Motorcycle Repair: Sputtering fuel (1987 CBR1000), exhaust pipes, running on three

Question
Hi, I bought this 2 years ago with only 7,482 mi. on it. It's a great looking bike. If I ride it for a couple of hours at higher speeds there's no problems, but stopping and starting in town after it gets warm (even on cooler days) and I've got to give it extra gas to get going, it also will reek of gas after a long ride.....what's wrong with it?
Thx! Steve

Answer
Sounds like one of the carbs is leaking fuel past the needle and seat and flooding one of the cylinders and running out the overflow onto the motor or frame somewhere.  If you just let the bike idle in place for a while you should be able to spot which carb is acting up.  If you squirt some water on the exhaust pipes near the head after it has idled for a few minutes, the cold one is the one I'd suspect first. Eventually, you'll foul a plug and that cylinder will drop out and you're running on three cylinders.

Regards,
Rich