. But the above answers are spot on-something’s up with the float needle.

Yip! Agreed. Tap, tap tap. Something stuck in the needle seat or needle stuck open. I've seen them actually cocked and stuck at an angle. May need to pull the carb and set the float level.

Reactions: 2

dougserrand

· #12 · 3 mo ago

The previous answers are spot on, however what year is your TW? If it is more than a few years old and you run pump fuel you may want to replace the float valve and seat, 5LB-14390-00-00 for 2001 and later and 2JX-14107-00-00 for 2000 and older carbs. The fuel today will harden the rubber seat much quicker than in the past. I purchased two 2012 TWs last year that had 300miles on each and the carbs where so gummed up I rebuilt the carbs with new jets anyway! While you are in there, if you are at sea level replace your pilot jet with a #34 5LB-14342-17-00 and the main with a #130 288-14343-65. This is a good starting point and you may need to adjust the jets to accommodate your environment.

Reactions: 4

Hazcat

· #13 · 2 mo ago

bigstaraustin said:
I let my TW sit for a few months and the battery and carb needed help. I took the bike to a shop here in Austin. They said they rebuilt the carb and replaced the battery. The fuel tank had some rust in it so I cleaned and removed the rust. Once I got the bike home and rode it for a few minutes around the neighborhood it seemed fine. I went to ride it the next day and it was running rough. After I let it idle for awhile I noticed fuel dripping from the tube under the carb bowl and fuel was leaking out of the air filter. Any ideas on this?
Also…. is there a company that sells a brand new OEM carb? Not interested in a Chinese knockoff

Personally I think that ALL of the TW carbs are junk, OEM or not. Get a Nibbi or OKO or Mikuni slide type, change the throttle to a single pull and be done with it. I put the Nibbi PE 28mm on mine and love it.

Ski Pro 3

· #14 · 2 mo ago

Hazcat said:
Personally I think that ALL of the TW carbs are junk, OEM or not. Get a Nibbi or OKO or Mikuni slide type, change the throttle to a single pull and be done with it. I put the Nibbi PE 28mm on mine and love it.

I'm doing that now with a Nibbi PE28 but struggling to find a throttle and cable to work with it. Any links or advice?

Hazcat

· #15 · 2 mo ago (Edited)

Ski Pro 3 said:
I'm doing that now with a Nibbi PE28 but struggling to find a throttle and cable to work with it. Any links or advice?

Amazon.com

This is the throttle I used (NOT the cable) but any single pull will work. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZI7SQR4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 As far as the cable I had a local shop make one for me ($30). When you measure remember the measurement is the length of the cover not the whole cable. There are also kits you can get to make one.

You could continue to use the throttle you have and just use the 'pull' side and leave the other one empty. (looks funny but will work)

Ski Pro 3

· #16 · 2 mo ago

Hazcat said:
This is the throttle I used (NOT the cable) but any single pull will work. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ZI7SQR4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 As far as the cable I had a local shop make one for me ($30). When you measure remember the measurement is the length of the cover not the whole cable. There are also kits you can get to make one.

You could continue to use the throttle you have and just use the 'pull' side and leave the other one empty. (looks funny but will work)

I did look into using the original with one cable, but the end that operates the slide is much too large to fit through the carb cap.
What was the issue with the cable in your throttle kit? Why wouldn't it work?

Hazcat

· #17 · 2 mo ago

Ski Pro 3 said:
I did look into using the original with one cable, but the end that operates the slide is much too large to fit through the carb cap.
What was the issue with the cable in your throttle kit? Why wouldn't it work?

Too short

You can use the OEM throttle you just have to change the cable. They even make 'ends' where you could just cut the end off the OEM cable and soldier a smaller 'button' type on it. All depends on how much you want to do. I was lazy on the cable and just had one made.

Ski Pro 3

· #18 · 2 mo ago

Hazcat said:
Too short

You can use the OEM throttle you just have to change the cable. They even make 'ends' where you could just cut the end off the OEM cable and soldier a smaller 'button' type on it. All depends on how much you want to do. I was lazy on the cable and just had one made.

Thanks! I see Amazon has kits like yours with longer cables. I'll figure out how long I need for the jacket and for the stranded cable inside so there's enough to move the throttle across it's full range without too much. I can always shorten a cable. For example, I can take a 50" cable and cut the small end of the braid cable off, remove and cut the jacket to size. Then place the braid cable back inside, cut that to proper length and solder on a ball on the end. I have some lead split shot that ought to work good for that.
I suppose that is pretty much what your shop did.

Reactions: 1

Black Hills TDub

· #19 · 2 mo ago

Straight lead is usually too soft and pulls out. I use lead with about 30% pewter added. Also, fray the very end of the cable a little to give more surface area for the lead/pewter to bond. I use plaster Paris to make my molds for different style cable ends.

Reactions: 2

Ski Pro 3

· #20 · 2 mo ago

Black Hills TDub said:
Straight lead is usually too soft and pulls out. I use lead with about 30% pewter added. Also, fray the very end of the cable a little to give more surface area for the lead/pewter to bond. I use plaster Paris to make my molds for different style cable ends.

Lead weights is a misnomer. Here in Commiefornia, lead is illegal to use as a fishing weight. They are all steel now. But still an appropriate size with a hole in the middle of a brass or steel bead. I will fray and solder, was thinking lead-free solder. From a mechanical influence point of view, lead-free solder is stronger than lead solder.

Reactions: 1

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