Excess oil

[stefanoascari]

Hi Folks,

Bandit gsf 400 91

I did an oil change a few weeks ago and ran the bike / let it sit for a while. Made sure the oil was at the correct level (full mark). Then I ran it for a few days and always checked back after letting it sit for a while: oil was at the line.

I checked again yesterday and the oil is way over the line. The only thing I can think of is the weather has gotten considerably warmer since the oil change. Could I have hurt the engine? The bike seems to be running ok-nothing unusual. I'm thinking to take the top of something like a Windex spray bottle, clean it, and use it to squirt any excess oil out through the fill reservoir.

Any ideas?

thanks

[andrewsw]

open the oil filler and smell or otherwise check for gas. It's quite common for a float needle to jam open and flood the crankcase with gas making it look like you have lot of "oil".

If that is what happened DON'T RUN IT! Drain the "oil", fix the carbs, put in fresh oil.

A

[stefanoascari]

I have a suspicion you are correct as the oil smells like gas. The carbs have not been cleaned in 3 years according to previous owner (I bought the bike about 2 months ago). Is it a matter of cleaning the carbs at this point? Also, I should mention, previous owner used sea-foam.

Thank you

[Red01]

Yes, take the carbs apart and clean them.  Pay special attention to the float needle & seat - and be sure the floats haven't taken on fuel inside.  It's not that common, but I've seen it, and once you've found floats that make sloshing noises inside, it is something you tend to look at (listen to) anytime you have floats more or less in-hand.

[andrewsw]

when you pull the floats, look at the needle opening, but also down the side of the needle. Sometimes dirt will end up down the side and you'll have to fully disassemble the thing to get it out. What you want is the needles freely moving against their springs in the assembly. Invariably, you will mess up the float level while doing this, so be sure to check that.

[stefanoascari]

Ok. So I'm trying to take the carburetors off the bike. What's the best method to take the throttle cable off the carbs? I'm afraid I'll snap the cable if I do the wrong thing as that's happened to me in the past.

[andrewsw]

honestly, I do most of my work with the cable still on, just work with the carbs right there on the engine.

That said, it's *way* easier to pull the carbs and then disconnect the throttle cable by unscrewing the adjuster all the way (small nut will drop out) and then it's free and you can monkey it around and get it out. it's a pain, which is why I mostly leave it attached....


A

[stefanoascari]

Ok. I didn't know people do that. I'd be fine with doing it that way. How did you drain the bowls? Did you loosen the screw that's under them? I was tipping them earlier and a little gas leaked out.

Stefano

[andrewsw]

yes, drain them while still attached usually. I use a bit of clear tubing attached to the drain spout and draining into a little cup. after they are drained I loosen and the four intake clamps and pull them off. flip them over and wedge them into the frame (some cardboard or toweling might be appropriate depending on how much you care about the frame paint). Be careful, dropped screws tend to roll under the starter, or get jammed into the shock spring and other such horrible places.

A

[stefanoascari]

How do I set the float level at the right height when I reassemble it?

[andrewsw]

working with the carb upside down (I actually just pull the whole float assembly and do it. If you look a little, you'll see that there are some tabs on the assembly that work as a measurement point), and the float sitting on the needle under it's own weight. The distance from the "gasket surface" of the carb body to the highest point on the float itself is the "float height". Stock setting is 15mm.

Now, people will tell you that you have to be very careful to hold the carb at 45 degrees so that the float doesn't compress the needle spring. But, on the B4, the floats aren't heavy enough to do this, so I don't worry about it too much. In fact, I actually measure *down* from the cross bar on the assembly. That is, from the tube that ties the two ends of the float assembly together. That thing sits at 24mm from the gasket surface, so 9mm down from there is the stock setting.

I'll see if I can put together a picture.

A

[stefanoascari]

Oh wow. Sorry, that sounds really complicated...

[txbanditrydr]

Disclaimer: This is for a B12 - NOT (I repeat, NOT) a B4

Here is a picture showing float height setting.  Pay no attention to the height specified.

[locky]

I'm not sure what kind of petcock is on your bike but if it's a vac. like mine you should think about changing it or installing an in line shut off valve.This small mod can save you a lot of money and time as long as you remember to turn it off....good luck

[canyonbreeze]

"Now, people will tell you that you have to be very careful to hold the carb at 45 degrees so that the float doesn't compress the needle spring. But, on the B4, the floats aren't heavy enough to do this"

Not true, I had this exact issue the first time I rebuilt my carbs.  Maybe different floats weigh differently but mine compressed the needle springs significantly.