So, I bought my first bike today, a black VFR400 1989.all seemed great. However when running up in my drive this afternoon I noticed fuel dripping out on the left hand side. Seemed to be coming from the carbs if anything, couldn't quite see. It was cold, choke was 'on' and the fuel tap was on also. The previous owner said he turned the fuel tap off when warming the bike up to stop flooding?

Do the carbs have an overflow pipe? If so could it just be something to do with the choke and fuel tap combination that is causing it to overflow? I will try again tomorrow with the tap off and see if it makes any difference, in the mean time any thoughts????

i would have a right good look and see exactly where the fuel is coming from.......
im not entirely sure if there is an overflow pipe....it could be the float height is way off!!!!
you shouldnt need to turn the fuel tap off when warming the bike up as it relies on drawing more fuel in so it can idle properly.....hence why you use the choke!!!!

Yes there is an overflow on the carbs, it pisses petrol into the middle of the (down the front wall of the rear pots to be more accurate).

It could be a stuck float, worn out needle valve or just a bit of grit in the valve.

Normally I'd suggest draining the carbs (via the drain screws on the bottom), tapping them with a screw driver or similar then turning the petrol back on and restart it. If that doesn't work then its a carb strip.

*BUT* with the age of an NC30 these days I've had bad experiences with the drain screws rusting on older bikes and never sealing again once removed. Not sure about the NC30 but you can't buy drain screws for some bikes.

Druid