Modern Buddy

When I opened the garage today, there was a strong smell of gas. There was a good sized puddle next to my Buddy and I left a trail as I rolled it out. It is still dripping a bit from the left side as you can see in the photo. Not sure what part this is. The engine will turn over but it will not catch. I last rode it about 3 weeks ago and it was fine. I have not recently filled up. Is this something I need to get it to the shop for or can I possibly remedy this myself? Bummed. Was looking forward to a ride today.

You need to clean the carb and tank petcock. You may need a new needle and seat as well as a new petcock. You could try riding it and running some seafoam through it. Be careful even if the bike runs normally it can cause cylinder wash down and damage the rings. It can also contaminate the oil. Pull the dipstick and smell it. If it smells like gas don't ride it before having the oil changed.

The carburetor is flooding. This happened to my 150 Buddy. The problem was the float needle was stuck. Therefore the gas wasn't shutting off when the carburetor bowl was full. The gas starts coming out the air box. When you take of the air box cover, gas will pour out of it.

Yeah, did a search here and I'm thinking the float needle and/or petcock may be the culprit. Will do a little exploring later today and report back.

Kevinpsu160 wrote:The carburetor is flooding. This happened to my 150 Buddy. The problem was the float needle was stuck. Therefore the gas wasn't shutting off when the carburetor bowl was full. The gas starts coming out the air box. When you take of the air box cover, gas will pour out of it.

That tip you gave me about using the metal polish and drill with a Q-tip worked great for my needle and float valve.

My needle and valve looked pretty clean to the naked eye, however I stuck the needle in the valve and turned the carb over to let gravity make the needle fall out but it would get stuck. So I used the metal polish and Qtip like the video that Kevinpsu160 shared with me below and it cleaned it out real nice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlez_hdoWYk

The brass cleaner with Q-tip seems like a good suggestion. I had the same issue with the gas leaking. There was some gunk in the carb. but the float was also set too high. Also, the petcock was sticking and allowing gas to flow after the engine was off. I no longer trust petcocks. I think whenever engines sit for a long time without use, this whole issue comes up. The good part was that I learned some mechanics from it all.

I have had this problem for 2 years, but it only leaks gas when the temperature drops by over 30 degrees at night and the gas tank is more than 1/2 full.

I, too, suspect that having a tank more than half full makes the problem worse. Don't know why. Also, I replaced the petcock and a few weeks later, when I went to empty the carb. to store the scooter for winter, that petcock did not stop gas from flowing. A scooter mechanic said it isn't unusual for them to stick in the cold temps.

Finally got back to this. Checked the oil and it does smell of gas. And, when I loosened the air box cover, gas did come pouring out. Interesting that I have had the scoot for going on 7 years and never experienced this issue before. Trying to decide whether I'm brave enough to get into the carburetor...