GSX400L 1984 possible carb problem

[Hamish Carlson]

Found the problem - one of the needles attatched to the floats is sticking, any ideas on how to stop it doing that, as I can't get the floats off for some reason. Guessing its an issue with some crap behind the valve.

[F5 Dave]

Goo from solidified old petrol, or hair. Sometimes the pins are peened in a little bit so removing them is a bitch, but totally possible, but with care. Need a centrepunch & hammer & a sharp edge to support the edge of the pillar. More than that you need to engage brain & lightly tap, better with a helper

[Sparrowhawk]

ahh more of the story unfolds.


Or someone has fitted a fuel filter inline. These just love to kink the line so subtly that you can’t see it & will produce the symptoms you have.

Sorry to bring up an older thread, but my 1990 GPX250 Ninja has started cutting out occasionally. Usually while I'm sitting at 100 for a bit, and most of the time when it's been when I've been changing to Reserve on the tap.

It's happened since I tried to drain the tank by disconnected the hose to the aftermarket inline fuel filter the previous owner fitted. This didn't work, so I syphoned it instead (needed to fix a leak in the tank where I'd put a fairing bolt in too far).

Is it likely that I've affected the way the inline fuel filter works??

GIJoe is gonna give me a hand on saturday to have a look at the carbs, incase there's crud in them, and I've bought a new pair of spark plugs - probably not the problem, but can't hurt aye?

[F5 Dave]

How did you fix the leak?

Sealant?

Does the tank breather still work? usually the cap on older style bikes,

Remove & Clean out tap.
Check lines run largely downhill & without kinks.

[Sparrowhawk]

How did you fix the leak?

Sealant?

Does the tank breather still work? usually the cap on older style bikes,

Remove & Clean out tap.
Check lines run largely downhill & without kinks.

The leak was caused by me putting the wrong fairing bolt in - it was too long & went straight into the tank (the fairing bolt threads into the tank itself, dumb idea). So I put a plug of Steel Putty in the end of the hole, threaded the bolt in while providing pressure on the other side to make sure it sealed properly, then waited for it to harden.

Then I took a new bolt, of the same thread size, and put it in until it was almost against the putty, and used some permanent thread lock. Then I cut the head of the bolt off, meaning it's now a stud in the tank, not a threaded hole.

I thought by doing that, I can't do it again. Perhaps Kawasaki should have thought of that to begin with, I'm not the first mug to do it. I'm wondering if the steel that I pushed through with the bolt to start with has worked it's way into the fuel system?? Or perhaps a little steel putty broke free?

How do I check if the tank breather still works?? I'm not sure if it's the cap or not.

I will have a look for kinks. It's strange that it only does it occasionally. I also noticed a small amount of fuel leaks at the tap when I switch it to reserve. However if I switch it to Off it leaks quite a bit. I guess that could be my issue?

[F5 Dave]

yeah, but it could just be tank rust blocking the fuel tap, remembering those kawis of that vintage often do rust up the tanks. Pull the tap & check it out.