I walked outside today and noticed that my 96 was leaking gas at a pretty quick rate. I checked under the bike and it looked like the leak was coming from the connection where the slip on exhaust connects to the headers. I have never had this problem and im not sure what would cause it. It hasnt been driven in a couple days and has been fine since the last time i rode it up until now. I plan on tearing it apart this weekend to check things out. Does anyone know what would cause this or where i should start looking?

In addition to this, the bike hasnt been starting very easily. When i first turn it over it acts like the battery is dead then like it cant get any gas, even when the choke is on and im giving it some throttle;' finally it starts after about 10 sec of that. Not sure if this would relate to the above problem but i didnt think it would hurt to add it.

Thanks in advance for any advice/input!!

 

I'm only going to poke a little fun at you.

You Drive a car... you Ride a bike. LOL, sorry couldn't resist.

The fuel leak is not coming from that joint. That just may be the lowest point on the bike where it's dripping from. It can be tough to search back to the source, but I'd start with the obvious thing, like hoses from the tank, petcock fittings, carburetor bowls and vent tubes on the tank.

 

youre gonna be hounded with the following questions:

-when was the last time the carbs were cleaned?
-what is the voltage on the battery? do you have a battery tender?
-how long have you had the bike and have you done anything to it recently?
-what condition is the air filter in?
-how old are the spark plugs? when you take one out, what does it look like?

 

gas leaking out your slip on? i dont think so tim
the boys above got some good advice and things to check, so try their ideas and report back

 

so i got ambitious and started tearing into it tonight. I took the fairings off to see if i could see anything when i tried to start it. When it was turning over, the "drip" (which had stopped) coming from the header to pipe joint turned into a stream of gas which stopped when i stopped turning it over. Then i took the tank and air filter off...and i actually found standing gas in the carbs. Also, somehow there was gas in the oil pan. I drained the oil and you could distinctly smell the gas. The fuel pump and fuel filter had pure gas but whatever was dripping from the joint had both gas and oil in it. I also found what seemed to be either rust or metal shavings in one of the lines ( I dont remember which exactly).

as far as the check list goes..
-carbs were cleaned a few months ago (just with a spray cleaner not taken apart)
-i havent checked the voltage and no i dont have a battery tender
-ive had the bike since september and i havent done anything to it but previous owners have and im not sure what all that entails (jetted and a slip on for sure)
-Air filter is a K&N, its its clean and was re oiled a few months ago
-Spark plugs were put in in october i believe

Now with finding gas and oil pretty much everywhere im really at a dead end. If anyone has any other suggestions/comments ide be more than happy to hear them.

Thanks for the help.