Motorcycle Repair: gas hose, honda xl 350, honda xl350r

Question
I changed my throttle cable on my 85 Honda XL 350 and noticed the gas hose from the carberator was cracked I then changed that and now my bike wont start. I wanna know if I put the hose on wrong. Also the carb now leaks from the bottom

Answer
Sharod, There may have been something stuck to the inside of the old hose which was dislodged when you removed it and worked its way down to the float valve and lodged between the float valve seat and the valve itself. That would cause the float bowl to overflow and the engine to flood and not start.

Unfortunately, your bike has dual carbs and may be very difficult to service. I would try draining the float bowls, by removing the bottom screw and allowing all the fuel to run out into a small container, if possible, to see if you can determine if there are any contaminants in the bowl. This will also allow new incoming fuel to help flush out anything small that is hung up in the float valve. This is a 50-50 deal, as the float valve may have a small deposit jammed in between the needle/seat and may not come out without removal of the bowl and needle/float valve. Worth a try though.

http://www.cmsnl.com/honda-xl350r-1984-usa_model1143/partslist/E++16.html

If you have been kicking and kicking it to start with the flooding condition, the spark plug may be fuel fouled by now, so plan on replacing it, too.

Bill Silver